Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
During La Cité's Golden Age, the 1100s, independent rulers with open minds al-
lowed Jews and Cathars to live and prosper within the walls, while troubadours wrote
poems of ideal love. This liberal attitude made for a rich intellectual life but also led to
La Cité's downfall. The Crusades aimed to rid France of the dangerous Cathar movement
(and their liberal sympathizers), which led to Carcassonne's defeat and eventual incorpor-
ation into the kingdom of France.
The walls of this majestic fortress were partially reconstructed in 1855 as part of a
program to restore France's important monuments. The tidy crenellations and the pointy
tower roofs are generally from the 19th century. As you continue your wall walk to higher
points, the lack of guardrails is striking. This would never fly in the US, but in France, if
you fall, it's your own fault (so be careful). Note the lights embedded in the walls. This
fortress,likemostimportantFrenchmonuments,isbeautifullyilluminatedeverynight(for
• You could keep working your way around the walls, and finish with the five Roman
towers just before you return to the starting point. Walking the entire circle between the
inner and outer gate is a terrific 30-minute stroll (and fantastic after dark).
But for this tour, we'll stop at the first entrance possible into La Cité, the...
Inner Wall Gate:
The wall has the same four gates it had in Roman times. Before
entering, notice the squat tower on the outer wall—this was a “barbican” (placed opposite
eachinnergateforextraprotection).Barbicanswerealwayssemicircular—openonthein-
side to expose anyone who breached the outer defenses. Invading today is far easier than
in the good old days. Notice the holes in the barbican for supporting a wooden catwalk.
Breach the walls and enter the square gate—look up to see a slot for the portcullis (the big
iron grate), and the frame for a heavy wooden door.
Once safely inside, look back up at the inner wall tower to view
beaucoup de
narrow
arrow slits—even if enemies got this far, they still weren't home free.
• Opposite the tower, work your way around to the entry of the...
St. Nazaire Church (Basilique St. Nazaire):
Thiswasacathedraluntilthe18thcen-
tury, when the bishop moved to the lower town. Today, due to the depopulation of the ba-
sically dead-except-for-tourism Cité, it's not even a functioning parish church. Notice the
Romanesque arches of the nave and the delicately vaulted Gothic arches over the altar and
transepts. After its successful conquest of this region in the 13th-century Albigensian Cru-
sades, France set out to destroy all the Romanesque churches and replace them with Goth-
ic ones—symbolically asserting its northern rule with this more northern style of church.
With the start of the Hundred Years' War in 1337, the expensive demolition was aban-
doned. Today, the Romanesque remainder survives, and the destroyed section has been re-
built Gothic, which makes it one of the best examples of Gothic architecture in southern
