Nick and Sandy provided instructions on how to fly to Carcassonne from London.  However, a more novel and stylish way to arrive could be on your own barge on the Canal du Midi.  You can charter a whole barge, but it doesn’t come cheap.  For a 6-passenger barge for 6 nights, the rate is about €20,000.

Canal cruising

However, if like most of us you don’t have that kind of spare change, the next option would be to join a cruise.  These barge cruises operate all over France, and Europe, and offer a more intimate and relaxing way of seeing the country. The barges generally carry from 6 to 12 people.

The Canal du Midi is a lovely and peaceful waterway that winds through the south-west of France.  Built in the 17th century, it is considered an engineering marvel and in 1999, it received recognition by UNESCO and was added to the list of World Heritage Sites.  The Canal du Midi starts from the shores of the Mediterranean and meanders inland through ancient villages and Roman fortifications towards the famed region of Bordeaux.  It is now used for pleasure boating between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean between Bordeaux and Sète.  Lined with shady trees and greenery, the tow paths are now used for cycling, jogging and leisurely walking.

The south-eastern part of the canal, between Toulouse and Marseillan and close to Sète, was called the Royal Languedoc Canal. The 200-km north-western portion, between Toulouse and Castets-en-Dorthe (near Bordeaux) was called the Garonne Lateral Canal, as it tracks the Garonne river. Originally called the Canal des Deux Mers (the canal of two seas), it was later renamed as the Canal du Midi.

I’ve checked out a couple of these cruises and they promise delicious regional specialities and lots of French wine. If you need a holiday to really wind-down, this looks like it.   Trips like this would certainly require good weather as there’s not much else you could do during a wet day.  Friends of ours have been on a couple of the French ones and raved about them.  Another thing to add to our To Do List!

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

So, I got somewhat side-tracked in the last week by yet another impending wedding, this one of my cousin from Singapore.  Family and relatives are flying in and hence the hunt for accommodation, making dinner plans and thinking of things for the folks to do.  My brother coolly requested for 4* or better hotel but at 3* prices, sending me into paroxysmic panic!  So, I’m scouring the net for deals everynight, and neglecting my blogs.

Now that I’ve found some reasonable accommodation at 3* price, I hope, it’s back to Carcassonne.  An unusual feature of this medieval walled town is that it has two rings of walls.  The first or external wall was built during the reign of Louis IX when the town was part of the royal estates, forming the seat of Senelschalsy.  During this same period, earthworks were carried out in the space between the two sets of walls (jousting grounds) and the Gallo-Roman or inner wall was strengthened.  Carcassonne was first as a Gaul settlement, then became a Roman town fitted with ramparts as early as the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D.  This picture of the town layout shows the double wall.

Much of the Gallo-Roman wall is still clearly visible today.  It consists of small, regular bonding with brick stringing.  The remainder of the inner wall dates from the reign of Philip the Fair.  There is free access to walk between the two ramparts, however visit to the inner wall is only available with guided tours.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

We had a very special wedding invitation tonight – our friends Nick and Sandy from London are getting married in France in September.  According to the Information Sheet, Nick and Sandy have booked a whole chateau hotel for their wedding party. 

The Chateau des Ducs de Joyeuse is 22 miles south of Carcassonne, an amazing medieval fortress town. Guests will be accommodated in the chateau for the whole weekend, compliments of the couple.  What a generous gesture by these guys.  Well Nick and Sandy have gone into exceptional detail to assist their guests with information.  Their Information Sheet covers flight instructions, car rentals, where to get the cheapest on-line deals and even car-pooling arrangements for those who do not wish to drive.  What a classy act!

Apart from wanting to share in our friends’ wedding, Carcassonne is a place that we would absolutely love to re-visit and have a longer stay there.  This wedding invite has spurred me on to do my next few blogs on Carcassonne. 

Travel Signposts Blog

This was the medieval town I was most looking forward to and it was impressive.  The perfectly restored medieval walled town lies on the right bank of the River Aude and is featured on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. It has 52 towers and two rings of town walls making a total of 3 km of battlements. Due to its strategic position, Carcassonne became a key element in medieval military conflicts. 

You enter through a massive main gate and pass through the gigantic outer walls into the town area, with its narrow streets – no cars here – and hidden squares. To get into the main castle and keep costs 5 euros. The entrance to it from the town side has an effective defence system with two portcullises, a massive door and a machicolation (murder hole) through which projectiles could be dropped upon attackers.  We particularly enjoyed walking along the hoarding which is a wooden gallery installed on top of the ramparts as an additional defence during sieges.  Openings in the floor allowed arrows to be fired and stones to be dropped from above.

As you can imagine, Carcassonne is an ideal location for filming and movies such as Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was made here.  It would be interesting to see the movie again to see which scenes were shot around here.  There is a lot to see here and we highly recommend that you hire the audio system when you enter the main castle which explains what each section is.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog