Recently, we took an afternoon to drive through quite a few of the villages near to Carcassonne. Most are about a 5 – 10 minute drive from our house; the furthest is about 20 minutes away. Here is our route:
The following slideshow shows what we saw from the car on our tour. We’ve included ordinary views, both in the villages and in the countryside between the villages.
We discovered that the small stone villages look a lot like each other! But the countryside varies quite a bit. The region south of Carcassonne, which is the Aude River valley, includes green rolling landscapes with gorgeous views. But the villages are tiny, agricultural, and asleep. The region to the west of Carcassonne is flat, full of vineyards and farm fields. Just to the north of Carcassone, the land is dry, but it rises above the town and offers wonderful views of the Pyrénées to the far south. Finally, the further north we ventured, toward the Montagnes Noires, or Black Mountains, the land grew rougher, scrubbier, and harsh.
The slide show starts just as we did, heading south toward Cavanac and Couffoulens. Enjoy the trip!
