Carcassonne is the largest mediaeval city in Europe. La Cité is an impressive fortified city on a plateau on the right bank of the River Aude. On the left bank is the more modern town, Bastide Saint Louis. La Cité comprises 52 towers and three kilometres of massive stone walls which form two rough circles, an inner and an outer wall, with a dry moat between the two.

The first settlement at Carcassonne dates from the 6th century BC, when it was a Gaullist settlement. The Romans were the first to fortify the town, then known as Carcaso, in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. In the early middle ages the town became known as Carcassona, and came under the rule of the Trencavel Viscounts until Simon de Montfort successfully laid seige to the castle during the Albigenesian Crusade of the early 13th century. Carcassonne was formally annexed by the French Crown in 1226.

During the middle of the 13th century reconstruction commenced and fortifications were added, including the outer wall. La Cité became a strategic military base at the border of France and Aragon until 1659, when the Pyrenées Treaty formally annexed Roussillon to France. From that date La Cité became less important and fell ino a period of decline. It was the lower town of Bastide Saint Louis that developed as a textile centre and grew as a trading town, helped by its proximity to the Canal du Midi , which opened in 1681.

By the 19th century La Cité had fallen into disrepair as a diminished military garrison. Local leaders petitioned to have it protected under the Historical Monuments Act, and the Minister of Historic Monuments worked with the Ministry of Fine Arts to renovate and reconstruct the fortress. The architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc was appointed to direct the work. He worked on the two churches of St. Nazaire and St. Celse from 1844 to 1864, and then on La Cité from 1855 until his death in 1879. The major work undertaken was to the side visible from Bastide Saint Louis. From 1880 Paul Boeswillwald took over the project, which was completed in 1910.

La Cité is not just a fortress but a town with a population of several hundred people. Within the walls you will find restaurants, cafes, shops and hotels, as well as the historic sites. The low-lying Bastide Saint Louis, which was constructed from 1248, was a modern mediaeval town in its day, close to the river Aude. With its wealth as a textile town, it was enhanced in the 18th and 19th century with fine period mansions and streets built on a grid system.

In 1997, La Cité became a Unesco World Heritage site. It attracts 3,000,000 visitors a year. You can find out more about Carcassonne tourism here: Carcassonne Tourist Office Website