February Travels: Carcassonne, France

City #2: Carcassonne

Next we traveled to Carcassonne, which you can see on the map from the previous post. It isn't too far, about an hour I think, maybe two from Montpellier. Carcassonne is a special city because it is a fortified city. The main attraction is the huge medieval fortress and castle.

Looking on Wikipedia, I discovered that there was evidence of settlement as early as 3500 BC but during the audio tour they referenced the 3rd century A.D. as being the first actual castle remnants. It was a part of the Roman empire, but then was taken over by various other groups. In 1067, when France was still made up of many feudal families, it fell into the hands of the Trencavel family. They made many additions and expansions. In 1247, it came under the rule of France and was actually a fortress on the border between France and Spain (which was much higher up at that point). The fortress was known for centuries as being "impossible" to infiltrate and most of the tour we took explained the various fortifications that made that true. Finally, when the region of France called Roussillon was added France in 1659, Carcassonne was no longer a border city and thus became less important as a fortress. And, obviously, today it is an touristic city. However, seeing as we were there in February, the town itself was very calm and surrounded by a nice river, a canal and walking paths. I would recommend it if you were looking for a more relaxed, small spot. It would probably also be lovely in the summer. (And, I've heard they have fireworks by the castle on the 14th of July which is France's "4th of July", not a day of independence but the storming of the Bastille).

We arrived around 10 am in Carcassonne, checked into the air BnB, had a quick lunch, and set out for the castle. It was about a 15-20 minute walk from our AirBnb which was in downtown. We walked around the fortress, took an audio tour of the castle, walked one of the walls of the fortress, grabbed a late second-lunch at a café, took a walk along the Canal du Midi (a tree-lined canal that runs 241 kilometers from Toulouse, through Carcassonne and to the Mediterranean), and made dinner at the AirBNB. The next morning we took a jaunt through the gardens in front of the castle and then we were on our way to Toulouse.

Downtown Carcassonne

Crossing the Old Bridge to get to the Cité de Carcassonne

The smallest church before the bridge

Merci Seigneur

Stained glass, always a crowd pleaser!

The Old Bridge

River Aude

La Cité de Carcassonne on the approach!

Making our way around the castle

Mounting one of the sides of the hill

How many pictures have we taken?

We are in a medieval fortress!

Named after the River Aude

Entrance to the castle part

Inside the courtyard. 

A recreation of the fortress: It had 48 ramparts and two walls. 

Along the fortress

Overlooking one of the courtyards within the castle

Whadda view.

A hole down which they used to drop stones on their enemies!

Yet another view from the side

View of the houses with the church in the circle at the bottom

Emma!

Imagining this to be my kingdom.

An updated theater in there as well

Some cool towers in the background

The fortress' cathedral

RIP grey boots

Paintings in the streets around the Cité

Old town Carcassonne

A duck in its natural habitat.

The attack of the ducks

Canal du Midi

:D

Feeling sassy

The whole gang: Emma, me and Helena

I forgot to mention that the fortress of Carcassonne is called la Cité de Carcassonne. So, next we leave the medieval world and head for the university town of Toulouse. Bisous.