Between the Mediterranean and the Cathar Country

Day 1 – Sete

Arrival at Sete in the morning. This charming town offers you a wonderful day in the colourful and welcoming Mediterranean landscape. Lunch and guided visit along the Royal Canal, then discover the Mont Saint Clair with an overlook over the saltwater lagoon of Thau and Sete. Dinner and night in Gruissan or surroundings.

Day 2 – Canal du Midi and Carcassonne

Enjoy a commented 2-hour cruise on the Canal du Midi on a traditional barge. Navigate on a canal classified by the Unesco and pass through a lock, an aqueduct and a canal bridge. This part of the canal presents the most beautiful landscapes and architectonic works.
Departure to Carcassonne.
For lunch, enjoy a genuine cassoulet into a traditional restaurant in the heart of the medieval city.
Visit the medieval city with your guide to discover the old streets, the curtain walls and the basilica.
Drive back to Gruissan for dinner and night.

Day 3 – The vertigo fortresses

Drive the Corbieres region to reach and discover the impressive Cathar Castles, the so-called Vertigo Fortresses.
Visit the Queribus Cathar castle built on a rocky peak overlooking the Roussillon plain and the Corbieres. It was the place of ressistance during the Albigensian Crusade.
In the village of Cucugnan, enjoy a regional lunch, before seeing a particular statue of the pregnant Virgin and the windmill.
Then drive to the castle of Peyrepertuse, the most important and well-preserved example of military architecture in Languedoc. Comments from the guide at the bottom of the castle.
End the day with a wine tasting of the famous sweet natural wine in “Les Vignerons de Maury” cellar.
Drive back to the hotel. Dinner and night.

Day 4 – Perpignan – Collioure

In the morning discover Perpignan, capital of the northern Catalonia and old main city of the Majorca kingdom.
Then drive to Collioure, village of the Fauvists painters. Matisse and Derain came there to work with the colours of the southern lights.
Lunch on the port.
During the afternoon, embark on a little train which will lead you through spectacular vineyards up to the St Elme Fortress, from where the view on the Mediterranean and the Pyrenees is spectacular.
Drive back to the hotel for dinner and night

Day 5 – Narbonne

Walking guided tour of Narbonne: discover the episcopal neighbourhood, the archbishop palace courtyard, the cloister, a portion of the roman way Via Domitia and the Robine Canal. A full immersion in the historic centre. Lunch in Narbonne.

Departure to your regions after lunch.