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Home > Travel France > France Destinations > Carcassonne
Carcassonne
France, officially the French Republic, is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in Western Europe and comprises various overseas islands and territories which are located in other regions. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. At 674,843 square kilometres, France is the world's 40th-largest country after Myanmar. France is a member of The European Union and Paris is the capital of this nation. The sole official language of France is French. Since prehistoric times, France has been a crossroads of trade, migrations, and invasions.
Carcassonne is a fortified French town, in the Aude department of which it is the prefecture, in the former province of Languedoc. It is separated into the fortified Cite de Carcassonne and the more expansive lower city, the ville basse. The fortress, which was thoroughly restored from 1853 by the theorist and architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, was added to the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, list of World Heritage Sites in 1997.
Geographically Carcassonne is located 90 kilometers south-east of Toulouse. It stands in the gap between the Pyrenees and the Massif Central of France. Carcassonne is at the crossing of two major traffic routes in use since Antiquity, the route leading from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and that from the Massif Central to Spain, skirting the Pyrenees. Carcassonne became strategically identified when Romans fortified the hilltop around 100 BC and eventually made it the colonia of Julia Carsaco, later Carcasum. The main part of the lower courses of the northern ramparts dates from Gallo-Roman times.
Carcassonne became famous in its role in the Albigensian Crusades, when the city was a stronghold of French Cathars. In August 1209 the crusading army of Simon de Montfort forced its citizens to surrender. After capturing Raymond-Roger de Trencavel and imprisoning and allowing him to die, Montfort made himself the new viscount. He added to the fortifications. Carcassonne became a border citadel between France and Aragon.
A city known for its historic myths and traditions, scenic beauty, luxurious hotels and cottages, Carcassonne is one of the favorite holiday destinations for most of the vacation lovers.
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