Carcassonne Gras Market

The town of Carcassonne (11 Aude, Occitanie) holds its “Marché aux Gras” (literally “fat market) on 18 December 2022 in the Salle du Dome – as with other towns in the Southwest of France this is an opportunity to purchase sumptuous goose and duck products – whole birds. foie gras, confits etc – wonderfully rich and hearty fare for the season – mouth-watering stuff. – over 60 exhibitors to browse!

For more info see www.carcassonne-tourisme.com

Self-catering, B&B, Hotels and other accommodation in and around Carcassonne – such as the B&B Logis des Remparts which is situated within Carcassonne’s medieval ramparts, and dates from the 17th century!

#Carcassonne la #Cité sur fond de #Pyrénées. Un site grandiose à retrouver sur https://t.co/IZphBmaYwf nouvelle version ! pic.twitter.com/cLxWedKXK6

— audetourisme (@audetourisme) October 13, 2017

Carcassonne, a city imbued with the spirit of the past, boasts 2500 years of history and is privileged to have two UNESCO World Heritage sites: the Canal du Midi, classified in 1996, and the Medieval City in 1997.

• THE MEDIEVAL CITY
  Situated on the right bank of the Aude, the Medieval City is a fortified city unlike any other in Europe, on account of its size and its state of preservation. Its history is marked by 2000 years of conquest and by the imprint of Catharism and the Crusades.
• THE CANAL DU MIDI
  The work of Pierre-Paul Riquet and excavated in the XVIIth century to link the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, the Canal du Midi, formerly used for transporting goods and people, is today frequented by numerous boaters and tourists.
• uring the Cathar period Raymond Roger Trencavel, vicomte of Carcassonne (1194-1209) both tolerated and protected the heretics on his own lands. He suffered the first impact of the crusade preached by Pope Innocent III and on August 15th, 1209, after a two-week siege, it was all over. The Cité and the lands of Trencavel were first handed to the military commander of the crusade, Simon de Montfort, then to the King of France in 1224.As the Cité made its entry into the Royal Estate, its destiny took a new turn. Under the successive reigns of Louis IX, Philippe Le Hardi and Philippe Le Bel, it grew its modern-day shape. A new borough was born on the left bank in 1262: La Bastide Saint-Louis. Set on fire by the Black Prince in 1355, it was immediately rebuilt. While this new town was bustling with activity, the Cité consolidated its role as a royal fortress.But due to the use of new war techniques (gunpowder, cannon) and above all to the recession of the Franco-Spanish border in 1659 after the Peace of the Pyrénées, it was gradually abandoned. In the 18th century, the Cité was little more than slum, a poverty-stricken, outlying area in a town made wealthy by the wine trade and the cloth manufacturing industry. Only through the joint efforts of Jean-Pierre Cros-Mayrevieille, a historian and a citizen of Carcassonne, of Mérimée and the famous architect Viollet-le-Duc was it saved from demolition. Thousands of people today are able to see and admire the most accomplished fortified town in Europe. www.tourisme-carcassonne.fr

see our Top 30 vineyard B&Bs in France

somewhere to stay, a ferry, a train or car hire?

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