Castle on the Hill

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As we are heading for Andorra, Carcassonne looks like a good spot to stay on the way. It’s a longish drive from Serre Chevalier, especially as we decide to detour for some sightseeing in Avignon (I’ve never been there) which involved some exploration of French one-way systems to find our way to a parking spot in the centre but it is well worth the effort.

From Avignon it is Autoroute all the way to Carcassonne and we arrive before 7pm, even after a run-around the back streets of the “new” town.

I’ve been to Carcassonne before but can’t recall much about it. My friend who lived in Toulouse at the time describes is as a lovely medieval city ruined by tourism, which is a bit harsh, but I know what he means. Our apartment is in the old town right under the castle walls so is very convenient and has a great atmosphere, but on the downside was a little hard to reach as it is in what is technically a pedestrian street. The apartment is spacious, well equipped and not expensive. The hosts provide us with a complimentary bottle of their own labelled sparkling wine so even better.

The day here we spend in the citadel, where there is plenty to see, though even before the high season it is busy. We pay admission to the chateau which includes a walk along the city walls and afterwards we visit the Inquisition Museum (no-one expected that …). This museum covers the Medieval Inquisition declared by the Pope in 1184 as a response to the growing Catharist movement in southern France. The museum also has some interesting details of the torture techniques used by the Inquisition which are a little gory. As my knowledge of medieval European history isn't great, I hadn’t realised that the more famous (to me anyway!) Spanish Inquisition was just one element of a group of institutions that were established to combat heretics and that the Inquisition was not finally abolished until the 19^th Century.

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