Chateaux de Lastours: An historic Hike in Southern France

Wow. This was one of my favourite hikes that I’ve ever done – the weather was incredible, the views were breathtaking and the history was so interesting. I visited the wonderful village of Lastours in the South of France back in July this year whilst staying in Carcassonne to hike to its four ancient castles – and I can’t wait to show you how beautiful it is.

Hike Information

Location: There is a large car park in Lastours village, a perfect hike start point.

Hike distance and time: The hike is 3-6km depending on the route you take, and takes around 2-3 hours to complete, including stops at each of the castles on the route.

Terrain: The walk is largely steep up steps and requires at least a moderate level of fitness. That said, the way is well marked, it’s been stepped so there are no climbs or scrambles required. Be sure to wear good walking shoes, and take lots of water as it gets very hot.

Team Hike – if we can do it, anyone can!

The Route

A. Lastours Village

Start your walk in Lastours village, and be sure to take in some of the gorgeous houses there. The village has a river running through it, which is also nice to stroll along and they’ve made it look beautiful with lots of flower boxes everywhere.

B. Chateaux Visitor Centre

The access to the start point of the hike is the visitor centre, and it costs EUR7 per person to enter. There are toilets here, as well as a small shop and a display about the wildlife along the trail – including snakes – so be careful where you step!

The castles coming in to view from the bottom of the trail

You’ll see the exhibition referring to the Cathars, and the Chateaux de Lastours is one of the most famous Cathar Castle sites in Southern France. The Cathars were a branch of Christianity in the 1100s-1300s, who didn’t follow the exact teachings of Catholicism. As a result they were persecuted by the pope and Rome, with crusaders coming to remove them. They were tortured, killed, and their lands taken by the Catholics.

There are four castles at the site, and you can explore all 4 of them.

Another view on the way up to the first castle

C. The Castles

From the visitor centre, there is only one route up – so follow the steps! You’ll walk up the path, through some caves and end up with a fork left or right to the castles. We went right first to visit the first of the 4 castles on the site, then double backed to go on to visit the next 3.

We visited Quertinheux first, the furthest south along the crest on an isolated rocky outcrop. It consists of a circular tower and a polygonal curtain wall. Its main draw is the incredible view out over to the other 3 castles.

We then headed out to the furthest point – the largest of the four castles called Cabaret. It consists of a tower, a keep and a group of residential buildings in the centre. Climbing the tower is well worth it for the incredible views.

A welcome bit of shade inside Cabaret castle

View out to castles 3 and 4 from Cabaret tower

The Tour Régine was our third castle and is closest to Cabaret (you can see it in the photo above). It’s the most recent fortress (c.1260) and the smallest consisting of a round tower, surrounded by a small curtain wall which has collapsed. Below ground, the tower contains the largest cistern of the four castles.

View back to Cabaret from Tour Regine (L), and drop down the cliff (R)

Finally, we visited Surdespine which is the least preserved of the four castles and you can skip to save your legs. It’s on the highest part of the site, and consists of a square tower, a house and a cistern. It’s known for its murder holes and arched windows.

D. Back to Lastours Village

Hiking down you can go one of two routes – the way you came up, which is more direct, or circling the rocky mountain to wind down the other way. You don’t really see anything more going the longer route, and by this point in our day it was nearly 40C (104F) so we decided to go direct. We headed back to the car for a drink and an icecream!