The fortified city of Carcassonne

Near the upper limit of time Mikus and Lauris will spend in a car in one day (4.5 hours) from Clermont-Ferrand is Carcassonne. We chose the city as the first stop on our spring vacation tour due to this reason as well as its intriguing claim to the title of largest fortified city in France. Founded by the Visigoths in the fifth century, it was abandoned and left to decay until 1853 when it was thoroughly restored and eventually added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997.

The Cité consists of a fortified nucleus (the Château Comtal) with a double curtain wall. The outer ramparts with their 14 towers are separated by the inner ramparts and their 24 towers by the outer bailey, or lices. I found the view from the outside to be most impressive, and although the incredible detail within the city walls was astounding, the city itself was heavily tourist-oriented. Actors in supposed period costumes staged swordfights in squares surrounded by cafes serving overpriced sandwiches and pizzas and shops selling plastic bow and arrow sets. I was disappointed in the emphasis on tourists over history, however we chose not to wait in the hour-long line to see the interior of the Château and instead to visit a children’s playground outside of city walls, so maybe everyone has different priorities…

We made the correct choice in reserving a room at one of the hotels within city walls. Although forced to be a bit more selective in which baggage to take in from the car (which was parked outside the outer ramparts), we had the Cité to ourselves in the evening. We explored the small streets and found ourselves a comfy little restaurant for dinner before returning to our room to await the arrival of the Easter bunny.

The next morning, after a busy egg hunt in our little hotel room and the traditional olu sišanās, we toured the ramparts and lices, taking in some great views of the surrounding countryside and the Aude river. Once the car was packed up we headed to Pont Neuf bridge for a better look at the city from below. Nearby is the old bridge, which now serves only pedestrians, and it was there in Elle park that we relaxed and stretched our legs in preparation for the next leg of the trip, to Andorra.