There's a lot of wind today and the clouds are chasing along the blue sky. Sometimes innocent white, sometimes threatening dark gray.

We drive to the city of Carcassonne. The Aude River divides the city in two. On the one hand you have the new part, with cozy squares and parks, shopping streets and terraces.

But on the other side of the river, accessible via two bridges over the Aude, the ancient, albeit restored, fortified city looms up in height. It's an impressive, well-preserved fortress.

The castle itself was built in the 12th century, but the trade settlement itself was already mentioned in the 8th century BC. At that time there was already a fence of 1 km with 30 towers.

When the Romans conquered the region in the 2nd century, they further built the fortress. In the Middle Ages, the city went into the hands of one count after another.

It was not until 1229 that the city came into the hands of the French. It immediately became the main defensive post against the king of Aragon. They provided an extra defense by building a fortress in a fortress. There was a new wall around the old wall.

The town centre of the so-called cité has cozy streets with small restaurants and a lot of clothing and souvenir shops.

It is also a lot busier, so we don't stay there. From the loopholes of the castle in the old town, you have a view of the new Carcassonne below, across the Aude.

You can also visit the castle itself. We did not do this, because we visited it a few years ago.

#frankrijk #carcassonne #france #aude #reisverslag #reisverhalen #katharen

Sources: Wikipedia and Grand Carcassonne Tourisme Fr. Own photos.

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