Peyrepertuse
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Peyrepertuse © Claude choisel

If you only have time to visit one of the Cathar castles, then your best bet is the Château de Peyrepertuse (daily: Feb, Mar, Nov & Dec 10am–5pm; April, May & Oct 9am–7pm; June–Sept 8.30am–8.30pm; €4), not only for its unbeatable site and stunning views, but also because the complex is unusually well preserved. The access road starts in Duilhac or, alternatively, you can walk up from Rouffiac village, on the north side, by the GR36; in summer it's a tough, hot climb that takes the best part of an hour. But either way the effort is rewarded, for Peyrepertuse is one of the most awe-inspiring castles anywhere in Europe, clinging to the crest of a long, wickedly jagged spine of rock on the top of a mountain ridge, surrounded by sheer drops of hundreds of metres.

You enter on the north side through thickets of boxwood. The heaviest fortifications enclose the lower eastern end of the ridge, with a keep and barbican controlling the main gate. The castle is much larger than the others despite its precarious hold on the earth, with extensive buildings inside the outer wall, culminating in a keep and tower shutting off the highest point of the ridge, where such a pit of air opens at your feet that no artificial defence is necessary.

Surprisingly, the castle was taken by the French without much difficulty in 1240, and most of the existing fortifications were built after that. Whatever you do, don't go up in a thunderstorm; there can be some fierce ones in summer, and the ridge brings down the lightning as surely as a high-tension cable.

If you need to stay the night, head for ROUFFIAC. The hotel here, the Auberge de Peyrepertuse (tel 04.68.45.40.40; €30–40; closed late Dec to mid-Jan), also has dormitory accommodation, plus a restaurant (from €15.24). There are bus services on Wednesday and Saturday to St-Paul-de-Fenouillet on the main Perpignan D117 road, returning at 11am. Walkers can also call on the services of Balade Cathare (tel 04.68.45.05.10), based in Rouffiac, which runs a minibus shuttling people and bags around the area; it helps if you can give them as much notice as possible.

Moving on from Peyrepertuse, by car or by the GR36, you can return to St-Paul-de-Fenouillet through the narrow Gorges de Galamus, and in many places you can get down to the river for a swim. On the way you pass the eagle's-nest Hermitage St-Antoine, built into the side of the ravine.

Alternatively, the drive eastwards offers more castles, including Padern and the especially fine Aguilar, near Tuchan, which overlooks the hills and vales of the Côtes de Roussillon-Villages wine area, with magnificent views from the twisty climbing roads. From here you have the possibility of heading either north towards Narbonne or south through Tautavel to Perpignan.