Visiting Carcassonne: France’s famous Medieval Walled City

Carcassonne is a fortified French medieval walled city located in southwestern France. One of the most popular attractions in France, this unique walled city, which was classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997, draws more than 3 million visitors annually (about the same amount of people who are found visiting Mont Saint Michel each year).

Carcassonne is actually an entire city that is essentially one huge castle (La Cite de Carcassonne) where huge ramparts separate the fortified city on top of a large hill overlooking where most of the population lives today in the Ville Basse. The La cite de Carcassonne, which is encircled by a huge double row of fortified walls that run almost 2 miles long, is also accentuated by 56 imposing and impressive watchtowers.

While there are a few too many touristy souvenir shops hawking tacky medieval inspired wares, walking the narrow cobblestoned streets and taking in the sites and sounds of this unique site are well worth dodging the other tourists you may encounter within the walls.

What does the name “Carcassonne” mean?

In 760, “Pepin the Short”, King of the Franks, took most of the south of France back from the Saracens, except for Carcassonne. True to its reputation, it remained an impregnable fortress. After a long siege, the Franks had good reason to think that the inhabitants of Carcassonne would soon starve and surrender. But Dame Carcas, the widow of the Sarrasin lord of the castle, devised a plan to save the city. She had a pig fed with the last sacks of grain the inhabitants could find. When the pig was fat enough, it was thrown over the city’s ramparts. At the sight of such a well-fed fat animal, the astonished assailants concluded that the inhabitants still had enough food in stock to stave off famine and weren’t about to surrender any time soon. And so they gave up and quickly lifted the siege. Dame Carcas rang all the bells of the city all day long to celebrate the victory. Legend has it that Dame “Carcas sonne” (Dame “Carcas rings”) is where the name of the city came from.

History of Carcasssonne

Carcassonne was historically located in at an important and strategic location for both trade and served as a frontier post for groups marching north towards Paris. The city’s fortifications were built larger and stronger over several centuries and Carcassonne has a long history of being known as impenetrable and has been a stronghold against attacks from outsiders—avoiding attacks and successfully keeping foreign rule out of the stone walls encasing the city.

3500 BC: Settlement near the present-day site of Carcassonne can be traced back as far as 3500 BC, when the city of Carsac (an old Celtic name) was an important trading hub.

100 BC: Around 100 BC, Carcassonne was first identified as being strategically important and the city was first fortified by the Romans, who called the city the colony of Julia Carsaco and later Carcasum.

462: The Romans finally officially ceded Carcassonne to a local Visigoth King who has ruled over Carcassonne since 453 and who built even more fortifications to protect the city from outside invasions.

508: The Visigoths inhabiting Carcassonne successfully foiled attacks by the Frankish King Clovis, who attempted to gain controlled of the walled city.

725: Saracens from Barcelona were able to successfully conquer Carcassonne in 725, but they were driven away by King Pipin the Younger in 759.

1067-1096: In 1067, Carcassonne became the property of a viscount of Nimes and in the following centuries, the Trencavel family (an important noble family in the Languedoc region of France from the 10th-13th centuries) ruled over and continued to build up the fortifications at Carcassonne. The Trencavel family also built the Basilica of Saint Nazaire and the central Chateau Comtal.

1096: Pope Urban II blesses the foundation stones of the new cathedral (a Catholic bastion against the Cathar heretics).

12-13th Centuries: Carcassonne first became famous around Europe for its role in the Albigensian Crusades ( a Roman catholic crusade against the Cathar heretics, many of whom lived in the walls of Carcassonne. In 1209, Simon de Montfort captured Viscount Trencavel, imprisoning him and allowing him to die before declaring himself the new viscount of Carcassonne. Over the next decades, Montfort continued to ass fortifications to the city.

1240-1250: In 1240, Trencavel’s failed at an attempt to recapture Carcassonne and in 1247 the city submitted to the rule of France under King Louis IX, who also added to the outer ramparts—continuing to add to the reputation of Carcassonne as impregnable.

1355: During the hundred years war, the Prince if Wales failed to take to the city despite destroying the village below.

1659: the Treaty of Pyrenees transferred the border province of Roussillon to France, and Carcassonne’s military significance was reduced. Fortifications were abandoned, and the city became mainly an economic center that concentrated on the woolen textile industry.

19th century: Over the next few centuries, the city of Carcassonne fell into serious disrepair and in 1849 the French government decided it should be demolished to a great uproar. Famous writer Prosper Merimee (known for his novels and plays about life in Provencal France) and others lead a campaign to save the fortress as an important historical site and in 1853 works began to refortify and renovate the city.

Present Day: Today Carcassonne has been re-built to its former glory and is now one of the most visited attractions in France (along with Mont Saint Michel), attracting more than 3 million visitors per year.

What to do in Carcassonne

Take a Tour

There are tours offered in many languages that will teach you some of the history and point out points of interest in Carcassonne. I highly recommend taking one these tours, as they will not only give you a brief lesson on the history of the site, but also allow you to check out the fortified walls and watch towers.

Go to the Festival de la Cite

If you find yourself in France in July and close to Carcassonne on Bastille Day (July 14), there is the Carcassonne Festival de la Cite when the entire city celebrates with special music and theatre performers. In 2009 the festival features performances by Vanessa Paradis, Diana Ross, ZZ Top, the National Orchestra of Lyon and more.

Stroll the streets, eat cassoulet and visit the Basee Ville

You can also spend a whole day simply strolling the Medieval cobble stoned streets, checking out the city and maybe even snacking on a traditional cassoulet (a hot stew-like dish made from white beans, pork cubes, sausage and sometimes a hunk of duck).

While la cite (the walled section of Carcassonne) can be tourist hell in high tourist summer season, the Ville Basse located in the shadow of the impressive fortress is well worth checking out as well.

Where to Stay

While there is a hostel located within the walls of La Cite de Carcassonne, you might be better off (specially in July in France or August in France) staying below the fortress in the Ville Basse. Here you will find a wider range of accommodation options, which range from budget to high-end.

>>See Hotels near Carcassonne (coming soon)

Getting to Carcassonne

Carcassonne is located in southwestern France between Toulouse and Narbonne and is also located just a short distance from the Canal du Midi for those taking a barge cruise in France.

By Train

I am almost always an advocated of taking the train in France and this is definitely a great mode of transportation for getting to Carcassonne. Carcassonne is located on the TGV rail line linking Narbonne and Toulouse. It is only a 50 minute train ride from Toulouse and costs about €10.

By Car

If you are renting a car in France and will be driving in France to Carcassonne, then you should know that cars are not allowed with the walls of La Cite during the day in the summer months (too many tourists clog the narrow streets).

There are many roads that come to Carcassonne coming from various other destinations in France. The map below from the Carcassonne official tourism website shows the roads leading into and from Carcassonne.

By Plane

Ryanair is the only airline that flies into the airport at Carcassonne, which is located 5.5 km from town. This means if you are coming from the U.S. or another international destination you will likely have a layover somewhere else in France or Europe. There are daily flights from London (stansted).

There is a bus during the summer months from the airport into town. The Agglo’Bus leaves the train station two hours before each Ryanair flight and takes about 25 minutes and costs about €5.

By car, take the Carcasonne Ouest A61 motorway exit.

Photos by Sam Munson on flickr