Remnants of the Cathar castles are confined to a fairly small area of southern France with all of them within a couple of hours drive. This being the case, it's possible to see them all in a single day or, more realistically, over the course of a couple of days.
The first group consists of Aquila, Peyrepertuse and Queribus which takes around an hour to drive. Arques can be seen along this route but isn't a Cathar castle.
Aquila is the smallest of the group, taking under 30 minutes for a complete visit. There's a small charge to visit the remains. Although it doesn't look like much today, it's one of the "five sons of Carassonne" (which include Peyrepertuse, Puilarens, Queribus and Termes).
Arques isn't a Cathar castle as such but the nearby village contains an excellent Cathar museum and the castle is interesting architecturally.
Queribus is the site of the last stand of the Cathars and occupies an imposing position making it visible for miles around. The car park is right at the base of the castle but the walk is quite steep into the castle itself; allow about an hour.
Peyrepertuse is perhaps the most photogenic of the castles and was built on a grander scale than the others in this group.
Villerouge-termenes can be seen along with this group. It isn't a Cathar castle but is the site where the last Cathar, Guilhem Bélibaste, was burnt at the stake in 1321. It's surrounded by the village of the same name.
The second group of castles consists of Montségur, Puilarens, Puivert and Termes. Starting from Queribus it would take around three hours to drive around this group which is spread out over a much larger area than the first group.
Termes is larger than Aquila but in an equally poor state of repair. You get excellent views of the surrounding countryside after ascending from the village of Termes.
Puilarens isn't far from Termes and much closer to the D117 which is the main road through this area. It towers above the village of the same name. The Cathar deacons fled here after Montségur fell and finally surrendered around the same time as Queribus was captured.
Puivert is around an hour further along the road over which the scenery changes markedly as it rises further into the mountains. This is by far the best preserved of the castles so your visit will be amply rewarded. On a clear day you can see Montségur in the distance.
Montségur can be reached in about 30 minutes from Puivert. Much of the present-day interest in the castle comes from the Da Vinci Code book and film. The site itself is spectacular perched on top of quite a substantial hill which you'll need to be fairly fit to ascend. Although most people take the route directly from Belesta, it's best to go up via Lavelanet.
Not to be forgotten are Carcassonne, Coustaussa and Lastours which are within about 40 minutes of each other.
Carcassonne is by far the largest of the castles and really more of a fortified town than a true castle. Having said that, it's one of the most visited attractions in the area. Very touristy as you can probably imagine but no less genuine for that.
Coustaussa was in quite good repair into the 1800s when the woodwork was stripped and sold by one of the locals. You can include this with the second group or with the third along with Carcassonne.
Lastours is north of Carcassonne and three of the four present-day towers are of Cathar origin (the fourth being French).
You've a choice of three main airports in this region depending on where you choose to start your tour of the castles. Toulouse (TLS) and Carcassonne (CCF) are the most popular choices and from either it's easy to see the Carcassonne and Montségur groups of castles. From the other end, Perpignan (PGF) or even Girona (GRO) are good choices for the Queribus and Montségur groups.
Public transport between the various sites is very poor so you'll need a car.
A very popular base for the Queribus and Montségur groups is Auberge Mas Camps which has views of Queribus from the bedrooms.
