If you don’t mind sharing sights with 30 or 40 formerly complete strangers, a tour is the sanest way to see Europe. And your guide will fill your mind with interesting stories and copious dates that you are sure to forget. But if you want to do-it-yourself in France, a car is a must. I was skeptical but trust me – you need a car.
You also need to be selective, especially when it comes to châteaux and medieval cities. A scholar of the period could spend a career studying all the castles in le Midi, southern France. There are fewer authentic medieval cities but enough to require restraint. The names are unfamiliar to the English tongue, their histories are generally irrelevant to us Americans and the images seem to run together like wet paint.
Châteaux visits are expensive and you can observe many of them from the outside for free. There are a few that are worth a peek inside, if only because of the time and energy getting there. Châteaux Montsegur and Châteaux Peyrepertuse were two we selected on a long day of driving. They were built in the 11th and 12th Centuries as border outposts and eventually became the homes of feudal kings.
Towers of Carcasonne
Carcassone is a very complete walled city. The streets inside the two-mile long wall look much like they did centuries ago except now they cater to tourists. There are even a couple of very upscale and “tres cher” hotels inside if you are so inclined. As with much of France, Carcassone’s history is one of Gauls, Romans, Visigoths, Saracens and Franks. Much of it was rebuilt before the French Revolution and it became a World Heritage Site in 1995.
St. Cirq Lapopie
Our new friends, Alan and Diana (more about them in another entry), took us to St. Cirq Lapopie, one of France’s picturesque medieval towns. The weather was gloomy with low clouds hanging on the hillsides, which made us feel almost like we had been transported back in time. It is kick to walk the hilly, narrow, twisted streets, not really knowing where you will end up but not worried because the town is so tiny. A good way to remember each town is to have a nice lunch in each one but we went elsewhere.
