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Carcassonne

There is not that much of interest to see in Carcassonne itself but The Cite is truly a sight you will remember for years to come with it's fairy-tale ancient citadel towering high above the River Aude. So much of Carcassonne; Cite is fabrication that it does resemble something from Disneyland but it is still well worth spending the day there. There is the walled town complete with it's castle and basilica, and the medieval lower town. Carcassonne; Cite was settled as far back as the sixth-century BC. It has been through the Romans and Visigoth before flourishing with the Languedocuan family, the Trencavels. The Trencavels had many other buildings in Languedoc becoming vassals of the Counts of Toulouse (the "St-Gilles" family) in 1163, and Carcassonne; Cite was their principal residence. It has suffered greatly through the ages with the ville basse even being burnt to the ground in 1355. After the annexation of Roussillon in 1659, the border shifted south and Carcassonne entered a period of inactivity, during this time the abandoned citadel was quarried for it's stones. It wasn't until the nineteenth century when Viollet-le-Duc rescued it and spent fifty years restoring it.

The Cite has yearly pageants and fantastic Bastille Day celebrations with the second largest fire work display in France. If you do decide to visit around Bastille Day be prepared as the hotels book up a year in advance and obviously the whole place is incredibly busy with traffic jams likely in all directions for many kilometres.

You can wander around the Cite on your own or there are walking tours and also horse drawn carriage rides around the Cite for those who prefer to take things easy. Also within the Cite there are museums and restaurants/bars with lots of outside seating where you can stop for a rest. You can stay overnight night if you wish within the walls of the Cite as there are a number of hotels to suit all budgets. The Hotel de la Cite 04 68 71 98 71 being the most opulent; the rooms on the ground floor have their own private gardens. Carcassonne has very good transport links, Carcassonne's airport is just west of town, the Gare SNCF is on the north side of the ville basse just over the Canal du Midi. If you arrive by car there is ample reasonably priced parking by the Cite in the car parks.

Market Days:

Carcassonne ---Saturday ---General

Carcassonne--- Saturday--- General

Carcassonne--- Thursday ---General

Carcassonne ---Tuesday ---General