Determined to see as much as possible this weekend (as well as keep French rail, tram and metro in business) we headed off this morning for the city of Carcassonne, in particular to visit the medieval walled city and castle which stands high above the town.
We started our visit with a guided tour which explained the 2,500 years of history on this site, beginning with a Roman fort and covered the Middle Ages - the time of the Cathars and the Crusades against them by the Catholic church - then the period when the city was abandoned while a new town was built below using stone salvaged from the walls and castle and the reconstruction in the 19th Century which - according to your viewpoint - either restored it to its former glory or turned it into a Medieval Disneyland.
After our guided tour we set off to walk the ramparts - just as challenging as on our visit with Mum and Dad, Maggie and Andrew in 1976, but much busier. This may be because since 1997 it has been a World Heritage Site and is the fifth most visited site in France.
We visited the church - originally built in the 10th and 14th centuries..
It was a good visit but a shame to hear and see how the city has changed - only 50 people (from 700 prior to 1997) now call the old city home and there are now more restaurants than residents!
I bet it was good to re visit. I remember visiting but can't recall much of it. What a shame that the old city has become virtually a museum. Great pictures.
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