Carcassonne

Julia biking towards La Cité

We spent three nights last week parked up on the quay in ville basse at the foot of the beautiful UNESCO world heritage listed fortifications of La Cité in Carcassonne. The fairytale castle is massive in scale – I think there are about 50 different towers throughout the whole site and it’s a fortress within a fortress, the outer battlements protecting a second ring of ramparts within the gates. The Romans started building on the hill in about 100 BC and every inhabitant since has added an architectural layer, from the Medieval Cathars to Viollet-le-Duc in the 1850s – so to a purist like Dave it’s a bit of a hodge-podge, but those of us who grew up with Disney’s Fantasia loved it.

The town of Carcassonne itself is kind of a funny mix – some beautiful old buildings and parks, moules et frites by the canal for 5 euro, a great fruit and veg market, but it also has kind of a desperate feel, especially at night – lots of homeless people sleeping in their cars along the canalbank, wandering dogs and general drunkeness (not just us).

Annie and Siobhan and the remains of moules frites

Art nouveau in Ville Basse, Carcassonne

Carousel outside the drawbridge to La Cité

Distant view of the Pyrénées