FRANCE - Cite de Carcassonne, A Fortified Medieval City

We were having so much fun relaxing in Salou that we considering cancelling our time in Carcassone, France and extending our time at La Siesta Salou Camping Resort. However, we realised that a) the accommodation in Carcassone was no longer refundable and b) there wasn’t any availability at the resort park. But I’m glad we continued on to Carcassone! I had only seen a few photos prior to decided to add it to our itinerary, so I was surprised to realise how extensive the ancient citadel is. We had a fantastic time exploring the walled medieval city.

The fortress has over 2,500 years of history and was occupied by Romans, Visigoth and Crusaders before it fell into ruins and was nearly demolished in the mid 19th century. Thankfully it was restored and serves as one of the best examples of a medieval fortified city in France.

Inside the fortified walls are the Basilica of Saint Nazaire and the Chateau comtal de Carcassonne and many restaurants, crafts shops including leather work, soaps, perfume, jewellery and souvenirs. There is even a haunted house attraction where actors in costumes chase you for the thrill of it - we did not do it, although the girls were intrigued, if not a little confused. by the whole concept.

Carcassone was also has a Museum of the Inquisition, which details some of the gruesome torture that was inflicted during the inquisitions that took place in Carcassone against the Cathars in the 12th Century. We did not go into this either - entirely not appropriate for kids.

We did walk around the ramparts of the Chateau and took in the surrounding views. And were awe struck by the stain glass windows and vaulted ceilings of the Basilica. I thought that the Chateau could of had more historical information and displays, it had a lot in the way of architectural information.

It’s free to enter the fortified city, there’s a few hotels and even a few residents that live within the walls. But we did pay 11 Euro per adult to enter the Chateau area. It was well worth it to see the view over the medieval city and the newer part of Carcassonne from the ramparts. ( Kids are FREE )

The concentric circles you can

We stayed in the newer part of Carcassonne ( pronounced Car-Ca-Son if you were wondering ) in a lovely two bedroom apartment. It was quite charming in itself and we were able to walk across to the medieval fortress quite easily. One full day was definitely enough to explore both the new and old areas of Carcassone, but the whole area surrounding it looked like it would be worth exploring - lots of vineyards, quaint towns and ancient sites.

SPAIN - Beachside Holiday Resort Living in Salou

After Huesca we drove south to the coast of Spain, to the beach side resort town of Salou. Salou is just south of Tarragona and about an hour and a half south of Barcelona. 

We when booked accommodation in this area, we were looking for a family friendly resort that was close to the beach and La Siesta Salou Camping Resort turned out to be perfect! Just what we were hoping for. 

Salou is home to a large theme park / water park called Port Adventura and it had a similar vibe to Surfer Paradise on the Gold Coast in Australia. Very much orientated towards either tourists or retirees. But we didn’t mind, all we wanted to do was enjoy the sunshine, the beach and the pools of the resort - we had some fantastic weather for it too, although the day that we arrived there was a huge downpour and the roads were nearly flooded as we arrived into Salou. 

We had three full days in Salou and the first day happened to coincide with when my sister, Claire was going to be in Barcelona as part of a work trip. We made plans to drive up towards Barcelona and then park at an outlet mall near the airport where we then caught the train into the main train station of Barcelona. Claire was conveniently staying in a hotel above the train station. 

It was great to see her and catch up over lunch, but we decide to head back to the resort for the afternoon to make the most of the pools and the hot weather, rather than explore Barcelona. Do I regret not seeing more of Barcelona when we had the opportunity? Maybe a little. The kids definitely had more fun swimming but in hindsight perhaps I could have spent the afternoon in Barcelona with Claire, while Braino took the kids back and I could have made my way back later in the afternoon. But to be honest, Claire had already seen a lot of Barcelona on previous holidays and my brain was in relaxation mode. 

La Siesta Salou Camping Resort had camping, caravan and cabin facilities with five different pools, a playground, a kids club, restaurants. It was only two blocks back from the beach. The pools were amazing, we had a lot of fun swimming in them all together. Hallie especially loved the waterslides. We were staying in a little holiday cabin so we bought groceries and cooked a lot of our meals in our cabin. We did eat at the buffet on the first day but we found that the buffet was rather expensive if your kids don’t tend to eat much. 

