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Right on the main Toulouse-Montpellier train link, CARCASSONNE couldn't be easier to reach; and for anyone traveling through this region it is a must - one of the most dramatic, if also most-visited, towns in the whole of Languedoc. Carcassonne owes its division into two separate "towns" - the Cité and the Ville Basse - to the wars against the Cathars. Following Simon de Montfort's capture of the town in 1209, its people tried in 1240 to restore their traditional ruling family, the Trencavels. In reprisal King Louis IX expelled them, only permitting their return on condition they built on the low ground by the River Aude.
The Cité
The attractions of the well-preserved and lively ville basse notwithstanding, what everybody comes for is the Cité , the double-walled and turreted fortress that crowns the hill above the River Aude. From a distance it's the epitome of the fairytale medieval town. Viollet-le-Duc rescued it from ruin in 1844, and his "too-perfect" restoration has been furiously debated ever since. It is, as you would expect, a real tourist trap. Yet, in spite of the chintzy cafés, arty-crafty shops and the crowds, you'd have to be a very stiff-necked purist not to be moved at all.
To reach the Cité from the ville basse , take bus #2 from outside the station, or a navette from square Gambetta. Alternatively, you can walk it in under thirty minutes, crossing the Pont-Vieux and climbing rue Barbacane, past the church of St-Gimer to the sturdy bastion of the Porte d'Aude . This is effectively the back entrance - the main gate is Porte Narbonnaise, round on the east side.
There is no charge for admission to the streets or the grassy lices - "lists" - between the walls, though cars are banned from 10am to 6pm. However, to see the inner fortress of the Château Comtal and to walk the walls, you'll have to join a guided tour (daily: April, May & Oct 9.30am-6pm; June-Sept 9.30am-7.30pm; Nov-March 9.30am-5pm; 35F/?5.34). The seventy- to ninety-minute tours - several per day in English from June to September - assume some knowledge of French history, pointing out the various phases in the construction of the fortifications, from Roman to Visigothic to Romanesque and to the post-Cathar adaptations of the French kings.
In addition to wandering the narrow streets, don't miss the beautiful church of St-Nazaire (daily 9-11.45am & 1.45-6pm), towards the southern corner of the Cité at the end of rue St-Louis. It's a serene combination of Romanesque nave with carved capitals and Gothic transepts and choir adorned with some of the loveliest stained glass in Languedoc. In the south transept is a tombstone believed to belong to Simon de Montfort senior. You can also climb the tower (same hours; 10F/?1.53), for spectacular views over the Cité. |
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