Before this summer, when I thought of Carcassonne my mind immediately went to board games. However, this summer I was traveling through southwest France and realized that I could make a stop in Carcassonne, the medieval fortified city that inspired the best-selling board game. Of course I had to check the town, and its famous castle and ramparts, out for myself!
In this article I will walk you through my visit to the Carcassonne castle and ramparts, which are just one part of the wider UNESCO World Heritage Site that includes the entire fortified city. I’ll explain what’s free to visit and what requires a ticket, how to plan your visit to the Carcassonne castle, what you need to know about accessibility and safety, and even how you can save some money on admission.
1 – The Castle is Inside the Medieval City
It’s possible to visit the medieval city of Carcassonne without actually going inside the castle. For example, the photograph taken above is not from inside the castle, but rather just a typical street scene in Carcassonne.
The historic hilltop town of Carcassonne is surrounded by fortifying walls, making you feel like you’re immersed inside a giant castle or fortress just by visiting the town. It’s free to enter the walled city and to walk along the old cobblestone streets.
The castle, official known as the Chateau Comtal, is just one (very large) part of the cité médiévale. Construction on the castle began in the eleventh century and continued for several hundred years, with the buildings and fortifications constantly expanding.
I chose to stay inside the medieval city of Carcassonne for two nights. There are only a few hotels inside the city walls, but their location atop the hill, inside the ramparts, means that guests have the entire town nearly to themselves in the mornings and evenings, after day-trippers depart.
2 – Buy Your Ticket Online
There are two lines to enter the Carcassonne castle: one for people who already have tickets, and one for people who need to purchase their ticket on-site. Of course, the first line moves faster!
The best place to buy your Carcassonne castle tickets is online at the official website. I bought my ticket one day in advance in high season, which tells me that booking months in advance isn’t really necessary. However, if you know your travel dates, it wouldn’t hurt to book a few days out.
If there are no tickets left on the official website or if you’re having trouble getting it to work, you could also book through a third-party supplier like Get Your Guide or Viator. Because these sites can buy blocks of tickets, they sometimes have availability after the official site sells out.
If you can’t get a ticket online before your visit, you can join the queue for visitors without tickets. Just keep in mind that might have to wait in line for a while, and you might have to be flexible with when you actually enter the castle and ramparts.
3 – Should You Go Right When the Castle Opens?
Often, the advice at busy tourist attractions is to get there early to beat the crowds. The Carcassonne castle and ramparts is one attraction where that advice might not hold up.
I did buy a timed ticket for the castle opening, which was at 10:00 at the time of my visit. I arrived about fifteen minutes early and found the line for ticket holders was already quite long. It was about 10:10 by the time I finally made it into the castle, and I noticed the children behind me in line were getting very annoyed with the wait.
Because I was staying inside the fortified town walls, I walked past the castle many times over the two days I was in Carcassonne. I never saw another line nearly as long as the one I waited in. This tells me that by booking a later entry time you can dramatically reduce your queuing time, although it’s likely to mean you’ll encounter more people during your walk on the ramparts.
4 – The Carcassonne Castle is NOT Accessible
Neither the castle itself nor the ramparts are accessible for travelers with limited mobility. The exhibits inside the castle and all of the ramparts are connected via countless medieval staircases, including spiral staircases, slippery stone staircases and staircases without lighting. Some of the steepest stairwells are specifically marked as being hazardous for children, with signs asking parents to hold children’s hands as they go up and down.
According to the castle’s official website, only the ticket office and the courtyard are wheelchair accessible. For travelers with some mobility, a few rooms within the castle are accessible via twenty or fewer stairs, but again these stairs are often slippery, dark and crowded. If you are visiting Carcassonne with a disability, you might want to work with a tour company that has expertise in accessible travel.
5 – Visit the Castle Before the Ramparts
Your ticket to the Carcassonne castle includes admission to the actual castle building and the rampart walls that encircle the entire town.
