One of the books I am currently reading is ‘The Perfect Heresy: The Life and Death of the Cathars‘ by Stephen O’Shea.  At the beginning of the chapter on Carcassonne there is a perfect description of what I saw and how I felt when I caught my first fleeting glimpse of Carcassonne as I traveled from Toulouse airport:

TO APPROACH CARCASSONNE for the first time is to dream with your eyes open.  the turrets and bastions of the old city stand on a deceptive rise in the valley of the River Aude, so the crenelated citadel appears suddenly, floating in the middle distance, a visitor from another time.  The tan stone blocks of the ramparts turn auburn, then mauve in the late afternoon sun.

Before the homeward journey…

This is the view of the walled city of Carcassonne from just outside the hotel that had been our first choice. I think you will agree that the second hotel choice had a much better view.

The town just outside the walled city of Carcassonne is situated next to the river Aude.  The original (lower) town was destroyed during the persecution of the Cathars.

These photos are taken just outside the walled citadel, they show the difference in architecture.

Legend has it that Princess Carcas, wife of the Saracen, Balaak, seeing Chalamagne lift the siege of her town, ordered the bells to be rung.

From Wiki:

History says that Charlemagne’s army was at the gates of the city facing the Saracens. A princess was at the head of the Knights of the City after the death of her husband. This is Princess Carcas. The siege lasted five years.

But early in the sixth year, food and water were becoming increasingly rare. Lady Carcass would take inventory of all reserves remaining. The villagers brought him a pig and a sack of wheat. She then had the idea to feed the pig with the sack of wheat and then precipitate it from the highest tower of the City outside the ramparts.

Charlemagne and his men, believing that the city was full of food even to the point of wasting pigs fed with wheat, raised the siege. Seeing Charlemagne’s army to leave the plain before the city, Lady Carcas elated by the victory of her stratagem decided to ring all the bells of the city. One of the men of Charlemagne then exclaimed: “Carcas sonne!” (it mean’s “Carcas rings”). Hence the name of the City.

The top photo shows a replica of the the sculpture in the bottom photo and is situated at the Porte Narbonnaise entrance to Carcassonne.  The original sculpture can be seen inside the Counts Castle.