Castelnaudary to Carcassonne: onward to the walled city

October 28, 2009

Weather: very foggy early, then sunshine, temp up to 23

The fog was so thick when we left Castelnaudary that we couldn't see across the the Grand Bassin, which is the largest body of open water on the canal. The Grand Bassin is the major scenic feature of Castelnaudary, so we were disappointed to miss it, but were glad to not be on the rental houseboats along the shore there, where we could see folks shivering over their breakfasts. As soon as we climbed up away from the canal, the fog dissipated, but we passed through bits of it here and there. Today our route took us essentially parallel to the canal on small roads through fields and stone villages. The canal path had deteriorated near Castelnaudary, and we prefer to ride on paved surfaces, with some variety to the scenery. There was more up and down today than we've experienced so far, but no major hills.

The rolling terrain included a series of small villages in the hills to the north of the canal.

We started looking for a place to eat lunch around noon, while passing through many picturesque villages with no restaurants—plenty of churches and hairdressers though. Finally in Pennautier, the restaurant was closed, but there was a tiny pizza shop with two tables, and we ordered two large “Reine” pizzas for 8.50 euros each that turned out to be really good with thin crust and tasty toppings. Pennautier was only about 10 km from Carcassonne, but we had to ride on on a very busy road into the city, so were glad to have eaten. As soon as we arrived in the lower “new city” of Carcassonne we stopped at a bistro for coffee, and drank it at an outside table. Restored, we wended our way uphill to our chambre d'hote, le Jardin de la Cité, just past the main gate of the walled old city.

Carcassonne was founded by the Visigoths in the 5th century, although the Romans had fortified the settlement earlier. Carcassonne became famous in the 13th century during the Albigensian crusades, when the city was a stronghold of Occitan Cathars. In August 1209 the crusading army of Simon de Montfort besieged the city and forced its citizens to surrender. Montfort was appointed the new viscount and added to the fortifications. Carcassonne became a border citadel between France and the kingdom of Aragon (Spain). In the 17th century Carcassonne's military significance was reduced and the walls and buildings fell into such disrepair that by the 1800s the French government planned to demolish the city. This caused an uproar and led to a campaign to preserve the fortress as a historical monument. Carcassonne was thoroughly restored in 1853 by a far-seeing architect and added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage sights in 1997. We were told that now it is the second most-visited tourist site in France, after Paris. We were glad to be there in the low season!

Our first real view of Cite of Carcassonne from the old bridge was stunning.

The towers and walls, restored in the mid 1800s, made an impressive sight.

At the chambre d'hote our host, Benoit, showed us our room with its own fenced patio where we could keep the bikes. From Benoit's garden we had a fine view of the very impressive towers and walls of La Cité. By this time (about 4 o'clock) it was really warm and sunny--like summer--so we changed our clothes and walked five minutes to the main gate. There's no admission charge to Carcassonne and it is never closed, so you can go through the gate and walk around at all hours. No cars are allowed—-the whole walled city is a pedestrian zone.

The view from the garden of our chambre d'hote, a short distance from the main entrance.

The bikes, safely parked on the patio outside our room.

We saw lots of retail—restaurants, clothing, souvenirs, hotels—but not as tacky as we had expected and probably an improvement over the emphasis on war and religion in the middle ages. There were a reasonable number of visitors, but not hordes, like in the summer. We wandered around and took pictures in the sunshine.

In the pleasant warm evening we went back into La Cité for dinner at Restaurant St. Jean, on Benoit's recommendation. It turned out to be very good with an excellent vegetable mille-fueille for an entree. On our way back the city had really emptied of tourists, and we got a feel for its history as we walked through the old narrow cobbled streets.

Today's ride: 52 km (32 miles)
Total: 371 km (230 miles)

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