Carcassonne. A hill top walled city, no, not just walled, double fortified, with 52 watch towers. Seriously.
Today was a walking day - and two buses and two trains!
We started on the Free Electric bus that travels around to key points of interest in Narbonne. What a great idea! Right? Our stop was the train station (Gare)
A quick stop at the bakery before boarding our train and we found wee pain au chocolat. How great is that!?
31 minutes of pretty green fields and vineyards.
And we arrived in Carcassonne. We wandered the narrow streets and beautiful squares and soon we were crossing the Pont Vieux and the Cite was our back drop.
And climbed...
It is a bustling little (medieval) city of cafes and shops, a castle and a church. What more do you need?
We toured the castle - Chateau Comtal.
And then walked the 3 KMS of the inner wall for amazing views of the countryside.
The tower below is over the main entrance. Which formerly had a draw bridge over a moat to discourage invaders. If there were invaders this tower served as an ideal place to shoot arrows at them, and / or throw boulders down. Ouch. But we were assured that hot oil was never used as a weapon, it was too precious.
And old graveyard outside the walls.
Saint Nazaire Basilica is an imposing structure at the opposite end of the walled city from the castle / chateau.
A recent addition - an open air concert venue.
Here you can see the double walls
The whole thing was very impressive with an audio guide written from the perspective of the archeologist / historian who lead the restoration in the late 1800's.
It was incredibly windy up on the ramparts, and there were many hats in the surrounding gardens and cafes 👒, but the views were worth the wind swept hair.
In 1997 this was declared a UNESCO Heritage site.
Fun story.
There is a legend from the 16th century that Charlemagne had laid siege on the walled city, and the inhabitants were running out of food and water.
Rather than surrender, Dame Carcas allegedly claimed the last pig they had, fattened it up with the last wheat, and threw it down to their invaders. Upon seeing this wasteful act, the invaders thought they must have plenty of food, and thus, they gave up on the siege.
Dame Carcas then rang the bells in victory and the name Carcassonne was born.
Cute story..
No bikes today, but plenty of steps and elevation.
Thanks for your comments and coming along for the adventures with us.
Impressive walking tour and history.
ReplyDeleteWow! Now that's a castle!
ReplyDeleteAnd the figurehead of Dame Carcas looks like something straight out of Game of Thrones! Is that a more modern sculpture? It has a modern look to it.
Glad you're getting the rain and wind while not cycling. :)
Yes that Dame Carcas sculpture is definitely a reproduction. The original was in the museum but has been worn away with time and weather (and the crazy winds!)
DeleteWhat were they thinking they would need 50+ watchtowers for? Keep up the adventure!
ReplyDeleteThis was the southern border of Catholic France. South of this was Spain and Moors who on occasion would attack. In the 1800s they made a treaty that creates the modern border in the Pyranees where we changed trains.
DeleteWow that sure is a castle, beautiful weather your way, only rain here. What a great top on you and it brightens your face !!! Amazing city, so glad it is a UNESCO heritage site to preserve it forever
ReplyDeleteI remember being intrigued by Carcassonne when I visited many years ago, but don't remember much else. Thank you for the refresher! It really is awesome in its imposing structure.
ReplyDelete