Located by the River Aude is this small chapel which was first constructed in 1497, near to the city’s hospital. It was extended in the sixteenth century but during the French Revolution it was sold off and became a residential property. The church was able to buy it back in the middle of the nineteenth century and restore it back to being a church.
My photo of the interior is rather blurry unfortunately, but it gives the general impression. Nothing survives of the pre French Revolution interior, but the Madonna with Child statue at the altar is from the period just after it became a church again in the nineteenth century.
The church is also one of the starting points for the Camino de Santiago.
Bastide St. Louis is the planned settlement which is separate from the castle and is located on the other side of the River Aude. We had thought that it might be a good place to get lunch, but on the Sunday that we visited, most things were closed and some of the cafes that were open had appalling reviews. It was also surprising just how quiet the whole area was, the streets were mostly empty.
The main square was not a beating heart of excitement. It was laid out in the thirteenth century and it is in approximately the centre of the town, with the information board saying that it’s a “lively place”, although that felt a little aspirational. It was originally known as the Place Royale, but that was seen as sub-optimal after the French Revolution and it was renamed Place Liberte. Napoleon changed it to Place Imperiale and with the restoration it went back to Place Royale. The sign-writers were likely excited by this constant updating of the branding, especially when in 1852 it became the Place aux Herbes and then in 1894 it took its current name, Place Carnot. This was to honour the President Sadi Carnot, who was assassinated in the same year.
Only around a third of the restaurants and cafes were open, with nothing looking overly inviting.
We noticed that a Carrefour was open and we were fortunate as it closed a few minutes after we had left. Here are my authentic French delights, a rather healthy lunch I thought. Well, sort of. We did though agree that we’d better go back to the castle to get our evening meal.
Another one of the interesting exhibits in the museum, this is a sixteenth century baptismal font from the Grés region of France, which is to the north east of Carcassonne. I don’t have much to write about this (not least as there’s not much information on the display panel), but I’m intrigued at how much damage was done to churches in the country during the French Revolution and how so many church treasures were displaced from their former home. It was a brutal destruction, nearly every one of the 30,000 churches in France had been forced to close by 1794. Which makes items such as these so interesting (well, to me, and I’m setting the bar low here) as they were so important to people when in churches, found themselves fortunate to survive into the nineteenth century and in the case of this one, is now likely seen by more people in this museum than when it was in a church. Anyway, I digress, I just liked this survival….. I must get back into blogging about food, but more on that shortly.
This statue is in the museum at Carcassonne and dates to the fourteenth century, likely from Sienna in Italy. I’m intrigued by items such as this as they would have had enormous emotional and religious relevance to people several hundred years ago and it’s also a particularly attractively designed statue. I don’t have much else of great note to write about this, it just intrigued me and so it deserves a place on this blog to excite and delight my two loyal readers. I didn’t know this until I read it on the information panel for the statue, but the dove in the infant’s hand represents the Holy Spirit.
The fortress itself in Carcassonne is free of charge to enter, but it costs around £9 or so to enter the citadel. We had a wait of around eight minutes to buy tickets, but I was impressed at the organisation and clarity of the operation. Here’s Liam excitedly waiting to go across the bridge.
Much of what is visible here in terms of the roofing was recreated in the nineteenth century, but it’s still imposing.
There are extensive views over the surrounding area and the entrance ticket allows visitors to walk a near complete circuit around these ramparts.
An old window.
Liam keenly looking at something old.
More of the rampart walk. It wasn’t particularly busy when we visited, although during the summer months it’s recommended to buy an advance ticket to ensure access.
And Liam walking along it.
A worn away step.
I think that this is entirely recreated, but it’s where the defenders would pour things over anyone below trying to gain entry. There was a museum element to visit next on this tour, but that sufficiently interested me to get its own blog post.
Liam, inspired by the imposing buildings. Well, or something like that.
This somewhat concerned me for a brief moment, but I’m pleased to say that it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as this sign suggested that it might be.
