Chance Passing
Have you ever had one of those times when you have wanted to visit a place, have been so close and yet torn between stopping or not? A place I had always wanted to visit was Carcassonne, a perfectly restored mediaeval town in the south-west of France. The trouble was that we had seen a lot of fortified towns and with our limited time, we had so many other things we wanted to see and do as well. We were on our way back to Toulouse after having visited Collioure (see earlier post), and speeding along the autoroute we saw this!
Now, I ask you, could you have carried on driving past? Wouldn't you take the very next exit and have to visit somewhere that was just screaming out to be visited? Of course, we did, and to think that we could so easily have missed the chance. After driving around the new (lower) town, we found a free carpark just below the walls of the citadel, and headed up. Carcassonne was first settled in the 2nd century BC, but it was at it's zenith in the 12th century...I get blown away by the skills and craftmanship of those architects and builders, and to think it has survived to this day. Also amazing is that people still live and work within this ancient city...what a cool place to head off to each day.
La Porte d'Aude (13th century) - the entrance, NOT Andrew!
12th century 'Count's Chateau', a castle within a castle.
Basilica of St Nazaire (11th century)
The Bells...the bells!
Carcassonne is protected by a double ring of ramparts and 53 towers.
Unfortunately time was against us as we had to get back on the road, but this brief detour was well worth it and we wouldn't have missed it for anything.
Now, I ask you, could you have carried on driving past? Wouldn't you take the very next exit and have to visit somewhere that was just screaming out to be visited? Of course, we did, and to think that we could so easily have missed the chance. After driving around the new (lower) town, we found a free carpark just below the walls of the citadel, and headed up. Carcassonne was first settled in the 2nd century BC, but it was at it's zenith in the 12th century...I get blown away by the skills and craftmanship of those architects and builders, and to think it has survived to this day. Also amazing is that people still live and work within this ancient city...what a cool place to head off to each day.
La Porte d'Aude (13th century) - the entrance, NOT Andrew!
12th century 'Count's Chateau', a castle within a castle.
Basilica of St Nazaire (11th century)
The Bells...the bells!
Carcassonne is protected by a double ring of ramparts and 53 towers.
Unfortunately time was against us as we had to get back on the road, but this brief detour was well worth it and we wouldn't have missed it for anything.