To do in and around Limoux

So much to do! To help you plan your vacation, we've collected our favorites here. 

Enjoy! By the way, when I mention the "Cathar" castles, it's just the terminology used by the marketing wizards in these parts. The Cathars didn't build anything, but there are lots of photogenic places where they were massacred. 

(Friends, I haven't yet figured out how to install links in this website builder, so you will unfortunately have to scroll.)

In Limoux

Seasonal events

Restaurants in and around Limoux

A perfect day in the Razès

A perfect day in the Cabardès (Montagne Noire, north of Carcassonne)

A perfect day in the Corbières (between Limoux and the coast)

Another perfect day in the Corbières

Special mention

In Limoux 

The weekly market is Friday morning. The food market is in the area in front of the post office and in the covered market behind the post office. Clothing and household items are on Place de la République, the town center. There is also a cheaper market on Allée des Marronniers. 

In July and August, the Tuesday evening market (marché nocturne) is where you can find souvenirs and gifts. 

Atelier des Vignerons on Place de la Republique is a good place to buy local wines. 

Seasonal events 

July: The Tour de France, of course -- all month long, with the nearby Pyrenees always among its highlights. 

September: Visa Pour l'Image in Perpignan (1.5-hr drive from Limoux) is the international festival of photojournalism. This annual event occurs in the first two weeks of September, with the first week for pros and the second week for the general public. Stunning.

October: If you're around for the first weekend in October, neighboring village Magrie transforms itself into a giant art exhibition for L'art s'invite a Magrie.

Restaurants in and around Limoux

In approximate order of preference. 

We are generally disappointed by the restaurants in Limoux, and we usually find it worthwhile to drive to several great restaurants in the surrounding area. Notable exceptions in Limoux are our current fave La Gare d'Eden, the ambitious but noisy L'Odalisque, and good pizza from a great guy (Jean Mi). 

The Place de la République in Limoux is a great place to sit for a coffee or aperitif, to see and be seen, and the restaurants on the Place don't need to provide good food or service to fill the seats. The North Americans tend to favor Café de Commerce for coffee.

La Table de Franck Putelat (80 chemin des Anglais, Carcassonne). Our go-to restaurant for culinary wonders, a Michelin two-star marvel. See our story Tasting menu. Dig deep and enjoy. 

La Gare d'Eden (Ave de la Gare, Limoux). A cute little restaurant with good food, a warm welcome, and an exquisite patio out back. 

Brasserie A Quatre Temps (2 Bd Barbes, Carcassonne). Franck Putelat has expanded into casual cuisine with this stupendous brasserie. Seasonal menu. Great fun. 

Les Saveurs du Terroir in the tiny, funky village of Bugarach. Always a crowd-pleaser, 45 minutes from Limoux. Chef Renaud and wife/hostess Cathy will make you very happy. Bring a good appetite. (Are they still open post-COVID? Best to call and check.)

L'Odalisque (rue des Cordeliers). Finally a fine-dining place in Limoux! It deserves the great reviews it's been getting. Choose a menu that suits your budget and consider the wine pairings. Excellent value.

Pizza Jean-Mi (23 rue Jean Jaurès). Inventive pizzas from a great guy who is a local institution. Take-out or hang out and enjoy the on-street ambiance. 

A perfect day in the Razès

The rolling hills of the Razès, west of Limoux, are where you go in July to photograph sunflowers (July). 

The Monday market in Mirepoix, some 45 km west of Limoux, is considered the best in the area. Go there in the morning, hang out in a café and visit the little shops around the exquisite central place of Mirepoix. 

Make an excursion to the église rupestre (church carved into the rock) in the nearby town of Vals, a very special place. If you're lucky, you may be the only visitors. 

A perfect day in the Cabardès

Canal du Midi, dramatic scenery, ruins of "Cathar" castles, and a huge cave. 

Acrophobes, klutzes, and the faint of heart should avoid the climb to the Lastours chateaux, and claustrophobes should avoid the Cabrespine cave. You've been warned. Others will enjoy. 

Get on the road about 10am. Leave Carcassonne by driving north on D118. Admire the Canal du Midi on your right. Soon you will turn toward direction Conques-sur-Orbiel (D201), then direction Lastours (D101). In Lastours you will visit the chateaux and have lunch. 

Park in the well-marked lot in Lastours.  Visiting the chateaux will take about two hours.  If it's almost lunchtime, buy a sandwich at Le Moulin de Lastours and plan to eat it on the top of the mountain. Otherwise plan on a restaurant meal after visiting the chateaux.

Visit the chateaux. 

If you haven't eaten lunch yet, enjoy regional cuisine at the family restaurant l'Auberge de l'Orbiel in the center of town. 

Drive up to the belvedère (viewpoint) by taking the steep road that leads up the hill on the opposite side of the road from the chateaux. Your ticket to the chateaux will also gain you admission to the belvedère, where you have a fantastic view of the chateaux.

Descend back down to Lastours, retrace your path toward Carcassonne, and watch for signs to Gouffre géant de Cabrespine, a gigantic cave. Enjoy the cave. I haven't been there recently, but I would allow an hour or two for the tour.

A perfect day in the Corbières

See our story Middle of nowhere to understand your objectives. Take a map and choose someplace around Villesèque-des-Corbières or Embres-et-Castelmaure to go for a hike. Eat lunch or dinner at Le 28 Pardiin Cascastel. Taste wines at a cave coopérative in Embres-et-Castelmaure or Cascastel.  Drive home carefully. 

Another perfect day in the Corbières 

You will be doing a lot of driving. 

Take D118 to Quillan, D117 to St Paul de Fenouillet. If time permits, take a side trip to visit one of the Cathar chateaux (Peyrepertuse or Quéribus). 

Back in St Paul, turn north to the Gorges de Galamus. Visit the Hermitage in Gorge de Galamus. Continue around the west side of the Pic de Bugarach to the village of Bugarach. 

Enjoy lunch or dinner at Bugarach Les Saveurs du Terroir (but call to verify if/when they're open). 

At Rennes les Bains, visit the Roman baths just north of town. Possibly take a dip across the road where the hot springs flow into the river. 

Special mention 

Le Monastère Adventures cycling vacations -- the adventure that got us to Limoux in the first place. Chris and Fabienne offer cycling vacations par excellence from their five-room hotel in a restored monastery. You will need to reserve at least a year in advance. 

Rennes le Chateau is where Dan Brown did research for The Da Vinci Code. See Limoux story Our own Da Vinci Code mystery.