Destination: Carcassonne, France

While staying in Toulouse earlier this year, I made a few day trips to other towns in the southwest of France– one of them was Carcassonne, a fortified Medieval town that’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Perched on a hill and picturesque, it’s no wonder that it attracts plenty of tourists each year, as they spend the day walking around the inside walls of the old town.

Having visited a similar city– Pérouges— back in October, I was keen on seeing what Carcassonne had to offer. I took a BlaBlaCar from Toulouse and spent the time chatting amicably with my driver, who was French but had lived abroad in California (my home state) for some time. It was a coincidence, but all the same a good one. The hour drive passed quickly and soon enough, I arrived in Carcassonne. My driver had dropped me off in the newer part of town, so I had to walk about 15 minutes to access the citadel (“Cité de Carcassonne”).

Despite visiting in the dead of winter, it was a surprisingly warm, blue-sky day. I really lucked out, since Carcassonne is best to visit when the weather’s nice. It was such a good day that I could even make out the Pyrénées in the distance, which were snow-capped– I must’ve spent a good 30 minutes just outside the fortified walls taking photos of the mountains, because they were unbelievably gorgeous!

Eventually, I made my way in, passing by a statue of Lady Carcas, a princess who’d ruled the citadel according to an 8th-century story. Legend has it that she helped Charlemagne reclaim the town from the Muslims by throwing a pig fed with wheat from one of the towers and saving the people from starvation. After the siege ended, she sounded the bells to express liberty, and one of the army men cried out, “Carcas sonne!” (“Carcas has sounded the bell!”). That was how the name “Carcassonne” came to be to this day. I found the legend clever with the etymology, not to forget a solid representation of female rulers back in the day.

The visit requires paying for access to the citadel, which is made out to be a circuit running around the walls before ending at the basilique de Saint Nazaire. Paying the admission (7€), I proceeded to visit the cité for the morning. I did the circuit along the elevated walls, taking in the medieval architecture and gorgeous blue skies in the background. Again, I could see the Pyrénées in the distance, which of course distracted me with multiple photo opportunities. I ended up at the basilique de Saint Nazaire and entered it– sadly, the nave was blocked by glass for renovations, but I was still able to capture a decent photo of it.

Soon enough, I completed the circuit of the citadel. It was nearing lunchtime, but the restaurants within the walled city were closed (I guess off-season). That said, I headed to the newer part of town, crossing the bridge over the Aude river and seeing a bit of the other side of the city. I grabbed a formule déjeuner (sandwich, cookie, water) at a boulangerie and sat on a bench nearby for a quick lunch. Afterwards, I checked out the Carcassonne Cathedral and just wandered around town, which was filled with locals and tourists enjoying the winter sunshine.

My BlaBlaCar ride back to Toulouse wouldn’t be until close to 12:30, so I decided to return to the cité de Carcassonne to visit just a bit more. I wandered around the walls before making the trek towards the highway, near which I caught my ride back. My drivers were two university girls who, funny enough, were quite lost not only to pick up another passenger, but also to get back to Toulouse. They were young, so it was a matter of just bearing with it as they made mistake after mistake, swerving through round-abouts like rollercoasters before eventually dropping us off at a parking lot and getting caught by the police for going the wrong way (thankfully, the other passenger and I were dismissed while the two girls took care of the situation). Wild way to end my day trip, but a memorable one.

Any case, my time spent in Carcassonne was brief, but enough for half a day’s worth of visit. Even though there wasn’t really much to see inside the citadel, I still enjoyed just how picturesque it was– again, the excellent weather helped out! It’s a beautiful place, and it’s worth visiting while in France.

More of my day trips from Toulouse to come soon. Next up: Albi, France!

 

— Rebecca