Peyrepertuse

Peyrepertuse runs about three hundred metres along a narrow limestone crest at around eight hundred metres, and its plan simply follows the rock, widening and narrowing as the ridge does; the whole thing is roughly the footprint of the Cite of Carcassonne stretched along a knife edge. It came to France in 1240 and Louis IX rebuilt it as a frontier post against Aragon, adding the upper castle of Sant Jordi reached by the Escalier Saint-Louis, sixty steps cut straight into the rock with a drop beside them. It is one of the so-called five sons of Carcassonne, castles associated with the Cathar period.

What you actually see

• The ridge plan - three hundred metres of wall shaped by the rock.
• The Escalier Saint-Louis - sixty steps cut into the crest with exposure.
• The upper castle - Sant Jordi at the highest point of the ridge.
• The Corbieres panorama - Queribus and the Pyrenees from the walls.

When to go

April to June and September to October; the site closes in high wind, which is common, and in winter storms. Summer is hot with no shade on the ridge.

Honest expectations

The climb from the car park takes twenty to thirty minutes on a steep stony path. The Saint-Louis stair is exposed and closed in wind. Footwear matters and the site is unsuitable in wet conditions.

Nearby

Queribus lies southeast; the Gorges de Galamus are west.