Visits: Towns. Historic Sites. Museums

To give you an idea of what you could expect from a guided tour I’ll describe a tour of Toulouse, Albi and Carcassonne I did in English with a group of Japanese tourists in May.

 

In Toulouse we went to the ‘Capitole’ the St. Sernin basilica and the Jacobins church with it’s beautiful colonnade and stunning palm tree.

 

For lunch we ate cassoulet in Albi, followed by a visit to the cathedral of St. Cecile, the bishops’ gardens and of course a trip to the Toulouse-Lautrec museum.

 

The following day we ended up in Carcassonne, discovering not only the old town but also the basilica of St. Nazaire and the ramparts of the earl’s château.

 

DISCOVERING THE REGION – DEPART CARCASSONNE

 

Day 1

A tour on the Canal du Midi and a visit to the Old Town of Carcassonne.

 

Day 2

Corbières. Visiting the château of  Quéribus  and the village of Cucugnan. After a wine tasting at Tuchan we can take a stroll in Lagrasse, one of the most beautiful towns in France.

 

Day 3

The Cistercian abbey of Fontfroide.  Narbonne with it’s Roman heritage and it’s ancient cathedral.  Then on to Gruissan with it’s huts on piles. 

Day 4

Castres and the Goya museum. Albi.

 

Day 5

Vermeille coast – Perpignan (cathedral, CAMPO SANTO, Mayor’s building, LOGE DE LA MER, and eventually the Palace of the Kings of Majorca).  Collioure (church, CHEMIN DE FAUVISME, Matisse. 

The cemetery of Derain with the tomb of the Spanish poet A. Machado).

 

IDEA FOR A HALF DAY VISIT

Montréal de Sos (in Ariège, Vicdessos - valley). Apart from it’s castle there are caves that are signposted in English that you can climb through.  Visit time approximately 2 hours.