Carcassonne is divided into two parts, one is the castle side and the other is the Saint Louis District on the other side of the River Aude. This latter settlement was constructed in the fourteenth century and is laid out in a grid pattern and there were once medieval fortifications around it, although these have been taken down. There were lots of arguments between the two settlements until they were united as a single commune in the nineteenth century. In the above photo the two settlements are visible, separated by the river which is where the bridge is.
The remnants of the Roman fortifications. I was suitably fascinated by this survival and went to have a look at them, more of which later on. The anticipation of it all!
A model of the castle at the end of the tour. It takes around ninety minutes to look around the site and it was all well laid out with sufficient signage to explain what was going on. For anyone who is wondering whether to pay to enter, I’d suggest that it’s worthwhile as it’s the heart of the entire castle.
Sunday was the only full day that we had in Carcassonne and so it seemed sensible to spend that time exploring the castle itself. We walked to the outside and it wasn’t overly busy, but there were inevitably a fair few people milling around.
It’s an undeniably large structure and it’s now a UNESCO World Heritage site. There has been a defensive structure here since Roman times, with some of that still visible, but it was during the Middle Ages that it was significantly extended in size and scope.
We started our visit by walking around the exterior of the castle to help get our bearings.
There were plenty of steps and slopes. The castle had started to be neglected from the middle of the seventeenth century and, in 1849, the Government of France decided that they’d demolish it. That was seen as entirely sub-optimal by numerous people and efforts were made to repair and restore it, a decision which seems to have been for the long-term benefit of the local area. Following the intervention of the President of France, restoration work began in 1853 and although some of it was not really ideal and not quite appropriate, at least it meant that the building was saved and it has given some elements rather a quirky feel.
There are sweeping views of the local area from all directions.
Stone. There’s a lot of stone.
There’s a horse drawn carriage that goes around the perimeter for those who don’t want to, or can’t, walk it.
Not everything is accessible, but it’s all in a reasonably good state of repair. It took around 20 minutes to walk around the castle, although we spent some time faffing and taking photos. It’s certainly a useful way of getting an understanding of the scale and size of the whole complex and there’s no charge for walking around.
I’m not sure that I took any photos inside of this hotel, so this external shot will just have to do. There was a dead cat outside, which seemed something of a bad omen and especially as it was still there two days later. I wasn’t obviously expecting it to move itself, but I wondered if someone else would. But, it’s probably not fair to judge the hotel but what animals have been killed on the road outside of it. I’ve digressed though. The welcome at reception was immediate, warm and engaging with the hotel feeling comfortable and clean.
The room was cheap and Liam agreed willingly he could have the mezzanine level, also known as the top bunk bed thing. These rooms have one double bed and a single bed on top at a different angle, but it was the £30 per night per room price range which made this appealing. The room was clean, the temperature was appropriate and there were no real noise issues either internally or externally. We didn’t have breakfast, but it’s quite basic at Ibis Budget hotels so there seemed better options in the town itself. The hotel has a small bar area as well at the seating area at reception.
The hotel isn’t brilliantly reviewed on-line, but I wonder whether there are some unreasonable aspirations from some customers about what level of luxury is provided here. I’d happily stay here again, especially at this price point.
Our intention was to eat at My Beers, but they were rather busy, so we went to the more sedate surroundings next door of Au Bureau, part of a national chain.
A motorbike at the entrance. I’m sure it symbolised something, but I’m not sure what. We had turned up after 21:00 and so weren’t sure if they were still welcoming diners, but they did and fortunately they spoke English since the efforts Liam and I made at French were a little sub-optimal and didn’t obviously benefit any party.
The chicken burger, which met my expectations, and Liam has some sort of beef burger which is visible in the background. I liked the variety of sauces, the food was well presented, the chicken was tender and it all tasted of a good quality, so I couldn’t ask for much more. The drink is a Ruby Leffe, which is something that I haven’t had before and is a red fruit beer, aromatic and more interesting than I thought it perhaps might be. I’ve been looking out for this in UK bars, so I was pleased to see it.
