Ariege houses the famous castle of Montsegur, with its rather bloody history of the Cathar massacre. The chateau stands on a high pog, 1000 m above the valley, and high above the village of Montsegur. The Albigensian Crusades, that had started in 1208, continued into a second generation of crusaders, who, led by Simon de Montfort junior, began a siege against a group of Cathars living and hiding behind the walls of Montsegur see Cathar history for more background info. After 9 months under siege, the Cathars were defeated and given 2 weeks to surrender and convert to Catholicism. Over 200 knights and their families were burnt alive when they rejected these terms, and the place is still called 'The Field of Burning'. Now the castle is only a shell, but it is worth climbing the 150 m ascent to walk around the ruin, as it is very atmospheric, and the views across the valley are stunning. It is open all year round apart from in Dec/January. The walk is fairly steep and takes about 35 - 40 minutes. Good walking shoes are ideal as it is rocky and can be slippery in places.
While you are in the area, go and visit the medieval town of Mirepoix, which used to be a Cathar stronghold before being destroyed and then rebuilt as a bastide in 1279. The main square is very pretty, with many overhanging walkways and historic buildings. It is a little bit touristy, and almost every other resident is English there is a big English settlement here, but that certainly helps those who don't speak too much French.
The area has numerous caves to visit, including Labouiche, near Foix, which has a underground river boat ride 3 km long, and the Grotte de Niaux, where you can see some fantastic cave paintings of bison, horses etc dating from 10,800BC. The nearest town to Niaux is Tarascon sur Ariege. Also worth driving through is the famous Mas d'Azil, one of the most famous prehistoric Paleolithic sites in the world. The Azilian Age app. 8000 B.C., characterized by small flint tools, colourfully decorated pebbles, and finely carved harpoons, borrows its name from the cave. The area was excavated by Edouard Piette in the 19th Century and he interpreted his findings of bone carvings as indicating that man had domesticated reindeer and horses. Occupations at the site range in date from 17,800 to 6500 years BC.
itineraries
There are several activity holiday companies in the area that have week long group holiday itineraries - search under the relevant activity and the pyrenees, as your keywords for the search.