Diego Delso, CC BY-SACastle and ramparts of the Cité de Carcassonne: tickets, opening hours and what to see
The CMN ticket opens the counts’ castle and the ramparts of the Cité. Under-18s enter free, and the monument strongly recommends booking ahead.
In short
- The CMN ticket opens the château comtal and the ramparts. Places are limited, and the monument strongly recommends booking ahead.
- Under-18s enter free, as do 18 to 25-year-olds who are EU nationals or regular non-European residents in France, on proof.
- Everyone enters free on the European Heritage Days weekend and on the first Sunday of each month from November to March.
- Tickets cannot be exchanged or refunded, even after loss or theft, so the date you pick is the date you visit.
- The ticket booths are at the castle’s barbican, a 200 m climb up the main street from the Porte Narbonnaise.
- Suitcases are refused, and the monument has no baggage deposit.
- 1,600 mlength of the 13th-century second wall
- 30 mheight of each tower of the Porte Narbonnaise
- 200 mclimb from the Porte Narbonnaise to the ticket booths
- 1853Viollet-le-Duc’s restoration begins, completed in 1911
Don't miss
The Porte Narbonnaise
Two spur-shaped towers, each 30 meters high, joined by a large guard room on the second floor, with the Saint-Louis barbican facing them.
The Pinte tower
The tallest tower in the fortress, raised on the western flank during the Albigensian Crusade, reached by steps and a spiral staircase beyond the second-floor model room.
The double wall
The 13th-century second wall, 1,600 meters long, whose wide, rusticated structure made assault ladders unstable.
The north walkway
Where the Gallo-Roman walls are best preserved, around the Marquière and Vieulas towers, the view runs from the Carcassès plain to the Montagne Noire.
The view west from the Tour de l’Évêque
Look back at the castle and the Basilica of Saint-Nazaire, then across the Aude to the Bastide Saint-Louis, the Corbières and the Pyrenees.
Castle and ramparts of the Cité de Carcassonne tickets: how to get them
Sold by tickets.monuments-nationaux.fr, at the official price.
| Ticket | Adult | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Self-guided tourStandard entry | €13 | Valid 1 October 2026 to 31 December 2026 |
| The discovery tourGuided tour | €14 | Valid 1 October 2026 to 31 December 2026 |
| Privilege TourGuided tour | Price on the official site |
Free entry (2026)
- Teachers
- On specific days
- Under 18s
- Under 26s from the EU
- Visitors with disability and one companion
- First Sunday of the month (November to March) (next: Sunday 1 November)
Which ticket is right for you?
You want to go round at your own pace
Self-guided tour
Castle rooms, ramparts and main courtyard, with audioguides lent at the ticket office in exchange for a valid ID.
You want a guide to read the fortifications
The discovery tour
1 hour through the emblematic areas, from age 6 according to the family page, and you can carry on alone afterwards.
You want the towers and rooms usually closed
Privilege Tour
A tour described as opening towers and rooms usually closed to visitors, in the cool of the morning or the light at the end of the day, from age 12.
Your visit, step by step
Porte Narbonnaise
Enter the Cité
The main entrance, reached over a drawbridge between two spur-shaped towers.
Main street
Climb to the castle
From the gate, a 200 m climb up the paved main street brings you to the castle’s barbican, where the ticket booths are.
Second floor
The model room
A model room on the second floor gives free access to the upper parts of the castle. From there, a short run of steps and a spiral staircase leads on to the Pinte tower.
Parapet walk
The lapidary rooms
The lapidary rooms open off the parapet walk, through the Tour de la Poudre. The audiovisual presentation is also on the second floor.
Outside the castle
The lices
You can stroll along the high lices to the Saint-Nazaire basilica, or through the lower lices as far as the Tréseau tower.
One CMN ticket for the counts’ castle and the ramparts
The Cité de Carcassonne is a medieval citadel on a hill on the right bank of the Aude. The ticket sold by the Centre des monuments nationaux (CMN) is for the château comtal, the counts’ castle, and the ramparts.
Avoid this mistake
Bring the document: the practical page warns that without valid proof of entitlement, access to the visit will be refused.
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The ticketing page describes the self-guided visit as the castle and its rooms, the ramparts and the main courtyard, explored at your own pace.
The official channel is the CMN ticketing site, which presents itself as the official ticketing of the Centre des monuments nationaux. The monument says places are limited and booking is strongly recommended. Its accessibility page adds that booking in advance means less of a wait. The checklist below covers the e-ticket and the no-refund rule.
The price changes with the season, with one rate from April to September and a lower one from October to March: see the ticket table above. Last entry is 45 minutes to one hour before closing.
Who gets in free, and with what proof
The main free categories include under-18s and two other groups:
- 18 to 25-year-olds who are European Union nationals or regular non-European residents in France
- a disabled visitor with the person accompanying them, on valid proof such as the French Mobility and Inclusion card or a foreign equivalent.
The monument is also free on the Saturday and Sunday of the European Heritage Days, the third weekend of September, and on the first Sunday of each month from November to March.
Worth checking before you pay the full rate:
- Holders of an SNCF TGV Inoui or Intercités train ticket valid for less than 5 days pay a partner rate at the ticket office, as do holders of the Carca’City Pass.
- The Passion monuments card gives one year of unlimited access to more than 80 monuments in France, this one included.
