Château de Peyrepertuse & the wine district

The largest Cathar castle – and the Maury wines

From the 2014 guide – ThomasDown on the inland road to Perpignan you come down into the Languedoc wine district. Maury, for example, is a good place and there are vineyards everywhere you look. There are also two Cathar castles – Peyrepertuse is the largest, Quéribus is the other.

Peyrepertuse stretches along a 300-metre rocky ridge. Taste Maury's sweet red wine (vin doux naturel) at a local producer.

The history of the Cathars

Peyrepertuse surrendered to the king in 1240, and Louis IX built the upper castle of Sant Jordi at the very top of the rock.

UNESCO World Heritage

Royal Capetian Fortresses of Languedoc

World Heritage since: 2026

Eight fortresses that the French kings built or rebuilt in the 13th and 14th centuries after the Albigensian Crusade, to hold the border with the Kingdom of Aragon: the castle in Carcassonne and seven sentinels on rocky ridges – Aguilar, Lastours, Montségur, Peyrepertuse, Puilaurens, Quéribus and Termes. They are often called Cathar castles, but the walls you see today are mostly the king's, built after the fall of the Cathars. World Heritage since July 2026.

Visit: All the castles charge an entrance fee and sit on steep summits – allow a 15–45 minute walk uphill in sun and wind. Peyrepertuse and Quéribus may close when the tramontane is blowing hard.

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Château de Peyrepertuse & the wine district

The history of the Cathars

UNESCO World Heritage

Royal Capetian Fortresses of Languedoc

Trails passing here

Road trips passing here

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