Cosy accommodation on the Cathar Way

A full list of comfortable & convenient places to stay

This spring we walked the entire length of the Cathar Way (the Sentier Cathare) on a not-yet-announced-but-watch-this-space project. If you don’t know, the Cathar Way is a 260+km trail that winds through the Languedoc region in the South of France, linking a troop of 800 year old+ castles that dominate the rugged hillsides. It’s a beautiful but isolated route that took us almost three weeks, which meant that finding accommodation on the Cathar Way became very important indeed.

Read our:

7 secrets to know before visiting Languedoc

But it turned out the isolation of the route actually meant we could find some ancient and fascinating types of accommodation on the Cathar Way.

So we’ve compiled our full list of where we stayed day by day right here.

These places are mostly in the chambres d’hôte (CH)/B&B category common to France, and all are of a good standard: some move into the luxury bracket, whilst some just have the simple sanctuary of a fresh, clean bed. All offer breakfast with many providing delicious dinners too, table d’hôte style; this most definitely is welcome on the isolated road of the Cathar Way.

Now having said that you don’t have to do the B&B route when finding accommodation on the Cathar Way. France being France you could camp if you wanted to – there’s certainly plenty of campsites available en route. 

But we found each of these stays added something unique to our experience of walking the Cathar Way, so we personally recommend all of them:

Accommodation on the Cathar Way

Day 1

Walking from: Port-la-Nouvelle to the middle-of-nowhere

Stay at: Domaine Castelsac CH *

20kms into the Cathar Way, the trail has drawn away from the Mediterranean Sea and out onto rugged limestone moorland. Be warned: there is ne’er a village or a hamlet to be found in this wild place, but we discovered a hidden gem: Domaine Castelsec, a chambres d’hôte deep in the countryside offering hikers an eco B&B in an historic conversion that could frankly be something from Grand Designs. Add in dinner, hosted by the worldly-wise Mireille and her three curious pups and you have quite the first night.

Domaine Castelsec is about 2km off the route, but well worth the extra sidle along the road.

Facilities: 1-bed apartment with kitchen; 4-bed ensuite with mezzanine (suitable for families); double room with ensuite

Breakfast included, dinner extra

Day 2

Walking from: the middle-of-nowhere to Durban-Corbières

Stay at: Chez Lola CH *

It’s a bit of a relief to arrive into Durban-Corbières after wandering in the wilds for two days. Civilisation! A shop! A café-restaurant! Better still is staying at Chez Lola, comfortingly right in the middle of town. It’s another chambres d’hôte, but with a very different feel: a gracious conversion run by a lovely woman called (unsurprisingly) Lola, who herself has walked the Cathar Way. She’ll show you to one of her chic, high-ceilinged bedrooms, and offers a beautiful Continental breakfast in the morning.

Facilities: 3 double bedrooms, shared bathrooms, lounge.

Breakfast included, dinner as extra

Day 3

Walking from: Durban-Corbières to Tuchan

Stay at: Le Couvent *

Vineyard-rimmed Tuchan is the next obvious place that offers accommodation on the Cathar Way, and Sam at Le Couvent is the perfect host. Converted from a building once used as a convent (hence the name) Le Couvent is now run by Sam and her husband as a stylish and very comfortable B&B, complete with swimming pool and beautiful views of the surrounding mountains.

Tuchan itself is also very useful, with a shop and a restaurant.

Facilities: 2 family suites, a gîte with kitchen, pool

Breakfast included

Day 4

Walking from: Tuchan to Cucugnan

Staying at: La Table de Curé

Cucugnan might be one of the prettiest places to stay on the Cathar Way, a little maze of sunkissed streets set deep in the Languedoc wine country. La Table de Curé is situated perfectly en route, a small modern restaurant with rooms which are well-kept, simple, and with an easy choice for dinner.

Facilities: 3 rooms

Breakfast extra

Day 5

Walking from: Cucugnan to Prugnanes

Staying at: Domaine Coussères *

Ann and Joo run this frankly stunning hotel out in the Languedoc countryside. It’s a French villa really, hewn quite literally from rock (our bathroom wall was made of it) and is worth the sight out your window alone.

Domaine Cousseres is just off the Cathar Way and it’s a long day from Cucugnan to get here. Ann did mention she picks up walkers from nearby Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet (or even the Galamus Gorge further back) so that might be an option if you ask very nicely.

Facilities: several double and twin rooms ensuite with outdoor seating, a pool and amazing gardens

Breakfast included (a quite astonishing array of breads), dinner extra

Day 6

Walking from: Prugnanes to Axat

Staying at: Hotel Axat

Axat is another welcome pitstop back in the modern world, and the Danish owners of Hotel Axat can tell you plenty about the area and the trail. Knowing about the local flora AND where the next bank machine is is important when you’re hiking, and they can tell you both.

The rooms are clean and well-done – we particularly liked the wine crates repurposed as bedside cupboards.

Facilities: several double bedrooms, a lounge, atop a restaurant.

