Foix
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Foix castle

Administrative centre of the département of Ariège, FOIX lies 82km south of Toulouse on the main Paris–Barcelona train line and the N20 road to Ax-les-Thermes and the Spanish border. It's an agreeable country town of narrow alleys and half-timbered houses, with an attractive old quarter squeezed between the rivers Ariège and Arget, filled with houses from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. For a stay in a Foix hotel, have a search on this website.

Dominating all are the three distinctive hilltop towers of the Château des Comtes de Foix, which contains the eminently missable Musée d'Ariège (May–June & Sept daily 9.45am–noon & 2–6pm; July & Aug daily 9.30am–6.30pm; Oct–April Wed–Sun 10.30am–noon & 2–5.30pm; €4) – though the views are worth the climb. Determined opponents of the territorial ambitions of the Capetian kings of France and stout defenders of Catharism, the counts of Foix drew upon themselves the wrath of Simon de Montfort senior, who four times laid unsuccessful siege to the castle, though he did capture the town in 1211. Their resistance was finally broken in 1229 when Roger-Bernard, the count of the time, was obliged to accept the feudal dominance of the French king. Foix's age of glory came in 1290 when its counts married into the house of Béarn. Although they transferred their court to Orthez in the fourteenth century, this was the beginning of a powerful Pyrenean mini-state, whose influence lasted three centuries and came to include the kingdom of Navarre, leading finally to the throne of France with the accession of Henri III of Béarn and Navarre as Henri IV of France in 1589.

The gares SNCF and routière are together on avenue de la Gare, off the N20 on the right bank of the Ariège; except on Sundays, there's a daily bus service east via Lavelanet to Quillan and four buses a day west to St-Girons. The tourist office is at 45 cours Gabriel-Fauré (July & Aug Mon–Sat 9am–7pm, Sun 9am–noon & 2–6pm; Sept–June Mon–Sat 9am–noon & 2–6pm; tel 05.61.65.12.12, www.mairie-foix.fr).

Most accommodation is found in the old town, on the west bank of the Ariège, though little of it is inspiring. The quietest and most comfortable option is the three-star Hôtel Lons, on 6 place Duthil, near the Pont Vieux (tel 05.61.65.52.44, fax 05.61.02.68.18; €40–55). The slightly cheaper La Barbacane, 1 av de Lerida (tel 05.61.65.50.44, fax 04.61.65.50.44; €30–40), and L'Echauguette, rue Paul Laffont (tel 05.61.02.88.88, fax 05.61.65.29.49; €30–40), both suffer from traffic noise. The Auberge Léo Lagrange (tel 05.61.65.09.04; under €30) at 16 rue Noël Peyrevidal offers hostel-style accommodation. The municipal campsite, Lac de Labarre (tel 05.61.65.11.58; closed Nov–April), is on the N20 towards Toulouse.

One of the nicest places to eat in the old town is Les 4 Saisons, at 11 rue de la Faurie (menus from €7.20 at lunch, €13.50 for dinner), while Auberge Miranda, rue Labistour, makes a good place for a drink and also offers simple meals (€9.20 midday, €11.20 eve).