Fairytale castle

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Geo: 43.2126, 2.3561

After a busy 2-day trip out to the Mediterranean, we opted for a shorter, local trip on Thursday. We rode back out about 45 minutes east of Toulouse to the town of Carcassonne - with its ancient walled city and fairy-tale castle set high on a hill. This huge castle includes many turrets, towers, drawbridges and cobbled streets. It is reputed to have been the inspiration for Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty.
We parked our bikes on the back side, and walked up the hill toward the castle along its massive stone walls. We arrived in the early afternoon and found ourselves in the midst of many other tourists - but as we worked our way around to the upper part of the walled city, the crowds thinned and we were able to enjoy close-up views of the many towers and courtyards, and eventually found a wonderful outdoor restaurant where we enjoyed lunch and the views. The whole fortress city is like one gigantic food court and shopping mall.
It was another beautiful sunny afternoon.

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Photos

Le Cite fortress city
Le Cite in Carcassonne

Storybook castle
A fairy-tale castle

Gargoyles
Carcassonne gargoyles

Inner city street scene
Inside the walled city

Garden in castle moat
Garden in the castle moat

Carcassonne Cathedral
Carcassonne Cathedral