Charming Carcassonne

We flew with Ryanair from Stansted for a weekend break in Carcassonne in the Languedoc – Roussillon region of France about 56 miles south east of Toulouse. The town of Carcassonne has been a popular tourist attraction for years but since the publication of Dan Brown’s novel “The Da Vinci Code” and film of the same name, which featured Carcassonne in the storyline, along with many other historic sites in Europe, it has seen a huge increase in visitors.

Carcassonne is divided into two distinct parts, with the main attraction, the medieval walled castle area known as La Cite, situated up above the modern lower town area and separated from it by the River Aude. La Cite holds World Heritage site status and is one of the most visited sites in Southern France.

The taxi from the airport takes approximately 20 minutes and costs €15. The taxi dropped us at the hotel shuttle service meeting point outside the walls of La Cite, as inside is a pedestrian only area, except for service vehicles to hotels, restaurants and shops. We were quickly transferred inside La Cite to our hotel the Hotel Le Donjon. Hotel Le Donjon has 56 rooms and six suites located in three separate buildings, the main Le Donjon, Maison des ramparts and Maison du Comte Roger. All combine medieval architecture with comfortable rooms and all mod cons. There is a lounge, bar and breakfast room in the main building and nearby are a separate brasserie and also an excellent wine bar.

We enjoyed wandering through the maze of narrow winding cobbled streets lined with ancient buildings, which are now restaurants and shops. There are only 2 hotels within La Cite, all other hotels are in the modern lower part of the city.

We walked along the ramparts of the double fortified walls, which surround the City and contain 52 towers and barbicans and visited the Castle, Chateau Comtal, which was built in the 12th Century and was restored along with much of the City in the 19th Century.

We walked into the lower town across the Pont Vieux bridge which crosses the River Aude and stopped off for a drink in the main square, Place Carnot, where a lively Market is held on Saturdays. We also took a short cruise on the Canal Du Midi where you can choose from a selection of cruises from one and a half to three hours duration and offering a spectacular view of La Cite.

With so many restaurants to choose from we stayed within the La Cite in the evenings. Seafood, beef steaks, duck and pork dishes featured on all menus as well as the local speciality Le Cassoulet, which consisted of a leg of duck, Toulouse sausages, belly pork and haricot beans all cooked and served in a large brown dish - delicious but very filling so you don’t need a starter!

Carcassonne is an unusual and somewhat unique place, ideal for a weekend break or as a base for a longer holiday touring the Languedoc Region.

A small piece of advice, make sure you stay within La Cite, rather than outside in the lower part of Carcassonne. La Cite is where all the action is! Hotel Le Donjon is great choice in a fabulous location offering great rates.