Tailor-made guided tours, photo studio, dog biscuit workshops… This medieval French city is launching a unique program to pamper dogs during the holidays.
Going on vacation with your pet is often an obstacle course. In France, more than 6 out of 10 French people own a dog and increasingly want to take it with them on their getaways. However, due to a lack of suitable offers and tolerant accommodation, many owners end up shortening their stay or simply giving up on certain destinations. To meet this strong expectation, a new trend has emerged in recent years: “toutourism”. More and more tourist offices are adapting to welcome our four-legged friends, like pioneering towns like Troyes, Gap and La Rochelle, which offer guides and welcome kits specially designed for vacationers accompanied by their dogs.
But this year, a famous French medieval city has decided to go even further by making a massive commitment to welcoming animals. The Tourist Office has just unveiled a completely new project, designed as a real heritage, cultural and friendly offer. The objective of this “dog-friendly” approach? Promote vacations with your dog, no longer consider them as a constraint but as a true travel companion, and attract a new tourist clientele looking for an inclusive and original experience.
To pamper these visitors like no other, the city of Carcassonne has imagined a tailor-made program of activities. Throughout the season, “Toutous Tours” will be organized every Sunday at 10 a.m.: guided tours specially designed for owners and their dogs, following a suitable route. The experience will continue in a completely revisited medieval camp in a dog-friendly version. Holidaymakers will be able to take advantage of a photo studio to immortalize their pet on an emblematic throne, and discover a fascinating free exhibition on the place of the dog in the Middle Ages (its role, its diet, its hygiene and its symbolism). The icing on the cake: dog biscuit making workshops will even be offered, with recipes rigorously validated by veterinarians!
Known worldwide and with its two UNESCO World Heritage sites, this exceptional destination of 45,000 inhabitants thus asserts itself as a welcoming and innovative city. In addition to its famous medieval city and its grandiose ramparts, visitors can discover magnificent walking routes such as the Canal du Midi, the Bastide Saint-Louis or even the Cavayère lake. So many places full of history and nature that it is now possible to explore peacefully and fully with your faithful companion.
Finally, please note that this great initiative, which will officially kick off in May, is accompanied by a major special event weekend on June 13 and 14. On site, you will have no trouble finding somewhere to eat, since the partner restaurants undertake to display a logo.Dog-friendly Carcassonne” to demonstrate their warm welcome. And because this project is placed under the sign of animal welfare, it also has a solidarity vocation: for each souvenir or “Toutou Tour” ticket sold, 1 euro will be directly donated to the SCPA (Carcassonne Animal Protection Society). One more reason to pack your bags with your doggie!
