Carcasonne: City in southwest France, administrative centre of Aude département.

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bamboozle

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Anyone been? Organising a stag trip for 16 for February, hoping to hit some Vineyards or Cavs but they seem to be a bit of a drive
 
Re: Carcasonne

Lovely place - was there last year. Getting fairly touristy especially in la Cité (old walled part). Not exactly cheap but cheaper than here.

I would have thought it was more of a couples place though - not typical stag destination really.
 
Re: Carcasonne

Thanks for your reply, we didn’t want typical stag boozing weekend, good food & wine is what we seek, all traveling have had enough of dodgy & ridiculously expensive stag weekends in the likes of Westport & Kilkenny. Carcasonne is in the heart of French rugby territory and Ireland play france in paris that weekend so their should be a good buzz about town.
 
Re: Carcasonne


In that case - good choice! Plenty of good food and wine around at reasonable prices. La Cité is well worth a visit but can get very busy - steep climb to get there! As often with France, just pottering around can yield the best restaurants/cafés. Canal du Midi running through the town is nice. Sorry, can't remember any restaurants or bars to recommend but in 10 days we never had a bad meal or drink!

In general though Carcasonne is fairly laid back - but as you say the rugby will change all that.

The tiny former military "airport" is a doddle too - you'll probably be on the street within less than 10 minutes of getting off the plane!
 
Re: Carcasonne

My parents have a holiday home near Carcasonne. Like the previous posters said its not your typical stag party venue but if its good food and wine you are after its a great place to go. The walled city shouldn't be too busy in Feb its only in August that its mad so it's well worth your while visiting if you are there in Feb. The airport is also tiny so you will be off the plane and straight out. No mad queues like large airports
 
Re: Carcasonne

is there anyway to get to Carcassone direct apart from Ryanair? I booked Ryanair tickets and they keep cancelling the return leg.
 
Re: Carcasonne

that doesnt sound too good, report in the papers yesterday that aviation regulator is going to start naming and shaming airline companys who mistreat customers when they cancel flights.

Only way i know of is ryanair, check out carcasonne airport website, it should give flight timetables
 
Re: Carcasonne

Danmo said:
...they keep cancelling the return leg.
Click to expand...

How on earth are they doing this? Are you being emailed saying that there is no return flight? According to the airport website, Ryanair is the only airline using it!
 
Re: Carcasonne

I go to Carcassonne several times a year & never had a problem with Ryanair.Aer Lingus fly to Tolouse which is a little over an hours drive away or you can get a train.
A great place to stay is the Chateau de Cavanac (10 mins. from Airport & less from Le Cite). It is very near Carcassonne Golf Club ( great green fees & food in clubhouse even if you are non golfers). If you don't stay at the Chateau de Cavanac you would be crazy not to have the gourmet dinner there for 40 Euro including all the wine you want from their own vineyard.It needs to be booked in advance even on Winter weekdays. Always full but closed for dinner on Sundays & Mondays at the time you are going.If you doubt how good this place is just look at the raves it gets on
 
Re: Carcasonne

bamboozle said:
Carcasonne is in the heart of French rugby territory and Ireland play france in paris that weekend so their should be a good buzz about town.
Click to expand...

Carcasonne is a medieval town on a hill (with a modern town below). I wouldn’t have thought it a place for a stag weekend (unless you’re all in your 50s, and even then . . . ). The rugby capital of France is Beziers, which is nearby but (IMHO) a bit of a dump. But if you want rugby you want: http://www.asbh.net/
 
Re: Carcasonne

Spent 7 days there in September staying at www.maison-miro.com Owner will pick you up and drop you to the airport as part of the package. The accommodation was so so with a 70's style bathroom that needed a good dollop of CIF to bring out the shine.
You will see the Cite over a couple of days. Some good Menu del Dia's for around €14 per head including wine. You can take a two hour trip along the Canal du Midi, passing through one lock for about €8. We also went on a day trip to Narbonne from the train station in Carcassonne.
Not much to do in Carcassonne in the evening and good restaurants are fairly thin on the ground.
 
Re: Carcasonne

I'm visiting Carcassonne for a few days early next year. Any recommendations for fairly reasonable hotels close to or in the Cite ?
 
Stayed in the Mercure Carcassonne Porte de La Cite during the summer and found it to be fine. They did us a deal for one of the better standard rooms which was very nicely appointed.

The hotel is located about 10 minutes from the cite, and has parking....if you have a car some of the places within the city walls can be a pain to get to as you park outside the walls and get a lift in from there.


 
For watching the rugby, there's an Irish bar called O'Sheridans on Rue Victor Hugo. There was a great atmosphere in the place when we took on the French in the World Cup last September.
 
We were there 2 years ago & stayed at [broken link removed] which is a lovely little hotel right outside the city walls. If you do stay here, request a deluxe room in the annexe (we stayed in No. 36). It's 10 mins by taxi from the airport which costs about €12

There's some nice shops in the new town incl. Sephora & the standard French clothes stores. It's a lovely place for the weekend, but bitter cold in Feb-March!
 
Wherever you stay/eat make sure you have duck (magret de canard).

You won't believe what you'll be presented with - ever had duck like a sirloin steak? Carcasonne is the place...
 
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