Chateau et Remparts de la Cite de Carcassonne

Chateau et Remparts de la Cite de Carcassonne

Chateau et Remparts de la Cite de Carcassonne
4.5
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Carcassonne was settled as early as the 6th century BC and later became an important Roman town. It was fortified in the 4th century and was a strategic site in the Middle Ages. It took on its definitive shape in the 13th century with the king’s decision to construct the distinctive double-walled ramparts and extend the castle. The city was restored by Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century and is a testimony to 1,000 years of military architecture and 2,600 years of history. See a 12-minute film combining 3-D images and close-up footage; walk along the galleries, the fortified walls and the north ramparts; discover the museum of masonry and many other attractions. Designated world heritage site by UNESCO. Open: > April to September: from 10 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. > October to March: from 9.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Last admission 45 minutes before closing time. Closed: > 1st January, 1st May, 1st November, 11th November and 25th December. Admission fees: Adults : 8,50 €; Concessions (18 to 25) = 5,50 €; Free admission: minors under 18*; Free admission: 18-25 years old* (citizens of one of the 27 countries of the EU or are non-European permanent residents of France) * excluding school groups
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  • Talant2007
    Moscow, Russia26,652 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fortress of Carcassonne
    The castle in Carcassonne was built at the beginning of the 12th century. Over time and many attacks, it fell into disrepair and in the 19th century a large-scale restoration of the fortress was undertaken. In 1849 - 1903 the fortress was restored and now it is a real pearl of France!
    Visited February 2024
    Traveled solo
    Written February 22, 2024
  • Labo65
    Province of Milan, Italy2,341 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Suggestive
    The Cité Médiévale, a real fortified citadel. A city wall with 4 gates. The castle dates back to the 22nd century but the renovation in 1800 returned it to its ancient splendor. It is a nice visit to go around, in addition to the internal museum, also the walls, the double wall is particular. Tickets can be purchased online at a cost of €11.00. UNESCO has included it among the World Heritage Sites. Wonderful in the evening, illuminated, it is a dream, the inhabited city is always open and has restaurants and shops inside.
    Visited March 2024
    Traveled with friends
    Written March 29, 2024
  • RedSavannah
    Glasgow, United Kingdom116 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Beautiful and no crowds in May 24
    We spent a lovely few days here, staying in the Hotel de le Cité, which was itself excellent. Carcassonne is stunning, large and beautiful inside and out although the shops inside are full of tourist tat. It is well worth paying to see inside the castle and walk the castle ramparts although you can also walk around the inside of the Cité ramparts for free (with great views of the town and countryside) or outside La Cité (which is the name given for the fortified town in all the pictures) for free. There isn’t much else to do here, however, so a day or two is enough. As we stayed at the Hotel de La Cité is was like staying in the castle as the private grounds have gorgeous views of the castle, ramparts and countryside so chilling there was brilliant. And there were no crowds at all in May - it was surprisingly quiet in fact - so no queuing for anything at all!
    Visited May 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written May 18, 2024
  • Reiselust112
    Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany2,615 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    a must
    Classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, Carcassonne invites you to experience its 1,000-year-old military architecture every day. From a distance, Carcassonne appears like a dream over the Aude plain. With its 52 towers, its double enclosure and its castle built in the 12th century by the Trencavel family, it represents a perfection of ramparts and towers, set in a crown on a hill in the middle of vineyards. This vision, straight out of a fairy tale, takes shape as you approach the city. You park in a large car park and enter the city through the "Porte de la Narbonnaise", the city's imposing main gate reserved exclusively for pedestrians. Then you first stroll through the narrow streets full of shops, cafes and restaurants. You feel a little like you are walking through the alleys of Hogwarts with beautiful houses. Then you get to the World Heritage Site, where you pay €11 entrance fee per person. We also had an audio guide for €3.50 extra. During our Whitsun holidays it wasn't that busy yet, so we were able to buy tickets on site without any problems. In high season you have to reserve online in advance here as it is very crowded. The Comtal Castle and City Walls, also known as Château Comtal, is a medieval fortress within the city walls. This was an extremely important defensive structure in the Middle Ages. The fortress walls are double and have a large lawn in between, the so-called Lize, which was once used in knights' tournaments and which you can now walk on. You walk through towers, battlements, castles and watchtowers. The inner enclosure is the result of a reconstruction of the original Gallo-Roman wall around 1280. The outer enclosure was added around 1320, with a total length of more than 3 km. In the heart of the city, the castle of the county bears the living memory of its founders, the Viscounts of Trencavel, Lords of Carcassonne. You can see and walk through the castle's two courtyards, the lapidary, the animation film and exhibition rooms, as well as the ramparts with a breathtaking view of the Aude plain and the lower town of Carcassonne. You can also see the Saint-Nazaire Basilica, located near the Porte d'Aude. It was built between the 9th and 14th centuries. The building was classified as a historic monument in 1840. It was the cathedral of Carcassonne until 1801, but was then replaced by the Saint-Michel Cathedral. The ensemble of stained glass windows depicting scenes from the life of Christ and the apostles is considered the most beautiful in the south of France...
