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The walled city (La Cite) of Carcassonne was built on the site of a former Roman fortress.  The city is protected by two heavily fortified walls and has no less than 52 towers and barbicans. In medieval times Simon de Montfort led crusades against the Albigensians (Cathars) whom the Catholic Church had branded as heretics due to their beliefs.

At that time that city and its inhabitants were under the protection of Raymond Trencavel, “Vicomte de Carcassonne”. The town surrounding the city was destroyed during these crusades and King Louis IV authorised the building of the Bastide on the left bank of the river Aude as a replacement.

When the Roussillon region became part of France in 1659 the city’s strategic importance as a border fortress declined, the inhabitants moved to the lower town and the city fell into disrepair. In 1844 the architect Viollet-le-Duc was put in charge of the restoration of Saint-Nazaire and Saint-Celse basilica and subsequently he undertook a study of all the city fortifications. This study was used as a basis for the restoration of the city and its fortifications.

The city then slightly came back to life: “I created, wrote Viollet-le-Duc, a construction with workers mostly chosen among the locals… Here, I have builders, stone-cutters, blacksmiths, carpenters, sculptors, all men are used to difficult tasks, all work near their homes, all are under my guidance.” Some of the Carcassonne workers, such as the sculptor Perrin or the architect Cals, were truly talented. From 1855 onwards, the restoration of the fortifications began. In 1879, at the death of Viollet-le-Duc, they were far from finished. His pupil, Boeswillwald, then the architect Nodet would complete the masters enterprise.*

In the past the work was often criticised as a romantic rather than entirely accurate restoration, although in recent times the work is looked on much more favourably and is listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site.

*Excerpt from Carcassonne History and Architecture by Jean-Pierre PANOUILLE

On arrival in Carcassonne you will remember that I was impressed with the view from my hotel room.  I was even more impressed when I took a stroll after dinner on the evening I arrived.  The sight as the city presented itself was spectacular and on entering into the city the narrow streets were buzzing with life.

The day started out with some very persistent and irritating mobile phone calls and texts.  Unfortunately I wasn’t close enough to the canal, once again I had the urge to surgical remove the phone and dispose of it!!  After breakfast I retired to the hotel garden with my camera until the phone calls stopped.

After that we strolled into the walled city to visit the ‘museum of torture’ which came highly recommended by some New Zealanders who had been in the hotel lounge the previous night.  The museum was interesting and horrific in equal measures (a post on the museum is coming soon).

Then we took a leisurely stroll through La Cite across the old bridge to the town of Carcassonne.  When we got there we took in the Neptune Fountain, the cathedral (unfortunately shut due to renovations), the churches and the art museum before making our way back over the old bridge back to the hotel.  What came next, just had to be done…  A game of Carcassonne within view of the city walls.

Dinner was in a delightful restaurant within the city walls that gave the option to have different wines served with each course to compliment the dishes chosen.  For my main course I had sea-bass and vegetables and for my desert I had a chocolate bomb mouse which had chocolate sauce poured over it, at the table.  It melted into taste heaven especially when accompanied with the red Grenache that was served with the desert.

The whole day was spent in and around the walled citadel.  This involved walking around the entire circuit around the outside of the walls, exploring inside the walls, a visit to Saint-Nazaire Cathedral and the castle.  I will be posting more fully about all these places soon.

This heavy walking schedule caused my shoes to rub the back of my heels and no plasters were to be found… I tried to improvise by placing tissue in the back of my shoe, which proved a little difficult.  All of a sudden I heard a voice calling and as I turned to look and a very kind lady presented me with two plasters.  Later in the day a bought some espadrilles (which I had spotted the day before), they were much easier on my feet.

For lunch I had the obligatory crepe.  The food was nice but the service left a lot to be desired!  For my evening meal I went to the Adelaide and interestingly sat next to a couple from Adelaide…

The journey to Bristol airport was quick and easy, the roads were clear and there was no traffic.  Booking into the silver zone airport parking area was also painless despite a confusing message from the attendant saying the car park was full and we would have to wait for a space.  There were lots of spaces…

The shuttle bus was ready and waiting giving plenty of time to check in baggage and have an early meal before boarding was called.   I managed to get a seat with a view although it was cloudy for most of the journey.  There was a little bit of a scare 15 minutes into the flight, someone was taken ill and oxygen was called, followed by an announcement ‘if there is a trained doctor, nurse or paramedic on board please make yourself known.  Surprisingly there were three  on board.  Luckily for the passenger and everyone else on board he recovered quite quickly.  I had visions of having to turn back or be diverted to a different airport on route.

The plane landed in glorious sunshine (22c), a refreshing change from the weather back  home.  We reclaimed our baggage an picked up the hire car (Renault Megane Cabriolet, automatic, diesel), which over time we realised we did not love!  Then we set out in the rush hour traffic on the way to Carcassonne and thankfully arrived in one piece

There was just enough time to unpack before enjoying an evening meal on the terrace at the hotel.  We dropped lucky with the hotel (it wasn’t our first choice, post coming soon), it had a fantastic view of the walled citadel and was only five minutes walk away.  After dinner we went for a nice stroll to the walled city and soaked up the atmosphere before returning to the hotel for a nightcap.