Château et Remparts de la Cité de Carcassonne — Attraction in Carcassonne

Unique in its kind, the Cité de Carcassonne is a fine example of medieval military architecture. It is not only one of the largest fortified cities in Europe, but also the largest medieval complex on the continent, and arguably one of the best preserved. The stones that make up the Cité tell us the history of the place. A rich and complex history spanning several centuries, from the Gallo-Roman period (from the 3rd century BC) to the 19th century. Strolling through the citadel and standing on its ramparts is like contemplating 2,500 years of history.

At the heart of the medieval city of Carcassonne, the Château Comtal was built in the western part of the Cité, the highest and therefore best protected. On this side, the city overlooks the Aude River, making it difficult to access and thus serving as a protective feature. Today, consisting of a stately palace separating two courtyards, the castle dominates the Lower Town, protected by 11 towers, including two keeps. The main entrance is guarded by twin towers forming a gatehouse with elaborate defensive systems. The Watchtower, in the South Courtyard, is the castle's tallest. It is one of the city's few square towers.

Constantly modified over time, the count's castle was enlarged in the 12th century by the Trencavels, Viscounts of Carcassonne. A primitive castle already stood on this site. The construction of this new palace, begun around 1130, took place in a very unique context. The establishment of the feudal system led to the division of the territory and the decentralization of power: vast territorial areas were placed under the responsibility of lords, tasked with administering the various regions on behalf of the Carolingian kingdom. While these families owed loyalty to the king, they were increasingly powerful and independent. In Carcassonne, the Trencavel dynasty managed to establish its dominance and ensured the management of the viscounty. This was an important family, composed of fierce warriors and great builders. The city was, however, threatened by the presence of two powerful neighbors, the Counts of Toulouse and Barcelona, ​​who were fighting over the South of France. The Viscounts of Carcassonne, allying themselves with one, sometimes with the other, managed to reconcile these two powers.

This was a prosperous period, which allowed for the development of trade and the urban expansion of the city. After the construction of the Saint-Nazaire basilica, the castle, which housed the seigneurial power, was fortified and enlarged. From the 11th century onwards, it was an important living space, including a great hall, kitchens, stables and a keep. It is the only room in the count's castle to have retained its medieval appearance; the walls of the state room are still decorated with the original paintings. Made with semi-precious stones, they represent epic scenes that tell of the power of the Lords during the Crusades. Later, in the 12th century, the castle also housed a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary, which was destroyed during the Revolution (with the exception of its apse, which is still visible). Today, little remains of the castle from this period, which then consisted of two buildings forming an L and dominated by a watchtower. The castle was then separated from the rest of the city by a...

The route is great, the experience is nice, but I have to raise awerness of the issue with my audioguide. I payed 4 euros just like everyone, asked an English guide, all went well until the 1st section when it said goodbye that's the tour. I was like weird why the 2nd and 3rd section not covered. Then I noticed for others it works in other languages. When I returned the audioguide I asked the same guy (the red bearded) why my audioguide was shorter, I payed the same price like the others but received only half the product. His reply? A continous smirky smile. Then it was a bug. Then it's maybe a different version. When I asked why, I asked the normal English one: the same arrogant smile. When I said i payed the same as others: "they others also payed 4 euros". He gave me some shortened version, didn't apologize, didn't even acknowledge my complaint, but acted only arrogant and 0 effort to find out what happened. I'm very disappointed, feel robbed (it's a principle, clearly not the 4 euros) and as a big history nerd it ruined a bit my experience of Carcassonne. Yep such small things can do that. I recommend additional customer support training...

Quite expensive and not really a "must see". It is not possible to get a separate ticket for the ramparts except at the end of the day, so we had to get the combined ticket with chateau included. It was necessary to walk though the chateau to get to the ramparts. The chateau is interesting but can be appreciated nearly as well from outside, there is not much extra inside to see. The audio guide is very poor, an old-fashioned linear narration with only a single play/pause control, difficult to synchronise with the exact location and with no skip or replay functions, so tedious to use. Most information was anyway also given on information boards, which were easier to use than the annoying audio guide. The ramparts walk (on the inner city walls) was good but was restricted to about one-third of the circumference. After exiting the ramparts walk, we walked around the path between the inner and outer city walls, which is free and where it is possible to walk the whole circumference. We actually preferred this free walk to the ramparts walk that we had paid...