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Europe » France » Languedoc-Roussillon » Carcassonne
March 5th 2008
Published: March 6th 2008
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In the hills of southern France we found our next destination, the historic walled city of Carcassonne. The Romans first fortified the hill in Carcassonne around 100BC and the fortifications were expanded over the years. The fortified city that had been built up over the years became a centerpiece of the crusades to wipe out the cathars of the area. The city and battlements were expanded over the years and the city became a vital military outpost along the boarder with Spain. In the 1800's the city was put up to be demolished, but after some heavy campaigning the city was saved. The architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc was brought in to renovate the city and all of the old town was restored to reflect the way the city looked in the middle ages.
Before we could get to Carcassonne we had a stop over in Marseilles on our way from Italy. We were only in Marseilles for less than a day but we did get a chance to see a few sites. We walked around the Saturday markets on the harbor checking out the seafood and product on sale and taking in the city. We then headed out to see the Cathedrale de la Major which, while a beautiful building, was surrounded by grounds that were in serious disrepair in an area of the city that was being completely renovated.
After a short train ride over to Carcassonne we had time to walk around the ville basse or"new" city area which is still very old. It wasn't until the next day that we were able to get up to the Cite de Carcassonne which is the walled medieval city on the hill overlooking the surrounding area. After crossing the 13th century bridge over the Aude river and walking up to the cite we entered into the walls at the Narbonne Gate. Once inside the gate we were able to see the grassy area between the inner and outer stone walls before we entered into the narrow streets of the cite. We wandered around the streets checking out the small shops and cafes before heading up to the high point of the hill and the Chateau Comtal which is the fortified castle within the city. This is the area where the viscounts and royalty would stay. The Trencaval family built the chateau in the 11th century and were famous for protecting the cathars within the walls of the cite against the crusading catholic forces. The Terncavals also built the Basilica of Saint-Nazaire which was the last site we visited before leaving the city out the Port d'Aude gate and heading back down to our hotel.
We left Carcassonne in the late afternoon and headed southwest and into Spain. As our train left the area we got a great sunset over the water which was a great end to our short time in the south of France.


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