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Author
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Topic: Citadel Carcassonne
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Levan
Moderator
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posted 10-29-2001 11:54 AM
  
I've recently come across the mediaeval city and fortress of Carcassonne. I'd rather like to visit it and wondered of any one has any photos, detailed information or recommendations about visiting. p.s. i've already searched the web and found some pretty nice stuff at a peripheral level, but would like to find something a little meatier. Some of the best sites so far. This site has a good tour and also information about seige engines: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/bbcp/english/index.html
http://mescladis.free.fr/ANGLAIS/pages%20html/welcome.htm
http://www.tourisme.fr/carcassonne/e_visit.htm
Thanks
Levan
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Marko
Senior Member
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posted 10-29-2001 02:51 PM
A visit to Carcassonne is certainly worth a visit! Inside the citadel no vehicles are allowed, so you can get a fairly medieval sense when strolling around.
However, both times I visited (during summer months) it was crowded with tourists. A lot of buildings inside the citadel are therefore used as restaurants and tourist shops. The castle inside the citadel houses a nice museum. Furthermore the surrounding countryside is beautiful and there are some campings nearby, some even with a view on the 'cite'.
A nice site (in english) about Carcassonne is at: http://www.cite-de-carcassonne.de/ ------------------
"But round about the castle there began to grow a hedge of thorns, which every year became higher...."
Visit my website at http://www.castles.nl/
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Erik Schmidt
Senior Member
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posted 10-30-2001 06:40 AM
Great place. I was there in September 1999, and yes lots of tourists but most of them arrive in buses and only walk around within the walls, and are gone by late afternoon.
There's a great little backpacker hostel in the old town, but the resturants are overpriced.
The fortifications have been extensively restored by that guy in the late 1800's, so the upper parts have a certain amounts of interpretation, but probably fairly accurate.
Parts of the castle has the wooden hoarding reconstructed, but you can't get up to it. The most intersting aspect for me were the walls and towers, part of their length still with considerable roman remains, and it's different building phases(roman, middle ages and restoration) are not difficult to differentiate. You can walk around the outside of the walls, but have to take the tour to get on top of them(only a short section).
There's a small 'museum' in a hotel(I think) just outside the main gate which displays a model of part of the walls under attack. It is very well done.
The first site you linked to is very good and I really can't add anything further.While there I suggest you check out the 4 small Cathar castles at lastours which can be reached by bus, the other Cathar castles are more difficult to get to from Carcassonne without own transport. Erik | |
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