Visit us

Open every day


Opening hours:
From February to June and from September to December:
10h30 – 12h30 et 13h30 – 17h30


July and August :
10h00 – 19h00

The museum is closed on December 25 and New Year’s Day

Prices :


2€ per adult
Free for children under 12 (accompanied by an adult)

Free during school holidays


Guided tours

By reservation only Museum visit: €3 per person Possibility of guided tour in English. Schools/Leisure Centers and/or Holidays: from €4.00 to €5.00 per student and/or child Method of payment: Credit card/Bank & postal checks/Cash

How to come ?


By car: Address: Cour de la Gare – BP 64 – 11260 ESPERAZA The Hat Museum is located in Espéraza in the Department of Aude: 45 km south of Carcassonne and 85 km west of Perpignan.
By train: Carcassonne SNCF station, bus or TER connection between Carcassonne and Quillan. The SNCF offers train or bus tickets at €1.00 for one trip between Carcassonne and Quillan.
By plane: Toulouse Airport: 129km at 1h30 by motorway Perpignan Airport: 82 km at 1h20 Carcassonne Airport: 45 km at 12:45 a.m. Car park: Coach access Motorhome access

An opportunity to visit our beautiful region

Espéraza and its surroundings:


Nestled in a bend in the Upper Aude Valley, between the Pyrenees and Corbières, the town of Espéraza is located in the heart of a particularly attractive region, both for the beauty of its landscapes and for its historical interest and its quality of life. Gates of the Community of Communes Pyrénées Audoises, it invites you to visit all the remarkable sites which constitute the tourist complex of this vast territory.

Testimonials

What our visitors say

About the visit to the museum and the satisfaction of our collections in store.


“If you want to read a ton of rave testimonials go to Tripadivor… I find them very shy here 😉 From a stop that I had estimated at around 3/4 of an hour, this stopover lasted more than two hours in total and …exciting! The visit begins with a video that is a little dated but which clearly shows the different stages of hat manufacturing, the conditions and the harshness of the various trades represented there. You will also not be disappointed by the number and the quality of the machines, tools and objects from all periods presented there. Last but not least of the attractions of this museum, if you have the chance to meet its guide (Eric) do not hesitate to ask him a question(s). question(s) your visit will then be transformed into a real journey through history and into the surprising world of this activity. Expect an astonishing journey from surprise to surprise and never see the… time pass.”

Jacques-Yves FOURNOL from VERFEIL
August 28, 2023

Outstanding quality and professionalism. I’ve been a loyal customer for years and have never been disappointedThank you for this day! Between visiting the hat shop and the museum, I spent a day where I learned a lot about the history of hats in Espezel and Espéraza. Thanks to Jules for his demonstrations at the factory and to the museum guide (a little talkative, but he warned us……) who is undoubtedly passionate and knows how to take us back in time. Thank you also for the welcome we received from start to finish. I couldn’t resist the temptation to leave with a hat (under the real pretext that it’s almost my birthday) Thank you also for the advice on choosing the hat. In short, only thanks. Martine, student at the CFPPA in Aude.





MINUZZO de Barbaira
March 11, 2016

I would like to thank you, on behalf of all my promotion friends, for the excellent welcome you gave us this Friday, September 25, 2015. We would particularly like to congratulate our guide Eric who, despite the size of our group, gave us everyone won over despite the flood of our technical (or other) questions to which he answered with precision, often with humor and always relevant. This enthusiast taught us things, we who were most often completely unaware, of what felt hat manufacturing is!.. Thank you also for the valuable purchasing advice at your sales store. This store was unanimously praised by my friends for the diversity and quality of the products presented. Everyone would have happily stayed longer at the museum and the shop, but as always in this type of organized tour, we had to submit to time constraints. However, they all have excellent memories of this visit and are ready to come back (me first) to you as soon as an opportunity presents itself. Thanks again.
MINUZZO de Barbaira le 11 mars 2016

Jackie PHILIPPON from BOURGES October 12, 2015