Vacapedia Vacation Rentals Blog

I love the Languedoc. It’s where you’ll see many extraordinary castles, some of them serving as refuges for the “heretics” called the Cathars, who believed that the world was the devil’s work.

Besides being hostile to gross materialism–something that really must have ticked off the wealthy religious elite of the time–Cathars defied the principles of natural selection as well. Their top people (called Perfects) didn’t procreate; it wasn’t good to bring new people into the evil and corrupt world. But the church wouldn’t let them fade away on principles. They tested the principles of the inquisition on them with gruesome results.

In any case, like other persecuted people, the Cathars took to the hills–sometimes building forts, but often finding fixer-upper castles to inhabit. Today, these castles stand as reminders to a turbulent period in history.

One of the best examples is Carcassonne in southern France. The walled city stands out from the flat landscape; you can see it dramatically from the Autoroute that passes by. They light the city walls an night, a nice touch.

The word “evocative” was meant for Carcassonne.

You can stay in the old, walled city, of course–but in summer the place is swarming with tourists festooned in shorts and ratty tee shirts, and you can’t really see the city views from inside, can you? So the trick is to stay outside the city in a place with a view of Carcassonne.

The place over there to the right is called Beauregard. It has a view of Carcassonne from the dining room window (where you can see someone peeking at the view in the picture) and the balcony. It’s also right along the Midi Canal. You can cruise the Midi. Very nice. Very relaxing.

Consider Cathar country on your next vacation in France.