    Visited May 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written June 12, 2024
  • nebourne
    54 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Must visit
    Great castle in perfect condition. You follow the path marked by the inside of it to not miss any details. In each room there is a poster explaining it. Once the visit of the castle is over it continues with the area of the walls. Fully recommended your visit. We visited with two children aged 7 and 9 and they loved it.
    Visited July 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written July 3, 2024
  • Antonio B
    San Luis Potosi, Mexico360 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A trip to the past
    Simply a trip to the past, amazing castle, as they have preserved it, restaurants, hotels, we really have to return. We only went from Barcelona to Nîmes where that Apia slept. The Parkin of the city roofed, for those who go by car and suitcases, very economical by the way and 18 minutes from the castle. Must point when going to the south of France.
    Visited June 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written July 8, 2024
  • Ale
    Madrid, Spain54 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    IMPORTANT FOR GUIDED TOURS
    Guided tours do not go inside the castle and the walls, they explain some areas that make up the monumental complex and its history. The visit to the castle and the walls must be done before taking the guided tour. Anyway, the guided tour is worth this spectacular monumental ensemble. Also in very nice walk outside: narrow streets and many charming corners.
    Visited July 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written July 31, 2024
  • Jessica L
    Province of Biella, Italy523 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Visit of passage
    We chose Carcassonne as a stop between Provence and Arcachon. Free parking about 10 minutes walk from the fortified center. Entrance to the castle for a fee 11€ adult with the possibility of Audio Guide for 3€, quite useful. The visit to the castle takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Shops, bars and restaurants around the fortified area. Tourist office at the village entrance to get map and explanations on how to get around the country.
    Visited August 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written August 21, 2024
  • Paulina J
    Spain23 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Medieval Shopping Centre
    It is an exceptionally well preserved medieval town, it is very easy to walk around. However, as a tourist Attraction I miss more medieval content, because it really is a shopping center. There is one store after another with their respective sideboards. Of course it is full of tourists, which I consider normal, but between the shops and the number of people you can appreciate less the architecture and the small details of the constructions. It is certainly a place not to miss but it could be better.
    Visited August 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written August 27, 2024
  • Gregfrompreston
    Preston, United Kingdom48 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    A strenuous walk
    We had a very enjoyable visit and walked all the way round the chateau and town ramparts. Good value for €17 each with audio guide. Wonderful views and photo genic buildings. Not for the fainthearted.. we were ineterailing and it is 2km uphill from the SNCF station to the town gate. Best to avoid the tourist traps of the main street . The full circuit of the ramparts is a strenuous walk, lots of steep steps up and down at each tower. In all we walked about 12km. Did I say we are both over 70? Was not impressed by the toilets in the chateau.. only 2 cubicles with poor plumbing and no urinals so even the men had a long queue. We had a picnic lunch in the park outside the city gate and were welcomed by a fussillade of conkers dropping from the trees.
    Visited September 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written September 20, 2024
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KiwiRoadrunner
Havelock North, New Zealand221 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2024 • Couples
As the largest fortified medieval city in Europe, this is well worth a trip. I found it very hard to get decent info from the web site so here are my top tips:
1. There are free tours available but not always in your language of choice. In December, when we went, it's low tourist season so they only offer tours in spanish and french.
2. I thought I bought both the tickets and the audio guides online but turns out that was a different audio guide. When we went to enter the chateau area, they suggested we go across the way and get the audio guides (just an additional 3E each). They are totally worth it!
3. How the tour works. You enter into a courtyard where you meet your tour guide (if you are doing that) and there are toilets here as well. When we went, the toilets were very clean, door locks worked, there was TP. Not sure what the comments below are referring to. From the courtyard, there are signs pointing to the start of the chateau (which also houses the museum and gift shop). Start with that. When you're done, you end up back at the courtyard. You can then choose to do the rampart walk which is broken into 3 sections so you can choose to quit if you don't want to do the full loop. We choose to do the full loop, but we went slow and took tons of photos so it probably took us close to an hour. All up, I'd say we spent 3 to 4 hours there (but we listened to everything and took heaps of photos).
4. Timing. In December, we were practically the only people in there which was fabulous. If you go in the height of summer, be prepared for hordes of people, which would make it less enjoyable.
5. Entrance. We stayed at a little BnB across the river and our host recommended we walk up and go through the old entrance for the best views. It was a great recommendation and I'd highly recommend that. Otherwise, you drive and park (don't forget to pay) at the "main" entrance on the other side of the cite.
6. Most of the shops inside the wall are full of tourist junk so you really don't need to plan to spend any time wandering the streets.

