Musee du Catharisme
Musee du Catharisme
4
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Friday
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
About
At the gates of the Haut Languedoc's Natural Park, at the heart of the Black Mountain and Cathar Country, in a beautiful 19th century abode, discover Mazamet's Cathar Museum. Follow the cathar good-men and good women's footsteps, find about their history, their beliefs and their rituals during the Crusade and the Inquisition.The visit includes soundtracks, videos and reconstitution, in order to bring you to the heart of the Middle Ages and to understand the cathar tragedy....
Duration: 1-2 hours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.0
47 reviews
Excellent
20
Very good
16
Average
5
Poor
4
Terrible
2
purpleboots
wales126 contributions
Aug 2020
Bad start (arrived in opening hours to find a little note saying they were closed that afternoon!) but worth returning. a bijou little place well adapted for covid with a video/opportunity to look around 1st floor while waiting for people to get thru the exhibits upstairs. There is a brilliant downloadable tour in English (but does take some time so probably not for small kids/fractious teens). You can wait either in the garden or at the tables in front of the museumn & there is a market hall almost opposite (though I'm not making any promises about it being open!)
Downstairs is dedicated to explaining how the heck Mazamet got to have quite so many HUGE posh houses (industrial advances end 19/start 20 siecle) and how that all worked. Also some pretty brilliant models of different kinds of castles.
Upstairs is the main Cathar area which explains the background and beliefs of the Cathars. If i have any complaint at all it will be that I never understood why on earth anyone would be anti Cathar - probably my horrible grasp of FRench though not covered in the recorded tour either. Do do download the tour onto your phone if you can as it covers off all the displays and then some.
very helpful lady at the front desk spent some time moving people along so that those on timed tickets could get into the exhibition - I didn't have a ticket when I got there but she was fitting others in too.
definitely recommended (along with the book by Jonathan Sumption on the same subject)
Downstairs is dedicated to explaining how the heck Mazamet got to have quite so many HUGE posh houses (industrial advances end 19/start 20 siecle) and how that all worked. Also some pretty brilliant models of different kinds of castles.
Upstairs is the main Cathar area which explains the background and beliefs of the Cathars. If i have any complaint at all it will be that I never understood why on earth anyone would be anti Cathar - probably my horrible grasp of FRench though not covered in the recorded tour either. Do do download the tour onto your phone if you can as it covers off all the displays and then some.
very helpful lady at the front desk spent some time moving people along so that those on timed tickets could get into the exhibition - I didn't have a ticket when I got there but she was fitting others in too.
definitely recommended (along with the book by Jonathan Sumption on the same subject)
Written September 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dr Benjamin P
Whangarei, New Zealand798 contributions
May 2011 • Friends
This is a real gem of a museum located in Mazamet which is an interesting town in its own right. We travelled over La Montagne Noire and marvelled at the scenery lthough this is certainly not a route to take in winter: the road is narrow and winding and meeting other vehicles can be disconcerting as there is no margin for error, even in good weather.
The museum is very intimate and has excellent details, displays and dioramas about the entire Cathar tragedy although a good command of French helps a lot. It puts a human face to Catharism and one can but wonder about the threat perceived by the Papacy to its absolutist power and its determination to destroy the Cathar movement, which of course it eventually succeeded in doing through its Crusades in the region. Those who worked on the side of the Papacy were awarded the spoils: nothing like self-interest to encourage certain behaviours!
The museum has relics and other items from the period but of greatest interest is the detailed explanations provided of the Cathar world and experience.
The fortified mediaeval village of Hautpoul overlooks Mazamet but at this point it is closed for essential works.
The museum is very intimate and has excellent details, displays and dioramas about the entire Cathar tragedy although a good command of French helps a lot. It puts a human face to Catharism and one can but wonder about the threat perceived by the Papacy to its absolutist power and its determination to destroy the Cathar movement, which of course it eventually succeeded in doing through its Crusades in the region. Those who worked on the side of the Papacy were awarded the spoils: nothing like self-interest to encourage certain behaviours!
The museum has relics and other items from the period but of greatest interest is the detailed explanations provided of the Cathar world and experience.
The fortified mediaeval village of Hautpoul overlooks Mazamet but at this point it is closed for essential works.
Written July 2, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
IrishMimi
Essendon, UK543 contributions
Jun 2019
This little museum is stuffed full of information but... we were a bit frustrated by how inaccessible it was to us (Irish people). When we paid for our tickets the lady at the desk didn’t think to offer us the audio guides and we were half way round when one of our party of six spotted other people with then and then nipped back and picked some up. There are helpful models and illustrations which makes history come to life so you won’t regret popping along. We just felt a little disappointed that we’d spent some time in the museum before being able to join in with the learning.
