jorgesanchez's travel recommendations

The Cathar stronghold of Montsegur is identified with the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach epic poem. It is located at about 80 Km from Carcassonne, 40 from Andorra or 30 from Foix. In the times of the French Inquisition (XIII century) all the Cathars castles in the Languedoc and Midi Pyrenees were besieged and its members burned. But a few Cathars were able to escape and crossing the Pyrenees arrived to Spain, supposedly carrying with them the Holy Grail (although this is a matter of speculation; nobody knows for sure). They stopped in the Monastery San Juan de la Peña, Kingdom of Aragon, and some other Spanish places until this Holy Relic was definitely secluded in the Cathedral of Valencia, where you can admire it today. There is a walking route of about 180 kilometres uniting all the French Cathars fortresses. If you arrive to Montsegur early in the morning, as I did, completely alone (I spent the night camping inside its ruins), the feeling of the place is overwhelming.

Address: outside Montsegur village Montsegur Midi-Pyrenees France Phone: + no available E-mail: noavailable@yahoo.com Price: budget