Auberge de Montsegur, 09300 Montsegur

This country inn, housed in a 15th century building in the historic village of Montsegur, where the Cathar Chateau towers overhead, is an excellent lunchtime destination after  a (quite tough) climb up to the Chateau itself. It has recently changed hands and is now run by a multlingual German couple who make you feel very welcome in their new surroundings.

Tables are set in a pretty courtyard with a fountain and lots of flowers and shade trees but there is also an indoor dining room with big beams and rustic furniture. . My friend had suggested we lunch here so that we could try their famous trout, but sadly it was no longer on the menu, though apparently, due to high demand,  it will return later in the season!

However there were plenty of other good things on offer -the starters were home- made foie gras or smoked salmon, followed by a  civet of wild boar, civet of venison, Potee from Auvergne, or duck breasts.  Desserts were home-made profiterolles or apple tart. If nothing on menu of the day suits you  there is also an a la carte menu available.

The 3 course menu was Euros 19 and we washed it down with a Blanquette de Limoux Brut from the area.

The Auberge also has rooms to rent and if you are a walker there’s wonderful countryside all around waiting to be explored. The village of Montsegur itself, with its lovely church and winding streets,  is very picturesque and pretty well car- free as you have to park on the outskirts . The chateau is one of the most important sites in Cathar history – it was here that the Cathars made one of their last stands, but after a series of sieges from 1243 to 1244 the “heretics” finally succumbed to the  forces of the Pope and his French allies.  All the leaders, who were known as the Parfaits, were then burnt at the stake and the chateau was in large part destroyed.

There are several other Cathar chateaux to be visited in the region, such as  Peyrepeuse and Queribus , and for lovers of history and of grandiose scenery it is a wonderful area to explore.