Carcassonne is a wonderful place to visit but it does get very busy. Combining a visit to the city with a drive in the surrounding countryside is a good way to get away from the crowds and get a feel for the local area. If you are short on time this trip can could be done in half a day if you wanted to combine it with a morning visit to La Cité or you can take your time and explore a little more of some of the towns and villages en route.
Leave Carcassone on the D6113 and head to the village of Pennautier. As you enter you will see Chateau Pennautier which has buildings on either side of the road. To the left is the tasting room and restaurant. Here you can taste a selection of the property’s recent vintages and purchase the wine. Next door is the restaurant which is a lovely place for lunch. They also do tours of the winery but they require prebooking, especially in the summer months.
Head back to the D6113 and then take the D629 to Montolieu, a hill town which is known for the large number of secondhand bookshops, fifteen or so at the last count! It is very a haven for writers and artists and well worth a visit. The road through the town is narrow and steep in places but don’t let that put you off. its well worth the effort.
From Montolieu carry on on the D629 to Saissac. Here you will find superb views of the Vernassonne Gorge and a ruined Cathar Castle which can date its origins back to the eleventh century although the ruins on view date from the sixteenth.
Leave Saissac on the D103 for a very pleasant drive to St Papoul. The Abbey of St Papoul is a Benedictine abbey which was first appears in documents in 817. The cloister here was built in the early part of the fourteenth century, it is a lovely, quiet place to spend a few moments.
Heading back onto the D103 will bring you to the town of Castelnaudary which is home to the French Foreign Legion and lays claim to be the World Capital of Cassoulet. You can certainly eat a lot of cassoulet here if you so choose. Castelnaudary is also on the Canal du Midi and the banks of the canal are great for walking and cycling. Just outside the town is the village of Mas Saintes Puelles where you can pick up signs to Poterie NOT Frères which occupies a charming location on the bank of the canal next to a stone bridge crossing. This is where you can see the traditional vessel for cooking cassoulet being made and you can even buy one as a souvenir to take home.
From Castelnaudary you can return to Carcassonne either by the D6113 or take the much faster A61 autoroute.