Carcassonne - Take 2

February 8^th, 2026

The “Cité de Carcassonne” is the proper name of the medieval castle in the city Carcassonne, but tourists just know the fortification as Carcassonne.  I visited this place back in September of 2010, hence the “Take 2”.  My original visit was motivated by the fact that I used to play the board game “Carcassonne” a lot with friends and family so I wanted to check out the game’s namesake.  Additionally, the fortress is such a perfect example of what you think of when you imagine a medieval castle.  My route from Andorra was taking me through the area, so I figured I’d stop in again. 

The castle from the modern, road bridge that I crossed over to reach the parking.

I walked away from the castle on the road bridge so that I could approach it from that old, pedestrian bridge.

An old street at the base of the hill.

Coming around to the east entrance, the main one used in modern times.

The town has about 2,500 years of history and has been occupied in different ages by Romans, Visigoths, and Crusaders.

The entry gate.

None shall pass!!!  Well, okay, I can.

Between the inner and outer walls.

I don't recall seeing this in 2010...but a store is actually selling the Carcassonne game.

A town street inside the fortification.

My visit in 2010 was fairly quick as I had driven over 4 hours to get there from the Bordeaux region and I was continuing to St. Andre les Alpes to go paragliding.  My campervan, Betty, had just had a new (used) engine installed thanks to an amazing French couple in a small city near Bordeaux.  Well, this time, I decided to spend a bit more time exploring the place, including buying a ticket to enter the keep and walk along the entire perimeter of the inner wall of the castle.

The entrance to the keep.

It is the third layer of walls that attackers would have to breach.

A 3D animation of the castle.

Looking down from the walls of the keep.  You can see a couple of walls leading down to a church in a round area.  Before the church, that round area used to be a walled fortification to help protect access to the river.

Inside the keep.

That's a Roman tower, identified by it's horseshoe shape.

Some more Roman towers.

On the right are the remnants of an older wall.  The castle was continually renovated and upgraded.

Brave knights still roam the castle!

Inside one of the towers at the east entrance.

That's a busy cemetery...everyone's dying to get in!

Walking the walls.

Looking out at the countryside.

The Carcassonne Cathedral.

Another side of the cathedral.

A big amphitheatre for shows in the summer.

What a great backdrop for a stage.

Some fancy hotel and restaurant inside the castle.  I could only see retired couples enjoying lunch through the windows.

After completing my circuit of the rampart, I wandered over to the cathedral to check it out.

I did visit the inside back in 2010.

I love the big organs.

And the stained glass...

The streets by the cathedral.

There were many restaurants with patios, most of which were closed, but I'm sure that they are chock full in the summertime. 

On my way out, I realized that I needed to recreate a photo from 2010.  If you've played the game Carcassonne, you might understand what I'm doing...I'm lying down as you would place a piece called a "farmer" in the game.

Here's my 2010 photo...

And my 2026 recreation...

Merci Carcassonne!

Time to get back on the road.  My destination today is the Viaduc de Millau, the tallest bridge in world for a few decades until last year...that deserves its own blogpost.