France · 12th century
The Châteaux de Lastours (in Occitan Lastors) are four so-called Cathar castles in the French commune of Lastours in the département of l'Aude. The four castles are on a rocky spur above the village of Lastours, isolated by the deep valleys of the Orbeil and Grésilhou rivers. They were built at an altitude of 300 m along a rock wall just 1,300 ft (400 m) long by 165 ft (50 m) wide. Cabaret, Surdespine and la Tour Régine stand in line, while Quertinheux is built on a separate pinnacle close by. The site has been classified monument historique (historic monument) by the French Ministry of Culture since 1905 and archaeological digs are still in progress. In July 2026, the Royal Capetian Fortresses of Languedoc (including these castles) were designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
These four castles constitute a single entity, even though they are not a single structure. The natural layout of the site permitted the economy of a fortress of great height. Plans were adapted to the rocks on which they were built. The construction of each is different reflecting the range of alterations made to the castles.
Text adapted from “Châteaux de Lastours” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Châteaux de Lastours ranks #1,550 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #119 of the 793 mapped in France. Founded c. 1150, it is older than 80% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 756 atlas entries founded in the 12th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,726 times in the last 60 days, more than 86% of the atlas. Wikidata records about 43,000 visitors in 2019. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Perpignan, 83 km away. It is one of the 23 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of Cathar Country. It is stop 1 of 18 on the Cathar castle route, Carcassonne to Foix. See how France compares in the castle statistics.
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