It was busy in the large restaurant, the atmosphere was welcoming and the service was polite and efficient. The reviews of the venue are average, but there were no issues that we noted and everything came out promptly.
Liam made me have a dessert, a heap of ice cream with popcorn. I usually skip desserts, but it was an occasional trip away for me and so I felt that I deserved it. All told, we were pleased with where we ended up and it was useful to have something more substantial than the more snack based menu that we were expecting from the bar next door.
On the way back from the restaurant Liam decided to take a little short-cut and got us lost. I pretended that I wasn’t annoyed.
This bar is a part of a national franchise, a nod towards the growing craft beer trend that is continuing to take place across France.
I got fridge envy seeing this.
Unfortunately, we visited on a Saturday evening, which meant that the bar was packed and there was some loud music blaring out from a band. The service was prompt, polite and helpful, with the venue having a welcoming vibe. It did mean that it wasn’t quite the visit we wanted, as we had hoped to get food and there were no spare tables available. I like the concept, but couldn’t see a beer list and they might be well served by becoming Untappd verified. It was an extensive range and they had sourced local, national and international beers.
The prices were reasonable, although it was a little difficult trying to unpick which brewery was brewing each beer and I struggled to read the bottles in the fridges.
I liked the design of this bar, this is certainly on-trend. It’s located in a retail park out of the centre of Carcassonne and so I was moderately surprised at how many people had got there (we had walked fifteen minutes from our hotel).
As we were on the continent, we decided to go al fresco with our beers. Although the music was perhaps a bigger reason to go outside if I’m being honest. I went for a Vertigo from BAPBAP brewery, and it was a decent IPA with a fruity edge to it. It gave us an initial problem that we needed food, but luckily, I noticed that there was a restaurant next door so this was a plan that didn’t require much thinking about. As for this chain, it’s an excellent concept as France needs far more craft beer venues. It’s the future.
There’s a bus that goes from the airport at Carcassonne into the city centre shortly after each flight arrives. However, we weren’t going with that convenience and especially not at the luxurious price point of €6 each, so we decided to walk. I have form here, since I walked to and from the airport last time I came here.
Liam wanted us to walk along the equivalent of the M25, but my much calmer and more fearful mind thought that we’d take a rather more quiet and peaceful route.
Liam claimed that I was walking us into a retail park, but I’m a professional at these things.
And as if by magic, we stumbled into a McDonald’s. This was handy, they had charging facilities for my phone. Incidentally, and I don’t want to get sidetracked, but this was decent value at €6 (the same as the bus fare) and I got a fish sandwich which was better than I had anticipated. For food critics, we did have a little more local food as well later on during this weekend, but this was a suitable lunch for us. And, yes, I know it’s Heineken, but McDonald’s isn’t yet known for its craft beer range. Maybe one day they’ll have some Coolhead beer.
I twice got entangled by this bloody tape.
Some old vehicle.
Professional looking signage as we headed towards the canal.
I admit that the scenery wasn’t always spectacular.
But it improved once we got to the canal.
Approaching the centre of the city. I mentioned to Liam that there was an impressive castle at Carcassonne, but he was quite sceptical as he still couldn’t see it by the time we reached the centre.
That’s some canal… But more on this canal in a later post as we did a walk along it.
Liam, still sceptical, asked if that tower was something to do with the castle. I encouraged him to keep faith that there was actually a big castle to see.
This was a bit of drama, some hoarding that had fallen on a car that the police were trying to remove. I think they wondered why I was taking a photo, but they probably didn’t know I had a blog that needed some vague effort being made at content.
Liam by now had spotted the castle.
I think he was pleased that I hadn’t misled him.
And here we are at our luxury accommodation. By luxury, I mean so cheap that Richard wouldn’t stay there, but Liam and I don’t have very high expectations. The walk took just under two hours including the stop at McDonald’s and we were unanimous (well, I was) that the €6 was better spent on food and drink than on a bus fare. All rather lovely.
