Carcassonne: Secrets of the Castle's Defense Self-Guided Tour
Description
How do you stop an army of 20,000 men? Carcassonne had an answer: double walls, more than one thousand arrow slits, and a narrow corridor between the ramparts designed as a killing zone. This self-guided audio walking tour takes you inside the engineering of Europe's largest medieval fortress, from Roman foundations to the siege that brought down the Cathars. You will walk the spaces between the walls where invaders were trapped, stand where Dame Carcas fooled Charlemagne with a single pig, examine how arrow slits gave defenders a lethal advantage, and end at the Basilica of Saint Nazaire with its remarkable stained glass. The tour plays on the Tourific app (iOS and Android), works entirely offline once downloaded, and is available in nine languages. Start anytime, pause whenever you like, and go at your own pace, no fixed schedule, no group to keep up with. Over 20,000 travelers have used our self-guided tours. The tour comes with a full refund guarantee.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Kick off your adventure at Porte Narbonnaise, walk along the Lices to discover the castle's defense mechanisms, and wrap up your tour by visiting the beautiful Basilique Saint Nazaire.
A castle inside a castle, with its own moat, drawbridge, and murder holes.
A blend of Romanesque shadow and Gothic light, with stained glass
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(11)
Very nice walk. The accompanying tests make the city come alive. The different locations are easy to find with the attached map and texts.
Bedankt voor je mooie feedback. Fijn om te horen dat je van de wandeling hebt genoten!
It was a disaster. I paid for the audio tour for three people. We waited but no-one came. We have had zero experience after paying for audio at Carcassonne. I would like my money back but I'm not even sure if that's possible. It has been a terrible disappointment. My husband and I are from Australia. we have a house in France and we met with an old friend from 50 years ago. He was from Spain and was eager to experience Carcassonne. NOTHING!!
Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback. We are genuinely sorry to read about your disappointment, but we would like to respectfully clarify a few important points about your booking. The product you purchased is a self guided audio tour. This is stated clearly in the title of the listing, as well as throughout the description, the inclusions section, and the what to expect section. No live guide is included in this experience, and none was scheduled to meet you at any location. The format is designed for travellers to explore at their own pace using the audio narration on their phone. Immediately after your booking was confirmed, we sent you the full set of access instructions, including the link to download the audio content and a step by step guide on how to start the tour. These instructions are also available in your Viator booking confirmation email. At no point during or after your visit did we receive a message from you, either directly or through Viator support, letting us know that something was unclear or not working. Had you reached out, we would have responded within minutes and ensured you, your husband, and your friend from Spain had a wonderful first experience of Carcassonne together. We regret that the format of the product did not match what you were expecting, and we would have welcomed the chance to make it right at the time.
Nice visit. Arrived around 1:30 pm, we stayed there until 7 pm
Merci beaucoup ! Nous sommes ravis que la visite vous ait autant plu et que vous ayez pu en profiter pleinement pendant plusieurs heures.
I purchased this tour hoping for a detailed guide to the interior of the castle. However, this tour focuses more on the city of Carcassonne, including the exterior of the castle and other major sites, rather than guiding you through the individual areas inside the fortress. Although I did not walk the route using the audio guide, I read through much of the materials and listened to some of the recordings. I am very familiar with the history of this region, and I found the content to be thorough, accurate, and well researched. It provides strong historical context and highlights the most interesting and important sites in the city. The audio quality is good, though it appears to be AI-generated. The voice is pleasant, but there are some mispronunciations, and the pacing is slow. That said, playback speed can be adjusted. I especially appreciated that each stop includes a full transcript, which makes it easy to skim and choose what to listen to. If I were to do do this tour in person, I think I would prefer reading to listening at some of the sites. I think it's a major bonus that you can tailor the experience to your own pace and needs. The download process was quick and easy—I had access to the tour within minutes of purchasing. The seller was also very responsive to questions and concerns. While this was not the interior castle guide I originally hoped for, it is a high-quality, informative tour of Carcassonne. I would recommend it to visitors who want a well-organized and historically sound overview of the city.
Thank you for your detailed feedback! We appreciate your thoughtful comments and are glad you found the content accurate and well researched. We also value your notes on the audio and expectations, and we’ll use them to keep improving the experience.
The only thing which was not ok is that the cathedrale was closed! The organizers should know when it is open and inform the tourists, because the last four or five points are inside!
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We’re very sorry for the inconvenience you faced with the cathedral being closed. The opening times are included in the tour details, We’ll review how this information is presented to make it even clearer for future visitors. Best regards, The Tourific Team
Explanations easy to understand and interesting; it would be helpful if the station numbers are announced before each description, so that you are not wrong
Vielen Dank, dass Sie sich die Zeit genommen haben, uns eine Bewertung zu hinterlassen! Wir freuen uns sehr darüber und freuen uns, dass Ihnen die Tour gefallen hat. Wir verbessern uns kontinuierlich anhand Ihres Feedbacks. Wir hoffen, Sie in Zukunft erneut in einer anderen Stadt begleiten zu dürfen. Mit freundlichen Grüßen Tourific-Team
The audio guide allows you to immerse yourself in the history of the facility in a comprehensive and detailed way. It is worth highlighting the precise and picture-rich explanation of the defences.
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review! We really appreciate it and we are glad that you enjoyed the tour. We hope to serve you again in the future. Best regards, The Tourific team
The comments of the audio guide, paying in addition to the entrance (3€) per person, are quite light, as are the restoration of the buildings,bof
Merci d'avoir posté un avis. Nous apprécions tous les retours, car cela nous aide à améliorer nos services. Cependant, il semble que cet avis ait été erronément associé à notre tour auto-guidé. Le tour auquel vous faites référence semble concerner un guide à l'intérieur du site, ce qui n'est pas lié à notre expérience auto-guidée. Notre tour auto-guidé de Carcassonne est conçu pour explorer l'extérieur du château et les environs, offrant une expérience basée sur une application qui permet aux utilisateurs de découvrir à leur propre rythme sans entrer dans les bâtiments, sans frais supplémentaires au-delà de l'achat initial du tour. Il n'y a également aucun coût supplémentaire lié à l'entrée, car la visite se déroule à l'extérieur du site. Nous vous demandons de bien vouloir déplacer cet avis vers le site que vous avez expérimenté, car une mauvaise note porte un préjudice à notre tour, qui n'est pas l'objet de cet avis. Merci de votre compréhension !
Great explanation you can really put yourself in. Can recommend it to anyone you can drift in peace. Class
Useful to know what to do during the visit. The map and photos clarify and avoid having to go around a lot or doubts.
Gracias por tomarse el tiempo para escribir una reseña detallada. Lo apreciamos mucho y nos alegra que haya disfrutado del tour. Esperamos poder servirle de nuevo en el futuro. Atentamente, El equipo de Tourific