Bottom line, if you are at all interested in castles, medieval cities, etc. you will absolutely love this tour.
Written December 18, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Massimiliano P
Novara, Italy47,284 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2024 • Couples
The Comital Castle is one of the main visits you can make arriving at the medieval village of Carcassone. Surrounded by mighty fortified walls, it was built during the twelfth century although it then underwent profound transformations in later times. Entrance to the castle is charged and the visit starts from its inner courtyard and then goes inside its halls and continues in the walkways, from where there are beautiful views of the village. During the visit you will see some beautiful frescoed rooms, many of which also house a discreet museum display of ancient artifacts. Interesting visit, during which you keep in mind that there are many stairs to do.
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Written December 10, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Anna_Maria39_11
Winnipeg, Canada649 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2024 • Solo
This was a trip highlight. Walking up from the train station and seeing the castle rise up from the river bank was quite thrilling. I walked the entire exterior perimeter to get a sense of size before heading in. Public restrooms are outside the main gate. I had no idea that there was a complete little town behind the walls with fantastic window shopping and restaurants. The visit to the fort was completely worth the cost of admission and the audio guide offered lots of history and learning. There is an extensive gift shop in the Centre.

Even though this was my main activity for my day trip to Carcassonne I hadn’t budgeted enough time to really appreciate all the browsing and dining opportunities before I had to walk back to the train station.
Written October 5, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Chris_KO
Koblenz, Germany3,750 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2024 • Solo
The Château forms the centre of the medieval Cité of Carcassonne. For the more than reasonable price of €13 you can visit the castle, the ticket price also includes a tour of the interior of the two fortress walls. You can get an audio guide for an additional fee of three euros. This is also available in German and highly recommended, as the labels are rather scarce. The castle is interesting, but the highlight of the visit are the great views over the entire medieval city from the towers and the wall. You should allow at least 2 hours for the visit. From the station you walk to the Cité in about 30 minutes. Paid parking is also available outside the Cité.
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Written October 15, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ghislaine48
France211 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2024 • Family
A visit that allows you to enter the heart of the medieval city, to have views of the landscapes.
Note that there are a lot of steps to climb and descend in the castle and along the ramparts, and we pass from tower to tower. I would point out that we had not taken an audio guide and on that holiday no guided tour was possible.
We ended up either tired or tired of walking and did not complete the tour of the ramparts (3 possible exits if we want to stop the visit of the ramparts; we went out to the second).
No regrets, however, to have opted for the visit which differs from the tour in the Lices.
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Written January 2, 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

beatrice c
12 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2024 • Family
Already, I think it's great that it's free for under-25s. This makes it possible to make a family visit not too expensive and discover the heritage at a reasonable price. The tour of the ramparts is really nice to do. What we preferred was the guided tour (free) which lasts about 45 minutes. Our guide (roger) is a passionate person of local history and has captivated our attention. Exciting tour! I think we should offer this visit more regularly during the day (only 2 visits in the afternoon, the day we came)
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Written November 2, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Nancy_Ottawa
Ottawa, Canada636 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2023
You can wander the narrow beautifully preserved medieval streets of La Cité, browse shops & restaurants, and the Eglise Saint-Nazaire for FREE, however, there is ENTRY FEE to visit the Chateaux Comtal (inside the castle). On a sunny day the ramparts offer panoramic views of the fortress walls, the towers, the mountains, vineyards and surrounding landscape. I would have loved to be able to watch a show in the “modern” amphitheatre which was added to the La Cité in the early 1900s.

BUDGET TIP: Entry to the Chateaux is free on the first Sunday of each month but you'll want to arrive early as there is typically a long queue for the free entrance. Line up on the right side of the ticket booth.
Written February 7, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ogi0
Sofia, Bulgaria22,932 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2023
An exceptional medieval city. Came out like a fairy tale. We were here on a Saturday there were a lot of people but still it wasn't crowded. Entrance is free, you only have to pay if you want to visit the Comtal Castle, which is within the city limits.
Written July 19, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Alexminn
Terrassa, Spain358 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Solo
Although I have visited it in winter, with not much light, the visit is more than worth it.
It is reconstructed, but there are explanations on signs of what the function of each area was and how it was used. Some rooms feel cold, but what better way to immerse yourself in the Middle Ages! The souvenir shop was open but there are many closed shops in the surrounding area. It is clear that other stations are bustling with people.
But visiting the facilities almost alone, and coinciding that the first Sunday of each month is free, is a luxury.
Google
Written January 14, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Laura
Frankfurt, Germany88 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2024 • Solo
10/10! Anyone travelling to Carcassonne MUST NOT miss this, absolutely must. It was a real highlight to stroll over the city walls and have the great views of the medieval city inside as well as the great scenery all around. You could stop every few feet to take pictures. This tour definitely includes the audio guide, which is super interesting and informative and available in different languages. You miss out without so many facts, because the pure information boards are a little bit small and also not available in so many languages. Inside the castle there is a beautiful projection of the city. However, you should be able to climb stairs well.
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Written October 16, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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