Carcassonne
France
A walled medieval city on a hill, restored by the nineteenth century into what everyone pictures a castle to be
Photo by Alain Bonnardeaux on Unsplash
Photos by Leonis Caeli, Matthieu Staelen, Tom Podmore and Hugo Margolles on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of France
April to June, and September to October (the Cité is shoulder to shoulder in high summer, Bastille Day fireworks aside)
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 70mm in Apr
Where it is
43.21°N, 2.35°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
A week easily- Go up to the Cité in the early morning or after the day trippers leave, and walk the lists between the walls
- Stay in the Bastide and walk up over the Pont Vieux at dusk
- Drive to Peyrepertuse and climb to the castle on its ridge
- Walk or cycle a stretch of the Canal du Midi from the station
- See the Cité set alight on Bastille Day, from the river, with a lot of other people
Carcassonne travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget France
Mid-rangeEuro, and cards are taken everywhere, contactless included. The wine estates of the Minervois and Corbières take cards for bottles too.
ATMs & cards
Draw in the lower town, the Bastide, from a bank’s own machine — Crédit Agricole, BNP Paribas, Société Générale, La Banque Postale — and refuse the conversion.
Avoid these
- Euronet
- standalone machines in shops and tourist streets
Use these instead
- Crédit Agricole
- BNP Paribas
- Société Générale
- La Banque Postale
French bank machines are normally free on their side for foreign cards. Refuse the conversion offer.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of France
SafeVery safe. The Cité gets crushed on summer afternoons, and the pickpockets who work crowds work this one. Cars in the car parks below it get broken into; leave nothing in view. The Cathar castles are reached on foot up steep paths in strong sun and, at Peyrepertuse and Quéribus, in strong wind — closed on the worst days.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (7 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
Worth more attention
- the Cité’s main street on summer afternoons — packed, and pickpockets work the crowd
- the car parks below the Cité — break-ins; leave nothing in sight
- the Cathar castle paths in summer — steep, exposed and hot; take water and go early
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa France visa rules
No visa needed
Freedom of movement — no time limit, and no visa. Bring a passport or national ID card.
Other passports
No visa neededup to 90 days
90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area, not per country. ETIAS, a paid online authorisation, is being introduced for these passports — check the official link for whether it applies to your travel dates.
Visa required in advance€90 (Schengen short-stay visa)
A Schengen short-stay visa is applied for before travel, at the consulate of your main destination.
How to get it: Apply at the consulate or visa centre of the country you will spend most time in, typically 15 working days ahead and no more than six months before travel.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of France
Excellent and cheapRequired to enter
No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Routine vaccinations up to date
Getting treated
EU/EEA and Swiss visitors are treated on the same terms as residents with an EHIC or GHIC card; UK visitors use a GHIC. Everyone else pays, and travel insurance is worth having for the repatriation cover rather than the treatment.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
GoodCassoulet, which Castelnaudary down the road claims to have invented and Carcassonne makes anyway; eat it in the Bastide, where it costs less and is made for locals. Blanquette de Limoux, a sparkling wine that its makers say is older than champagne. Minervois and Corbières reds from the hills on either side.
Travel tipsGetting around
Workable- UberWorks here
- BoltWorks here
- G7Works here
- FREE NOWWorks here
G7 the taxi fleet, by app
- Against a taxi
- Much the same. The flat airport rate is a taxi rule and the apps price against it.
Time zone and your working day
Europe/Paris — 6 hours ahead of you
2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–11:00 your time, 15:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 03:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 03:00–11:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for France, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Works hereRevolutIn the app
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
French
- HelloBonjourbon-ZHOOR
- PleaseS'il vous plaîtseel voo PLEH
- Thank youMercimer-SEE
- Yes / NoOui / Nonwee / non
4 more phrases
- Excuse meExcusez-moiex-koo-zay MWA
- How much is it?C'est combien ?say com-BYEN
- The bill, pleaseL'addition, s'il vous plaîtla-dee-SYON
- Cheers!Santé !son-TAY
Open with bonjour before anything else. Launching straight into a question without it reads as rude, and explains a lot of reputed French coldness.
Travel tipsReligion
Catholic, and strictly secular
Laïcité is a constitutional principle: religion is kept out of public institutions, and conspicuous religious symbols are banned in state schools. Cover shoulders in cathedrals.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Say bonjour before anything else, every single time you enter a shop
- Keep your voice down in restaurants and on public transport
- Keep both hands visible on the table while eating, wrists on the edge
- Dress a notch smarter than you would at home — it changes how you are treated
Don't
- Do not ask for a doggy bag or substitutions; the dish arrives as the kitchen intends
- Do not start with English without at least attempting bonjour, parlez-vous anglais
- Do not tip more than rounding up — service is included by law
- Do not eat while walking; it reads as slightly uncivilised
Where to stay in Carcassonne
No Holistay rentals in Carcassonne yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Carcassonne on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Carcassonne CCF
20 minfrom the airport· 4 km as the crow flies
20 min by the airport shuttle, timed to each flight, to the station and the Cité.
Also worth pricing: Toulouse–Blagnac TLS — far more routes; shuttle into Toulouse, then about an hour by train.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
