Châteaux de Lastours, Medieval castle ruins in Lastours, France
Four distinct castles named Cabaret, Tour Regine, Surdespine, and Quertineux stand on a rocky ridge above the Orbiel valley in southern France.
The fortresses served as strongholds during the Albigensian Crusade in the 13th century, providing shelter to Cathar followers against Catholic forces.
Archaeological exhibitions at the site present artifacts and information spanning 4,000 years of regional history through systematic excavation findings.
The castles open daily from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM in winter and until 8:00 PM in summer, with adult tickets priced at 7 euros.
The castles incorporate natural rock formations into their defensive structures, with each fortress adapting its architecture to the specific terrain.
Location: Lastours
GPS coordinates: 43.33639,2.37833
Latest update: June 23, 2025 09:41
The region around Carcassonne features an area marked by medieval and Cathar history, with castles, abbeys, and old villages. The Cité of Carcassonne displays its city walls restored in the 19th century by Viollet-le-Duc, while the Canal du Midi has traversed the region for 240 kilometers since the 17th century. The castles of Quéribus and Peyrepertuse overlook the landscape from their rocky spurs at over 700 meters above sea level, serving as the last strongholds of the Cathar resistance in the 13th century. Villages like Minerve and Lagrasse showcase medieval architecture, with narrow streets, ancient bridges, and Benedictine abbeys. The region also includes the four Lastours castles aligned along a ridge, the Saint-Maurice Cathedral in Mirepoix with its 22-meter-wide Gothic nave, and natural sites like Lake Cavayère. These monuments and landscapes form a representative ensemble of the south of France’s historical and natural heritage, accessible from Carcassonne.
Limousis cave
3 km
Château de Roquefère, Roquefère
4.1 km
Cubserviès
6.8 km
Église Saint-Pierre-de-Vals
5 km
Château de la Caunette
1.8 km
Église Saint-Étienne de Mas-Cabardès
4.1 km
Chapelle Saint-Julien-et-Sainte-Basilisse de Villanière
1.3 km
Église Sainte-Anne de La Tourette-Cabardès
6.1 km
Castle of Mas-Cabardès
3.9 km
Croix de Mas-Cabardès
4 km
Église Saint-André de Roquefère
4.8 km
Puerto deportivo de Mutriku
4 km
Croix de La Tourette-Cabardès
6.1 km
Windmill Benazeth
6.6 km
Église Sainte-Foy de Roquefère
4.1 km
Église Saint-Saturnin de Trassanel
4.8 km
Église Notre-Dame-de-la-Lauze de Miraval-Cabardès
5.7 km
Quertinheux
104 m
Église Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul de Lastours
558 m
Église Saint Hilaire des Ilhes
1.6 km
Église Sainte-Marie d'Aragon
6.8 km
Cabaret
155 m
Trou de la Cité
196 m
Vieille église de Lastours
206 m
Ensemble de grottes à concrétions du Sud de la France
2.9 km
Tour Régine
73 m
Surdespine
17 m
Chapelle Saint-Mamès de Villeneuve-Minervois
5.4 kmReviews
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