Brooke & Drew
Things To Do
Nearby Small Towns
Camon, is a beautiful village and the old Benedictine Abbey there (now a private home/hotel) can sometimes be visited. Fun fact: This is where we first decided to consider France for our wedding! Carcassonne is a fantastic walled city and rightly world renowned. It is about a 45min drive but highly recommended. Other small towns include: Foix, a lovely town with an imposing castle Fanjeaux, where St Dominic founded his order Montolieu, a small town devoted entirely to books
Day Trips
If you want to see the Mediterranean Sea (which you should!), go to Perpignon, Narbonne, Setes, Collioure, or the gorgeous harbour town of Cadaques. A trip to Barcelona and back through the mountains the next day is a good, if full, round trip. A train from Carcassonne to Barcelona takes about 3 hours and can include a stop in Narbonne. Toulouse itself and Albi (home of Toulouse Lautrec with a museum devoted to him) are both full of architectural, historic and cultural interest. Spa towns, such as Ax les Termes, Ussat les Bains, Aulus les Bains can be fun and relaxing. If you want to visit vineyards in stunning (and very different) countryside, head for Limoux and wander all around there. To the north, the Montagnes Noir are very striking and St Félix de Lauragais and Revel are both very beautiful.
Food and Restaurants
In Mirepoix the best restaurant is Le Relais (05 61 60 19). Other options are Le Comptoir Gourmand, Café Llobet, Autre Jardin, and The Hotel du Commerce. There is also the “Super U” and “Carrefour Express” in town for essentials. Clos de San Martin has quite excellent food and is in the nearby village of Coutens. Auberge du Poids Public is an hour away in St Félix de Lauragais, a charming small town with a fantastic mediaeval, timber marketplace (05 62 18 85 00). Maison Gayda winery is about 30 minutes away (04 68 20 65 87). On the road to Castelnaudary, is Le Pujet. They offer home farm grown, organic produce including foie gras, roasted lamb and wine, but you must book ahead and be a party of 6 or more (04 68 60 51 76). Le Regat (05 61 01 92 55) is an outdoor restaurant on the lake with basic "steak and frites" etc. for a pleasant, sunset evening at end of the day on the lake.
Local History
Cathar castles are a must, the nearest are Montségur, Rocquesfixade and Puivert. Puilaurens is also good (past Puivert) and on the way you will pass through a stunning gorge. Peyrepertuse and Quéribus are both rightly very renowned but all are worth the effort of visiting and climbing to. The local Romanesque church and monastic heritage is also fabulous and too numerous to itemise. Favorites include Vals (very near), Fontfroide, Lagrasse, St Hilaire, Axiat, and St Martin de Canigou. Very famous for their prehistoric cave paintings are the grottes as Niaux. You have to ring to make an appointment to visit: 05 61 05 88 37.
Local Walks
Around about in the Pyrenees there's masses of walking opportunity and some wonderful natural sites such as gorges or the beautiful waterfalls, caves and rock formations at Rocquefort les Cascades (just west of Lavelanet about half an hour away. There is an abundance of local walks and strolls as well. Besides the château garden itself, you can walk up the hills or along the river both upstream and downstream. Downstream, leave the cemetery to your right and follow up the hills or along the river for a relaxing nature hike. Upstream, cross the bridge, go past the medieval ruined forge and follow the path. It will join the river before long. Carry on along the path, past some various little rapids and the path will climb up the hill. Following the path further will eventually take you to a small town, where there is a bar. It takes about an hour and a quarter of brisk walking to get there. Arrange to be picked up, if you don't want to walk back again.