France road trip advice: Bordeaux to Carcassonne

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This was published 7 years ago

France road trip advice: Bordeaux to Carcassonne

By Michael Gebicki
The medieval fortress of Carcassonne in the south of France.

The medieval fortress of Carcassonne in the south of France. Credit: iStock

MY HUSBAND AND I ARE PLANNING TO DRIVE NEXT AUGUST FROM BORDEAUX TO CARCASSONNE, BASING OURSELVES IN PRETTY VILLAGES ALONG THE WAY. WHAT VILLAGES WOULD SUIT, HOW LONG SHOULD WE SPEND IN EACH, AND WHAT WEBSITES ARE GOOD FOR ACCOMMODATION?

J. TIERNEY, BAULKHAM HILLS

There is a hard choice to be made with this itinerary. From Bordeaux one possibility is to head south along the coast with stops at Arcachon and nudging into the Basque country around Biarritz before turning east to travel through pretty countryside on the north side of the Pyrenees. The other possibility is east from Bordeaux to the Perigord region as far as Sarlat-la-Caneda then south through the Lot region and meandering slowly towards Carcassonne. I would take the second option but it's a tough decision, and with four weeks you've plenty of time to wander.

For the websites, one great resource is The Most Beautiful Villages in France (les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france.org/en) For accommodation, take a look at Sawdays (sawdays.co.uk), Great Small Hotels (greatsmallhotels.com) and Charme & Caractere Hotels (hotels-charme.uk).

Book your accommodation well ahead as August is peak holiday time in southern France. Make three nights in each location your minimum stay.

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