Rooted in Roman history, the city of Carcassonne charms its visitors with a hilltop medieval citadel and slow-cooked comfort food: cassoulet.
As is the case with many places in France, the Languedoc area and Carcassonne specifically hold an important place in the wine industry. The city’s first fortifications date back to 550 BC. After the Romans conquered the city in 122 BC, it became a prominent wine trade point, conveniently located on the route from Narbonne (on the Mediterranean) to Bordeaux (on the Atlantic). The city’s next fortification came into being to fend off attackers in the 3rd and 4th centuries, in the form of a 1,200 meter-long wall. History shows the rise to the power of the local Trencavel dynasty, which is responsible for unifying several territories in the Languedoc area and for the construction of Saint-Nazaire basilica and Château Comtal. The city’s history also includes Catholic crusades against the Cathars. The Cathars were eliminated and eventually, Carcassonne became part of the French royal domain. You can read more about the city’s historical background here.
The city’s name was inspired by Lady Carcas, a Saracen noble lady who defended the city besieged by Charlemagne. Years of fighting left the city inside the wall still unoccupied but running out of provisions. Lady Carcas thought up a stratagem to discourage the attackers: she stuffed a pig with wheat and threw it over the wall. She wanted to fool the enemy into believing that the townspeople had so many grains that they could feed their animals and even waste it. Charlemagne halted the siege. As the troops withdrew, Lady Carcas rang the bells. One of Carlemagne’s soldiers exclaimed: “Sire, Carcas is ringing,” (‘Carcas sonne’), and the name stuck: Carcassonne.
The city’s walls did well to defend against attackers. My immune system, however, did nothing to stop the germs from taking over. I arrived in the city shivering and fevering…. To add insult to injury, our neighbor was up late, fighting demons, yelling at them in French, not allowing one single sliver of his enemy’s voice to be heard (was he on the phone?). Several hours into the show, my husband opened the door and yelled out: “Shut the hell up!” to which we heard a confused “Quoi?” but then the much-needed silence followed.
Since I was out of commission the evening we arrived, it was up to David to scout the place. He returned elated by the night time views of the citadel.
When daylight came, we ventured to the citadel. We crossed Aude River via Pont Vieux, a 14-century stone bridge connecting the Bastide Saint-Louis neighborhood to the fortress.
All the walking led us to… food. We wanted to taste the famed cassoulet, a hearty rustic dish originating in the Languedoc region. Three cities claim this slow-cooked cannellini beans and meat stew as “The OG”: Castelnaudary, Carcassonne, and Toulouse. The version we tasted featured duck meat. To be completely honest, it wasn’t much to write home about…. Maybe I need to sample a few more options.
The citadel was wonderful to explore and we were also pleasantly surprised visiting the adjacent Bastide Saint-Louis area. The morning sun felt good as it bathed the main square in a soft light. The coffee was strong and the hot sandwich was perfect: oozing melting cheese, savory ham, and crunchy fresh bread—French medicine. I instantly felt better.
