Last Saturday morning we realised that if we did not take the chance to get away for a few days we would have no time to fit it in before I go back to the UK in May to be with the family. A couple of hours later we had booked our hotel in the Mediaeval Cite of Carcassonne.
There has been no work done in the garden this week but if you would like to share our visit to Carcassonne – here are some photographs of the places we saw.
The area is really beautiful and we hope to return another time to explore more of the countryside.
Outer walls and ramparts of Carcassonne. The medieval cite was restored by the french architect Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th. century.
The Narbonnaise entrance to the old city
Restored 12th. century house
The old cite is on the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites and restoration and repair is continuous.
We took a guided tour and Julian our guide did an admirable hob of giving us a potted history of Carcassone and the Cathars in a time slot of two and a half hours.
View of the old city from the new city on the other side of the river Aude.
Basilique des Saints Nazarre et Celse 11th & 14 th. Century
Gargoyle on the Basilica Saints Nazarre
North rosace
Stain glass window Basilica Saints Nazarre early 14th. century
The Doros choir was singing in the Basillica. I cannot describe how beautiful these five men sounded using only their range of voices.
Staying in the old city lets you capture the feel of the ramparts in the evening
Canal du Midi at Carcassonne
I think these people chose the best transport for a view of the Canal du Midi.
Minerve has the accolade of one of the most beautiful villages in France
Village door in Minerve
The cobbled streets of Minerve
La Porte d’Eau Lagrasse. Lagrasse also has the accolade “Les Plus Beaux Villages de France”
Lagrasse looking towards the Abbey Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse
Perfect place for children to play in the river Orbieu running through Lagrasse
a french garden 
thank you for giving me a little vacation!
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Your welcome 🙂
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This is somewhere already on my list to visit and your images have made me want to visit even more, thanks for sharing. Christina
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Our guide, Julian, said it was the third most visited place in France after Paris and Mont St. Michael, which surprised me. I think there is a lot of internal tourism and were amused with all the little boys we saw in their plastic breast plates with cross bows etc. The area around it is truly beautiful and we did not have time to visit the many ruins of the Cathar castles.
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As much as there is a lot to photograph here, in the US, one thing missing are these type of structures. They would, indeed, be very interesting to visit and photograph.
Thanks for sharing.
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The US is such a young country. We were living in the States during the 1976 celebrations and it really brought it home.
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A beautiful spot and you were able to enjoy it without crowds of people it would seem.
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We were there during the school holidays or it would have been quieter, which could have posed problems as some of the restaurants in the old city may have been closed. Most of France can be very quiet outside of their annual holidays during July and August. In the UK we often take short breaks at different times of the year but it isn’t so common here.
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Lovely photos. I went to Carcassonne about 20 years ago and found it fascinating. Sadly I was not able to stay overnight in the city walls. That must be wonderful.
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I don’t expect it has changed to much since then 🙂 Seriously, they still are making improvements to protect it.
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OMG what a beautiful place and superb photos. If your goal was to make me as jealous as can be, you succeeded!
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It is a really interesting area of France and I’m looking forward to another visit some time.
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Brings back some happy memories. Thanks! RH
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It really is a special place.
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Wow-what a beautiful place. I like the tunnels through the ramparts and the amazing wisteria. It’s hard to imagine a place that is so old.
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I think that is the difference between the States and Europe. France has got many more very old buildings than the UK. They had more people interested in maintaining their heritage much earlier on.
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Thanks for these photos we will be down there next month to see for ourselves. Have a great weekend. Diane
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I hope you have as good a time as we did. There is so much to see in the region we will return for another visit when we get the time.
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Looks like you picked a good time to visit – blue sky and not too thronged with other visitors. In July and August, it can be difficult to move through those narrow streets. Every year, we like to go to one or two of the open air concerts (held in the ‘old’ amphitheatre) during the summer Festival – its quite magical. The July 14th fireworks are also magnifique!
http://www.festivaldecarcassonne.fr/festival.nsf/vueTitre/FestivaldeCarcassonne
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Thanks for the link. The concerts sound great. I’ve never been so organised to get to anything like that. My only complaint about French life is that everything seems to happen in mid summer including visits from family and friends and we seem to miss a lot of events.
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Beautiful shots Amelia – I particularly love the one with the sunset through the arch.
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Thank you, I struggle with buildings.
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