Festivals and traditions

The annual Festival de Carcassonne held each summer is now a world event attracting many international stars including Jose Carreras, Tom Jones, Sting, Bryan Ferry, Beach Boys, Supertramp, Diana Ross, Nigel Kennedy, Joe Cocker, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Texas, Charles Aznavour, Depeche Mode and many others.

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The Carnival of Limoux is an Audois festival which takes place over a period of ten weeks or more. This is one of the longest carnivals in the world. It takes place in the town of Limoux on the Place de la République every weekend from mid-January to late March. It is characterized by bands in Pierrot costumes (known as ‘les fécos’) accompanied by musicians.

In the region around Limoux, a major celebration of gastronomy, known as ‘Toques et Clochers’ (literally, ‘Hats & Steeples’) and organized by the ‘Vignerons du Sieur d’Arques’, takes place over the weekend of Palm Sunday. It permits the sale of a large quantity of wine in order to restore the local heritage.