Carcassonne: La Cité Médivale

A chance discovery of some travel brochures of my Uncle’s inspired me to go slightly out of the way to find a medieval city from a dream: the glossy photographs of an unbelievably intact medieval walled city evoked little girls’ dreams of princesses. Such was probably the intention of the architects who designed the reconstruction in the last century. However, after an extensive and educational tour, we learned about the grittier reality of a fortress’ defenses.

Quick Tips:

In our general explorations of the city (both within and without the walls), we climbed up as many ramparts as possible to admire the views, then walked around the inner and the outer walls of the castle. The cobblestone streets throughout lent an interesting texture to photographs (and demanded a good hiking shoe). The grassy trail we hiked along the outer wall had particularly stunning views, especially the walls and towers against a blue sky and the late afternoon soft sunlight.

Best Way To Get Around:

From the train station in the city, one takes a bus to the old medieval section and walks across a bridge and through the gate into the old, walled city itself, and . . . back through time. The views approaching the city are picture-perfect.

Little charm, but the basic accommodation of the business traveler. Private bathroom. There is also a Hotel Ibis in the city''s center, nearer to the train station. This was booked up at the time we were there. However, one advantage to the one we stayed in was the grocery store across the street: we were able to buy bread, cheese and fruit, thus saving money on breakfast and lunch. From either hotel it is an easy bus ride to the medieval city.

Within the city walls is much tourist kitsch but the fortress itself is really something. We took the tour, which took us into courtyards, along castle ramparts and within towers. We learned much of the fortress’ history and its elaborate system of defenses, as well as information about its reconstructions (some of which were less authentic than others).

One fortress courtyard has been made into an amphitheater for various musical performances. That day a reggae band was scheduled to play (unfortunately, we had a train to catch). You may also see mock medieval tournaments, complete with horses and knights in shining armor.

We had dinner in a charming outdoor restaurant that seemed to be inside but which was canopied by cleverly-pruned trees. We lingered outside the site of the concert, listening to the warm-up band, along with many young people, families, older people, and family dogs. The castle is lit up at night and has a magical setting.