I recommend starting by visiting the actual castle building, which includes a mix of exhibit spaces (including a lapidary, an audio-visual presentation and a room with a model of the castle) and towers and walkways with views of the city and the landscape.
After you complete your castle tour, follow the signs to begin your rampart walk. Having already seen the castle, you are then free to leave the ramparts at either of the two intermediary exit points if you discover the stairs are getting to be a bit too much, the weather takes a turn for the worse, or you’d just rather relax with a coffee or a glass of wine.
6 – How Long Does it Take to Walk the Carcassonne Ramparts?
As you can see from the map above, the ramparts make a complete circle around the entire cité médiévale of Carcassonne, starting and ending inside the castle. The site advertises that walking the complete route should take one hour, however I completed the loop in forty minutes. For me, that included lots of stops to take photos, but not a lot of time spent reading the signs in the bastions en route.
If you have any sort of mobility limitations, or are traveling with children, the full loop of the ramparts could take closer to an hour and a half. There are no bathroom stops along the way, so make sure to use the toilets in the castle courtyard before you depart. You should also plan for rapid changes in weather that could include rain, wind or sun. My walk took place on a hot summer day, so I was glad to have sunscreen and a bottle of water.
7 – Returning Your Audioguide
You can rent an audioguide for the castle and ramparts for €4 as you’re entering the site. You will need to leave a valid government-issued photo ID card as a deposit, which means that if you choose to leave the ramparts via one of the midway exits you will then have to return to the castle entrance to return your audioguide and get your ID back. If you’re touring the castle and ramparts later in the day, make sure to leave yourself enough time to get back to claim your ID!
8 – Food and Drink at the Carcassonne Castle
At the time of my visit to the Carcassonne castle and ramparts there were two food kiosks operating in the courtyard. They had hot and cold drinks and small snacks, at very expensive prices. My recollection is that I paid €3 for a bottle of Cristalline water, which sells for €0.25 in a normal French supermarket.
The castle makes it clear that picnics are not allowed in the courtyard, but I don’t think anyone would stop you from having a quick snack of a granola bar or banana before beginning your rampart walk (especially if you sat on the stone benches rather than tables intended for kiosk customers). Unless you want to spend €3 per water bottle I also suggest bringing your own with you!
The only toilets in the facility are also located in this courtyard, and as I mentioned earlier I suggest using them before you head upstairs to the ramparts.
9 – How I Got a Discount on the Carcassonne Castle
As part of my trip to Carcassonne I joined an official English-language walking tour run by the Tourist Information Office at the Porte Narbonnaise entrance. Their office runs tours of the broader cité médiévale, not the interior of the castle and ramparts.
When I purchased my walking tour ticket I received a free Carca’Pass, which included a €2.50 discount on admission to the castle and the ramparts (along with many other discounts for attractions in the region). The pass is valid for a full year, so it’s worth keeping in case you happen to be passing by any other attractions during your trip.
If you have a Carca’Pass, you can book a discounted “partnership ticket” on the official website. When you enter the site the ticketing staff will confirm that you have the Carca’Pass with you, so don’t leave it in your Carcassonne hotel!
10 – Is the Carcassonne castle worth visiting?
Yes, if you’re going to be in Carcassonne I would definitely say it’s worth buying a ticket to the castle and ramparts. Carcassonne is the largest double-walled city in Europe, and the only way to ascend those record-breaking walls is by visiting the castle.
The Carcassonne castle interior isn’t overly memorable, but the one-hour walk along the ramparts with beautiful views of the historic town center, the fortified city walls and the Pyrénées landscapes is truly unforgettable.
Don’t leave without reading these travel guides for destinations in France near Carcassonne:
🦞 Les Grands Buffets de Narbonne – My Honest Review
⛵The Best Things to Do in Sete, France
🖼️ 15 Things to Do in Collioure, France
⭐ The Best Things to Do in Perpignan, France
🤩 How to Sleep in a (Luxury) Prison Cell in the South of France
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