Double walls
Conical towers.
Krzysztof Golik — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Diego Delso — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lesueur André — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Calips — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Calips — CC BY-SA 3.0
The Cité de Carcassonne is a medieval citadel in the city of Carcassonne in the Aude department, Occitania, southern France, on a hill on the right bank of the river Aude, about 87 km southeast of Toulouse in a straight line. The citadel dates back to Gallo-Roman times and is famous for its double ring of walls, 3 km long, broken by 52 towers. Its history spans about 2,500 years. At the end of the 19th century it was restored by the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, and in 1997 UNESCO made it a World Heritage Site as an exceptional example of a medieval fortified town. Grey and golden stone walls rise in two nested rings on the hill, topped by round towers with pointed slate cones, like a city from a fairy tale. Inside are narrow cobbled lanes, restaurants and shops, and at the heart stands the Count's castle surrounded by a moat. Visitors enter through the Narbonne Gate, wander the lanes, visit the Count's castle and walk sections of the ramparts. Many stroll between the two walls in the passage known as the «lices», and the city is lit at night, looking finest from the old bridge over the Aude.
Conical towers.
At the heart.
From the old bridge.
Carcassonne, Aude, Occitania, France
Yes for the city; the castle is ticketed.
Early morning or evening.