Carcassonne in South West France – Sleeping Beauty’s ‘real life’ castle?

 

If you find yourself staying in a Vintage Holiday’s villa in a secluded part of South West France, then you really must try and fit a visit to Carcassonne into your holiday itinerary.

Some say it was the fairy tale castle of Carcassonne that inspired Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. The medieval walled “Cite” was added to the UNESCO world heritage site list in 1997.

 

Carcassonne is actually two cities in one. There is, as well as the famous and glamorous high walled “Cite”, a medieval lower town, which is also a vastly attractive place to visit. In fact the Bastide Saint Louis, as the lower town is called, is the perfect antidote to its extremely popular big brother up above.

 

The fortified city of Carcassone was first identified as a place of strategic importance by the Romans and later the invading Visigoths added to the fortifications.

A French noble family by the name of Raymond-Roger de Trencavel lived in the fort for over a century, added further buildings to the town. During the time of the crusades against the Cathars, Trencavel was imprisoned in his own dungeon by the cruel catholic crusade leader, Simon du Montfort and was allowed to die there.

 

The fortress played a key role in the Hundred Year’s War between England and France and the notorious “Black Prince” failed in his bid to take the city in 1335.

 

The city walls were a border between France and Spain until 1659 when a large chunk of land on the French side of the Pyrenees was given back to France. After the land was given back, Carcassonne was isolated without purpose, many miles away from the new Spanish border and the city walls started to fall into disrepair. Two centuries later rescue came in the form of Eugene Viollet-Le-Duc, a French architect and theorist, who was given the job of renovating the historical building.

 

It is largely thanks to the work of this man and his team, that the medieval fortress of Carcassonne is what it is today.

 

After you have taken a good look at the city walls and muse over the fortress’s fascinating history, there are a great many shops bars and restaurants to enjoy and relax in.

 

It is difficult to disagree that Carcassonne is an unforgettable sight from the very first minute that you lay your eyes on those remarkable city walls.

 

And that is reason enough to visit this wonderful corner of the world. If you are looking for luxury accommodation in South West France, click the link.