Breakfast extra, and there’s lots of food options for the evening in Axat

Day 7

Walking from: Axat to Quirbajou

Staying at: La Maison Jaune, Quirbajou *

This is a special stay. After the longish walk up to little Quirbajou, La Maison Jaune was a bit of a revelation: run by Françoise and Stéphane, this chambres d’hôte is in a rustic farmhouse with a modern twist: its interior is hollowed out into a spacious yoga studio (they do in fact run regular retreats). In all our time of weird and wonderful walking accommodation, we’ve certainly never seen this before!

Françoise and Stéphane are also smallholders so expect a dog or the odd cat, some goat-talk and fresh vegetables from the garden.

Facilities: 2 bedrooms above yoga studio with capacity for up to 7 people, one gîte with kitchen that sleeps 6+

For a very reasonable price you get an amazing dinner and breakfast.

Day 8

Walking from Quirbajou to Puivert

Staying at Bonnes Saisons *

English couple Tony and Sue run this beautifully converted B&B just on the outskirts of Puivert. The rooms are spa-level spotless and comfy, the breakfast the best we had in all the accommodation on the Cathar Way, and the views of the valley, mountains and Puivert Castle from their terrace are reason enough to stay a night here.

There’s also an Afghan-French fusion restaurant in Puivert, which seems to draw people from all around – and who could resist that?

Facilities: 2 double bedrooms ensuite, and a family suite with bathroom, plus also the possibility to hire the entire space as a gîte.

Best breakfast on the trail included, and at certain times of the year when restaurants are closed in Puivert, Tony and Sue will make you a nice dinner 

Day 9

Walking from: Puivert to Espezel

Staying at: Le 100 Unique, Espezel *

Listen, Espezel is not the most beautiful place on this list of where to stay on the Cathar Way. But it is so, so appreciated: a shop to stock up on food for the trail and a bar-restaurant with rooms above that mean you can get a good meal from the chef-owner Ronald within thirty paces from your bed.

And we really mean it: the courses are huge and delicious here. We managed to get pasta and chips and beef stew and a giant platter of vegetables each!

Facilities: 5 double bedrooms, 1 family room, all ensuite

Breakfast included, dinner extra

Day 10

Walking from: Espezel to Comus

Staying at: L’Oustal dé L’Annetta

Comus is the highest place we stayed on the Cathar Way and we could feel it: snowy in winter this little village is built in a darker stone, smaller windows shuttered with dark wood, and is really rather bleakly romantic. Ghislaine at L’Oustal dé L’Annetta runs a lovely, cosy place with a friendly welcome.

The rooms are beautifully done – some of the prettiest we’ve been in, with stained wood desks under sloping eaves, big old beds and skylights to capture those quick-changing mountain skies.

Facilities: 3 double bedrooms, ensuite.

Simple breakfast and multiple course meal extra

Day 11

Walking from: Comus to Montferrier

Staying at: Les Ninouninettes

This chambres d’hôtes is a great option if, like us, you can find no accommodation in Montségur (that is the more obvious place to stop, but we had some trouble with availability). Up a small lane from Montferrier, Le Ninouninettes lies in the shadow of the mountain in a hamlet of only four people – two of which are your hosts!

It’s a quiet location, in the best way. And inside there’s a log fire waiting and a lovely dinner.

Facilities: 2 double bedrooms, ensuite and a gite d’etape space

Excellent dinner and simple breakfast extra

Day 12

Walking from: Montferrier to Roquefixade

Staying at: Gîte d’Etape de Roquefixade *

The penultimate day on the Cathar Way brought us to the precarious village of Roquefixade, perched up high on a hillside beadily watching the Pyrenees. Rather than a CH, this is a gîte proper, a step up from a hostel but with a kind of chummy communal feel you’ll like if you want to meet other hikers. Sébastien runs it with quite a lot of Gallic charm and there’s a great bar to relax in (pop in there even if you’re not staying to grab a drink or some lunch).

Rooms are basic, clean and what you need at the end of the day.

Facilities: Twin rooms, double rooms and dormitory, as well as lounge and kitchen with washing machine and drier.

Food extra, but reasonably priced and well worth going for

Day 13

Walking from: Roquefixade to Foix

Staying at: Hotel Lons, Foix *

The end point of the Cathar Way, Foix has a variety of options on where to stay as it’s the largest place on the route. We stayed at Hotel Lons for its central and historic location, its friendly staff and its lovely restaurant terrace overhanging the river.

Facilities: several double and twin rooms, lounge areas and restaurant overlooking the river serving breakfast, lunch and dinner

Northern variant

Staying at: Hotel Cartier, Quillan *

There is a three-day variation on the Cathar Way via the town of Quillan that can be walked from the northern end of the Galamus Gorge, re-joining the main route at Coudons en route to Puivert. Quillan is a cheery, bustling place to stay (THREE bank machines – we became very appreciative of bank machines) and we can whole heartedly recommend Hotel Cartier.

Note: Asterisk accommodation on the Cathar Way indicate free stays for us while we walked and researched the route. This was however on our suggestion after careful research, and are of course our honest (good!) opinions of these places. We did stay in them all after all so we should know!

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