En route to Carcassonne

Carcassonne was our next overnight stay after our castle hangout in Marseille. We stopped at Arles on the way, travelling with Caren who we met at the hostel. Arles is where “we learned the french way to eat lunch…prolonged”. I had a delicious crêpe at a snug and relaxed crêperie tucked into a narrow street. We continued the leisurely pace stopping to watch some men play Pétanque before getting on our train to Carcassonne.

The board game Carcassonne looks strikingly like the real Carcassonne Cité. Look at an arial view and the resemblance is uncanny.

Carcassonne is a wonderfully preserved medieval walled city. The double set of walls, an impressive 3 km in length, protect the enclosed castle, town and cathedral from invaders. Luckily they open the gates for backpackers (and over 3 million visitors annually according to the latest stats). The youth hostel was again in a unique location within the protective walls.

We took a tour of the citadel, but soon lost interest in the guide’s rapid fire history lesson. It was more enjoyable to walk at a leisurely pace on the fortified walls. From the high vantage on the ramparts, there were great views of the Languedoc countryside, the many towers and turrets and the ‘new’ town Carcassonne below.

Unlike the board game, there was no need to formulate a plan. The only strategizing I did was choosing where to sample the local dish, a hearty cassoulet. Success. I enjoyed another lengthy French meal.

This is one entry from my 1992 European backpacking trip with my friend Sarah. If you want to start at the beginning, please check out The journey starts in Nice.