Thursday 24th September - The Comtal Chateau The last line of defence, The Comtel Chateau was built in the 12th century and was constantly altered throughout the following centuries. The fortifications were extended in the 13th century and included a curtain wall, circular towers, and a small castle at the entrance, a barbican and a trench. We decided to have lunch and went looking for a place amongst the 20 -30 restaurants, cafes and bars inside the wal...

Thursday 24th September - The Tilt Yard Once we were through the two massive gates we came into this courtyard area between the two walls called the Tilt Yard. There was a wagon set up for tourists and connected to the wagon were two horses, like Clydesdales so Jannie thought it would be a good idea to hitch a ride so to speak. We got on board and sat next to a family of 3 kids and mum and dad from Brisbane and away the horses went. I'm sure they knew the wa...

Thursday 24th September - Narbonnaise Gate We headed uphill to see our first close up view of the battlements and came to The Narbonnaise Gate and the Levis Bridge. They were both built around 1280 during the reign of Philippe III and consists of two enormous projecting towers and a very sturdy wooden bridge. This is the main entrance to the Medieval Cite.

Thursday 24th September - The Chapel of Notre dame de la Santé We were headed for the Medieval City and had to walk the streets to get there. Along the way Jannie tried on some Chukka Boots and had the girl hold them aside for her to pick up on our way home. Through the Square Gambetta and up Rue de Pont Vieux towards the The Old Bridge which was built in 14th century. This is a typical medieval bridge and was the only link between the bastide and the medie...

Thursday 24th September - The Story of Carcassonne The history of Carcassonne began 1000BC and it was called Carsac and in 1BC the Romans took it over and it was renamed Castellum in the 4th century. The city suffered long periods of occupation at the hands of the Visigoths and the Saracens and it was integrated into the kingdom of the Francs in the 8th Century. In the 13th century in response to the Cathar heresies, Pope innocent III sent Simon de Montfort ...