I’m surprised there haven’t been more accidents on the closest autoroute to Carcassonne because it is really distracting while driving on it. From this vantage point, the incredibly beautiful crenellated medieval walled town of Carcassonne is the only thing your eyes want to look at…but keep your eyes on the road!
Carcassonne is separated into the fortified Cité de Carcassonne and the more expansive lower city, the ville basse. The folk etymology – involving a châtelaine named Carcas, a ruse ending a siege and the joyous ringing of bells (”Carcas sonne”) – though memorialized in a neo-Gothic sculpture of Mme Carcas on a column near the Narbonne Gate—is of modern invention. The fortress, which was thoroughly restored from 1853 by the theorist and architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997. [from Wikipedia]
Related Extras
1. There’s a board game “Carcassonne” by Rio Grande Games
2. The stamp commemorating the fortress of Carcassonne by the French Postal Service.
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If you haven’t read it yet, The Treasure of Montségur is an excellent read about the Cathars in the region of Carcassone. Really fascinating. Montségur is not far from where you were, and I think the ruins still stand.
Comment by Ronica (Mrs. B in Paris --> La Rêveuse) 11.14.06 @ 6:23 pm