Why this ride
180 km from Estagel to Estagel, about 4 h 02 of riding. It goes by way of Château de Termes, Château et remparts de Carcassonne and back through Château de Termes. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Château de Quéribus and Château et remparts de Carcassonne
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 180 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 02
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Château de Quéribus
Quéribus clings to the top of a limestone pinnacle like a crown, so improbably perched that it is hard to believe people ever built it, let alone held it under siege. It is often described as the last Cathar stronghold: when Montségur fell in 1244, the remaining Cathar refugees and their supporters found shelter here, and the castle held out until 1255, when it finally surrendered to the forces of the French king. It then became a royal fortress guarding the border with Aragon, until the frontier moved south in 1659 and its usefulness ended.
Read the complete Château de Quéribus write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Château de Quéribus is where the day begins. Next is Château de Termes.
2. Château de Termes
In the summer of 1210, Simon de Montfort, leader of the crusade against the Cathars, brought his army to the remote castle of Termes, in the heart of the Corbières, and laid siege to it. The castle's lord, Raymond de Termes, held out for four months, and the defenders only surrendered when their water supply was contaminated and disease broke out, or so the story goes. The castle became a royal fortress, guarding the border with Aragon, and was eventually dismantled in the seventeenth century. Today, its ruins sprawl over a rocky spur above the village, with remains of walls, towers and a chapel, and the views over the wild hills of the Corbières are tremendous.
Read the complete Château de Termes write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Château de Termes comes up about 37 km into the recorded legs. Next is Château et remparts de Carcassonne.
3. Château et remparts de Carcassonne
Carcassonne has two faces. Down by the river Aude sits the ordinary lower town, a grid of streets laid out in the thirteenth century around a market square, and on the hill above rises the Cité, a double ring of walls and fifty-odd towers that looks like the illustration to a children's book about knights. The Cité was inscribed by UNESCO in 1997, and it is one of the most visited monuments in France, with the nearest sizeable roads and everything a rider needs just a kilometre away in the modern town.
Read the complete Château et remparts de Carcassonne write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 87 km into the recorded legs you reach Château et remparts de Carcassonne. Next is back through Château de Termes.
4. back through Château de Termes
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Château de Termes write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Château de Termes, late in the day. Next is Château de Quéribus.
5. Château de Quéribus
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Château de Quéribus write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Château de Quéribus. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Château de Quéribus to Château de Termes
Château de Quéribus → Château de Termes is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Château de Termes to Château et remparts de Carcassonne
Château de Termes → Château et remparts de Carcassonne is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Château et remparts de Carcassonne to back through Château de Termes
Château et remparts de Carcassonne → back through Château de Termes is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Château de Termes to Château de Quéribus
back through Château de Termes → Château de Quéribus is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.