Written June 18, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lucy H
Derbyshire, UK89 contributions
Jun 2016 • Couples
This museum is actually upstairs inside the Tourist Office. It costs 3Euro to get in. All the displays are in French only and the 2 videos and one other audio are only in French. What they do for other languages is give you a leaflet that explains everything. So basically, we sat on seats to read the leaflet. Other than a few photos of particular places, most of the other graphics were cartoon type images related to that particular board of information (which of course we couldnt understand). Personally, I would suggest just buying the leaflet (which you can do for 2euro I believe) or just research on the internet. It's pointless to visit here if you do not have a strong command of French in my opinion. The town didn't strike us as particularly appealing either in the short time we were there although there were some beautiful buildings on the outskirts and an amazing panoramic view from the mountain on the way down.
Written June 4, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
bikeguyWestCoast
west coast32 contributions
Aug 2018 • Friends
I had never heard of a crusade on european soil until I started traveling in the Pyrenees and have since read several books and visited many of the sites where the tragedy took place. The museum here has some interesting artifacts and writings from the period of the crusade and should be seen if one is at all interested in the history.
Written October 7, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for your visit and recommendations!
Written October 9, 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Laura G
5 contributions
Jun 2017 • Couples
This is more of a educational visit with panels in French rather than a museum with artefacts etc. There is an English guide but with much less written than the panels in French.
It's inexpensive and fine if you're already in Mazamet but would not suggest going out of way, as we did.
It's inexpensive and fine if you're already in Mazamet but would not suggest going out of way, as we did.
Written June 29, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Patrick R
Fayence, France248 contributions
Apr 2017 • Couples
We drove to Mazamet especially to visit this museum as part of our week long journey through the Cathar country. The museum is located above the Office de Tourisme. The museum is small and there is an audio guide but unfortunately it did not work that well. We read and speak French so we could navigate through the displays without any problem. It's an important museum to visit because it is devoted solely to the Cathar era and it gives a reasonable/good summary of who they were, what they believed and how they were destroyed. Whitebeard83
Written April 10, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for your visit and your appreciation.
Written May 23, 2017
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Couple155
Wollongong, Australia17 contributions
Jul 2015 • Couples
A pleasant town with hospitable locals. Main purpose was to visit the Museum of Catharism. We were not disappointed. It contained an excellent display and clear explanations of Catharism. It provided the ideal starting point for our three week tour through Cathar Country in the Tarn, Ariége and Aude. Well worth a visit.
Written September 16, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
S P
1 contribution
Une belle m.... sans nom, grosse arnaque, passez votre chemin.
Définition d'un musée : établissement dans lequel sont rassemblées et classées des collections d'objets d'intérêt historique, techniques, scientifiques, artistiques, en vue de leur conservation et de leur présentation au public.
Or cet établissement n'est que succession de pages agrandies ; un livre déplié dans plusieurs pièces sur l'histoire Cathare avec en prime un pseudo-film navrant à mourir.
Ce lieu doit être renommé en "exposé".
Tromperie et attrape touriste ... nullisime.
S P
1 contribution
Après "visite" de cette pseudo mise en scène manifestement grotesque, correcte je suis ...
Un musée a toujours eu et garde bien cette définition ne vous en déplaise, arrêtez dès lors d'insulter les musées dignes de ce nom car c'est bien vous qui devenez incorrectes.
L'EXPOSÉ présenté a bien un intérêt historique et culturel, déclinable il est vrai, sur les supports que sont vos dépliants ; inutile donc de faire le déplacement. CQFD.
Heureusement que la majorité des malheureux visiteurs n'ont pas mis leur avis.
Ellie H
Lagarde, France16 contributions
Is it possible to listen in in other languages, English, for example, in the Cathar museum?
Un projet de visite audioguidée en anglais est en cours. Nous vous tiendrons informés....
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Frequently Asked Questions about Musee du Catharisme
- Musee du Catharisme is open:
- Tue - Fri 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
- Hotels near Musee du Catharisme:
- (0.05 mi) Les Jardins de Mazamet
- (0.13 mi) Cheval Blanc
- (0.14 mi) Les Pierres Bleues Bed & Breakfast
- (0.17 mi) La Villae
- (0.38 mi) La Villa De Mazamet
- Restaurants near Musee du Catharisme:
- (0.05 mi) Le Grand Balcon
- (0.09 mi) Saveurs de l'Autan
- (0.06 mi) Les Saveurs du Quai
- (0.06 mi) Tutti Pizza Mazamet
- (0.09 mi) Bar La Passerelle