Self-guided route, discovery tour or Privilege Tour
The CMN ticketing page lists three ways in.
| Option | What it covers | What the ticketing page adds |
|---|---|---|
| Self-guided tour | Castle rooms, ramparts and main courtyard, at your own pace | Agents on the route answer questions. Short mediations may punctuate the visit |
| Discovery tour | Guided walk through the monument’s emblematic areas | 1 hour. You can carry on alone afterwards |
| Privilege Tour | Guided, with towers and rooms usually closed to visitors | 90 minutes, from age 12 |
The ticketing page calls the discovery tour ideal for everyone: a guide reads the fortifications of the castle and the rampart with you and traces how the military architecture of the Cité evolved. The family page sets it from age 6. Before or after any guided tour, you can still walk the self-guided route.
If you go round alone, three aids are on offer:
- Audioguides are lent at the ticket office in exchange for a valid ID.
- A children’s audio tour is made for ages 6 to 10.
- For 8 to 10-year-olds, the Margot game booklet is sold at the ticket office.
From the Porte Narbonnaise up to the castle
The main entrance to the Cité is the Porte Narbonnaise, reached over a drawbridge. Built around 1280 to defend that entrance, it was designed as an independent fortification: two spur-shaped towers, each 30 meters high, joined on the second floor by a large guard room, with the Saint-Louis barbican directly opposite.
The visit steps above take you from this gate to the castle and round it.
The castle, a fortress within the fortress
The castle is a fortress within the fortress, and its owners shaped it in turn:
- 1067 The Trencavel family received the viscounty of Carcassonne in 1067.
- Around 1130 They built a seigneurial residence, the palatium, around 1130, on top of the Gallo-Roman rampart.
- 1226 Once the Cité was annexed to the royal domain in 1226, the castle became the home of the seneschal, an officer appointed by the king.
During the Albigensian Crusade the residence was fortified: crenellations turned the roofs into firing posts, and the Pinte tower went up on the western flank, the tallest tower in the fortress. The visit steps above follow the monument’s own route description, from the model room to the lices.
After the visit, the monument’s family page suggests strolling the streets of the Cité and walking along the lices.
Two walls, two views
The double wall is the reason for the climb. In the 13th century, a second wall, 1,600 meters long, doubled the Gallo-Roman rampart. Its wide, rusticated structure made assault ladders unstable, and Carcassonne was then considered impregnable.
- 1804 Napoleon removed Carcassonne from the list of strongholds in 1804, and the neglected walls were dismantled and sold piece by piece to local masons.
- 1853 Prosper Mérimée entrusted the work to Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, and the restoration began in 1853.
- 1911 The restoration was completed in 1911.
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Two viewpoints on the walls repay a stop:
- To the north, where the Gallo-Roman walls are best preserved (the monument cites the Marquière and Vieulas towers), the walkway gives a panorama from the Carcassès plain to the Montagne Noire.
- To the west, toward the Tour de l’Évêque, you look back at the castle and the Basilica of Saint-Nazaire, then across to the lower town on the left bank of the Aude, the Bastide Saint-Louis, with the Corbières and the Pyrenees on the horizon.
An orientation table has stood since 1908 at the top of the Tour-Porte Saint-Nazaire, on the inner wall.
What Viollet-le-Duc rebuilt
Much of what you see was restored.
Viollet-le-Duc’s work was criticized in his lifetime, for example for slate roofs suited to northern France rather than terracotta tiles.
Steps, heat and what to leave behind
The self-guided route is demanding, with numerous steps and spiral staircases. Only the barbican and the main courtyard are accessible to visitors with reduced mobility, and the monument strongly advises disabled visitors to come with an able-bodied companion, because the route is vast and hilly.
Seats are available in the main courtyard and in the lapidary museum.
In bad weather or extreme heat, the route may be modified and some areas closed for safety. On hot days the monument suggests a hat, a bottle of water and sun cream.
No luggage
Suitcases are not permitted, and no baggage deposit is offered within the monument.
Opening hours
| Period | Days | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 1 October to 31 December | Every day | 9:30 am to 5 pm last entry 4:15 pm |
| ||
Before you go
- Tickets cannot be reissued, exchanged or refunded, notably in the event of loss or theft, so check the date before you pay.
- The e-ticket can be printed at home or shown on a phone or tablet.
- Flash photography is not allowed in the castle.
- Pets stay out, except guide dogs and assistance dogs.
- Picnics are not permitted inside, but food and drink are available in the main courtyard.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair access
- Partly wheelchair accessible
Map and nearby sights
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to book Carcassonne castle tickets in advance?
The monument says places are limited and strongly recommends booking on the CMN’s official ticketing site. Booking ahead also means less of a wait, and the e-ticket can be shown on a phone or tablet.
What does the Carcassonne castle ticket include?
The self-guided visit covers the castle and its rooms, the ramparts and the main courtyard, at your own pace. The CMN ticketing page also lists a one-hour discovery tour and a 90-minute Privilege Tour, from age 12.
Who gets in free at Carcassonne castle?
Under-18s, 18 to 25-year-olds who are EU nationals or regular non-European residents in France, and a disabled visitor with their companion. Bring valid proof: without it, access to the visit is refused.
Is there a train ticket discount at Carcassonne castle?
Yes. An SNCF TGV Inoui or Intercités ticket valid for less than 5 days gives a partner rate at the ticket office, and so does the Carca’City Pass.
Is Carcassonne castle wheelchair accessible?
Only the barbican and the main courtyard are accessible to visitors with reduced mobility. The route has numerous steps and spiral staircases, and the monument strongly advises disabled visitors to come with an able-bodied companion.
Can I bring a suitcase into Carcassonne castle?
No. Suitcases are not permitted, and the monument offers no baggage deposit.
Sources
- remparts-carcassonne.fr official 6 pages
- tickets.monuments-nationaux.fr official 3 pages
- Wikimedia Commons
- Wikipedia
- wikidata.org
Facts last checked on 26 October 2026. Prices and opening hours change, often in January: confirm on the official website before you go.