Hello /trv/I'm planning a trip to Carcasonne in France with a pal.Thinking it might be better to also visit Toulouse while in the area. Maybe fly in and out of Toulouse, doing a night there at the beginning and end and getting a train to Carcasonne in the middle of the trip or something.Anyone know anything about either destination?How about nightlife in the area - which one is better to be in at the weekend?Also interested in medieval history an shiet, read a bit about the Cathars and shit like that but already been to Avignon and Arles so a bit further West this time - any good tourism pointers in the area appreciated.
OP here, I'm not trans to be clear.
And is Narbonne any good? Day trip? Easy to get there and back from Carcasonne?
>>2634928it's nice to go there on a 14th of july.Not fan of Toulouse, for castles after Carcassonne i'd go a little north intead, to Perigord and see the castles there (+ Lascaux).For the nightlife, i'd say go 1h to the coast to Cap D'agde.
>>2634963Thanks anon, cool image.Been reading up on Toulouse and thinking we might skip it entirely at this point - the flights there don't line up too well.Will look at Perigord and Lascaux now.Is the nightlife no good in Carcasonne? I would have thought at the very least there'd be other tourists looking to party.
>>2635091Carcassonne is mostly a historical site, i don't think there's a nightlife there at all. There's the historic medieval city inside the walls, and there's a modern city outside of the walls that is your usual mid provincial french city and mostly residential (under 50K inhabitants overall).
>>2634928I was in Carcasonne well over 10 years ago. I got some nice apple ice cream there. Good times. Go get the ice cream and just keep in mind it's a bit of a trip up there. Hope that helped.
>>2634928This is one of the most beautiful regions in the entire world.It's worth visiting with a rental car, in my opinion. If you travel into the country a bit, there are countless actual medieval towns that are all stunningly beautiful and characterful. The towns, the fields of flowers, and the surrounding mountains make it a ridiculously beautiful journey. My favorite castle was La Couvertoirade. It's small, but it felt so much more authentic than Carcasonne. Whereas Carcassonne felt a bit touristy in a sense, La Couvertoirade was charming and the people who owned the businesses literally lived there in the castle town.The best town of them all is Avène. There is a microorganism in the water there that both makes the plant life in the area beautifully vibrant and is extremely good for your skin. You can bottle it for free at the clinic there.There's also a massive, gorgeous Buddhist Temple very strangely situated in the mountains nearby.
If you have a rental car, you could drive up and do the Pont du Gard and Nimes. Nimes has amazing Roman ruins and the Pont du Gard is amazing. I want to go back and do a kayak trip down that river. Or you could drive a little further and do Aix. They would have better nightlife. All the women go there and drink wine. You can stay in Aix for like $50-70/night in a large Airbnb. Cassis is amazing too. You can hike the Calanques and go swimming. The wineries all do free tastings.
>>2635468>kayaking Pont du GardUnfathomably based
OP here, thanks for the info anons.>>2635103>i don't think there's a nightlife there at all.>there's a modern city outside of the walls that is your usual mid provincial french city and mostly residential (under 50K inhabitants overall).Bummer. Will definitely want to be in the bars every night. Might have to look at Agde a bit more. Surprised there wouldn't at least be a few nice dive bars full of tourists.>>2635216Will look out for apple ice cream.>>2635458>It's worth visiting with a rental carSome people I know have said this. I'm trying to avoid driving as I do enough of that in the work week but maybe I'll look again at that.>La Couvertoirade>The best town of them all is AvèneWill look in to these places too.>Buddhist Temple Wasn't expecting that.>>2635468>Pont du Gard and NimesYeah, I've been to these places before and they are awesome. Avignon too. Big part of why I was open to doing a France trip again relatively soon, but being a bit more West than before.>Aix. They would have better nightlife. All the women go there and drink wineThis is exactly the kind of recommendation I was after although I dunno if we'd be going that far east
>>2634938Les Grands Buffets is there, but you'll need a reservation and they get full like 6 months in advance
>>2634928worst area to drive in France. They will break into your car for sure.>>2635776Sure there are divebars in Carcassone. They are i the actual town, not in the castle area
If you have a rental car don't mind driving 2 hours, you could cruise down to Girona Spain. If you're into biking, that's the place to do it. You can rent a bike and ride the Ruta del Carrilet trail to the sea. It's a bike's only trail. It's been on my bucket list forever. Girona is a very cool little city. They filmed some of Game of Thrones there. The old town is small, but pretty rad. And it's cheap to stay there.
>>2634928Rightful spanish clay.
>not going to Biarritz lmao at your life
>>2636520Redpill me on Biarritz
>>2636893the city of surfing
>>2636179Thanks man but I don't think we're going that far. It's not an especially long trip
Any tips for getting trains or buses in the area anons? Can't be bothered getting a rental car and it seems that with Toulouse, Narbonne, Castelnaudary etc in the area there are lots of places worth a look.
>>2639188>pic unrelated, just like the film
Toulouse is a nice city, large student population, but it doesn’t have a ton of blockbuster attractions, though it’s nice to see the canal du midi. If you like Christian history and cathedrals, Albi is a short train ride away from Toulouse and has the largest brick cathedral in the world, it’s a stunning and unique cathedral, there’s nothing else really like it. Also the site of the Albigensian crusade. Seems like you’d be interested if you like Carcassonne.
>>2639818>Albi is a short train ride away from Toulouse and has the largest brick cathedral in the worldThanks for this one man. Good chance I'll go looking at this.
>>2640339Also, near Toulouse and Albi there’s a very small town called Paulinet that makes fantastic cheese called paulinetoise, if you go to fromageries in Toulouse and Albi you should be able to buy it. Highly recommend
Any tips for Narbonne?
>>2636952I don’t surf.
OP here>>2636952Not the other anon but I also do not surf.In France right now anyway niggas, been doing a lil drinkin and thought I'd just check in one last time to see if there was any more info. If this thread is still up in a few days maybe I'll post some photos.
>>2644064where are you right now ?And as for recommendations >>2640367 said it all, buy some paulinetoise and a pain de campagne :)
>>2639188>Any tips for getting trains or buses in the area anons?You just .... buy a ticket and take the train or bus???? Unless you are an American that should not be a foreign concept to you.
>>2645012>making that commentAmericans rent free in your brain eh?Fuck off, loser.
Foix is wortha day trip, home to a fantastic castle. Carcassone itself I’d rate 6/10 for experience. Nothing more than it says on the label.
any tips on stuff to see in central toulouse?i have two half days while travelling with workthought about the convent de jacsomething, but other than that idk