There was a family of kittens that roamed the area around the cabins. They looked quite healthy and were very friendly, Rooney loved playing with them. They did get a bit too cheeky and tired to come inside our cabin on a few occasions. 

The beach of Salou was amazing! On one of the days the weather was absolutely perfect, we spent close to 4 hours at the beach! We got the girls a little inflatable board to ride the waves on, which they loved. The waves and the water temp were perfect for the kids, I stayed in the water myself for hours which is quite rare. 

SPAIN - Following the Pyrenees Mountains South to Huesca

We left San Sebastian and drove south, following the Pyrenees Mountains to the town of Huesca. We only stayed for one night in Huesca, mainly to break up the drive to Salou, on the south coast of Spain, which would have been a 6 hours drive from San Sebastian to Salou.

The drive out of San Sebastian through the mountains was unexpectedly stunning! The soaring mountains are dotted with clusters of houses, making up picturesque villages that overlook lush valleys below.

Braino was particularly impressed by the highways and tunnels that cut through the mountains, making it rather quick and easy drive. I can imagine the original roads through the mountain passes would have been a much more slower and winding.  

The landscape eventually levelled out to a hilly yet arid climate, it reminded me of when we drove Route 66 in the USA, but with a little more greenery. Throughout the valley there are villages, many of which looks abandoned, perched atop the hills. They looked so intriguing, it would be a fascinating area to explore with a small camper van. 

We’ve done a number of iconic drives around the world, like the Icefield Parkway in the Canadian Rockies, the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Route 66 in The USA and obviously now a lot fo the Wild Atlantic Way in Ireland, but Braino and I agreed that the drive from San Sebastian to Huesca was surprisingly up there amongst the best drives, in terms of the dramatic landscapes and scenery. I only wish we had stopped to take more photos.

The town of Huesca itself was a relatively large regional city with its own hilltop old town area, with the cathedral perched at the top. We spent the afternoon wandering the streets and quickly realised that an afternoon siesta is a real thing in this part of Spain. The street felt totally deserted between the hours of 2pm and 6pm, but came alive as the sun started to set. The town of Huesca even has a bull flighting ring that is still in use throughout the year. 

Thankfully, good old Burger King was open and it had a surprisingly large indoor playground that girls enjoyed. 

We stayed at the well located Hotel Pedro I de Aragon and had a room on the top level that included a terrace that over looked the old town area, up to the cathedral. 

SPAIN - San Sebastian, a beautiful urban beach

We departed Dublin and flew into Bordeaux where we picked up our hire car. (I will do a another blogpost about our hire car experiences in Ireland and Europe) and then drove to San Sebastian in the North-Eastern corner of Spain.

We actually stayed about 20 minutes out of the centre of San Sebastian, in a small residential area. We were able to find a comfortable two bedroom apartment within our budget and it was interesting to experience a residential neighbour - the area had a number of great playgrounds.

We travelled into San Sebastian on the two full days we had there and unfortunately, the weather was a little cloudy and rainy on both days. Definitely not the cosmopolitan European summer vibes we had been envisioning after being in Ireland for so long. But we still had a great time exploring the city.

San Sebastian City Hall

Beach of La Concha 

Beach of La Concha

The girls loved splashing in the water and playing in the sand, regardless of the cloudy weather. Both days we went to La Concha Beach which is the beach that is most central to the town.

We also found two great playgrounds in the city centre. One outside the San Telmo Museoa (Museum of Basque Enthography and History) and the other in front of the San Sebastian City Hall, along the waterfront next to the Carousel.

We also enjoyed walking around the Old Town area, with it’s narrow streets, impressive churches and stunning Plaza de la Constitution. Our walk continued around marina and out past the aquarium.

While it would have been amazing to have seen it on a sunny day but San Sebastian still left an impression on us. I see it more as a honeymoon sort of destination but in saying that, I wouldn’t tell people not to bring their kids. The beach was great for kids and the city was really flat and easy to walk around, while the surrounding area is full of beautiful lush green mountains. San Sebastien has the feel of a large city, with restaurants, museums and shopping district, while having a beautiful beach in an incredibly central location.