Carcassonne Hiking, France, Hiking the Canal Du Midi
city  on a hilltop near the canal du Midi
in southern France.
The 12 Century site which has over
fifty towers is listed as a UNESCO
World Heritage site.

South of Carcassonne there are trails
through the Pyrenees for hiking the
Pilgrimage routes over the mountains
to Spain
The Canal du Midi is a 17th Century link between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea
that provides tour barges and tree-lined walkways on both sides for biking and hiking.
All Photos Copyright Willy Scholliers

Archaeological evidence points to settlement of the area of Carcassonne in 3,500 BC and
evidence of trade and commerce by Celtic people during the 6th century BC. The Romans built
fortifications on the hill in 100 BC, some of which is still evident in the base of the later walls.

The Visigoth King Theodoric took control of Carcassonne in 453 as Roman power waned and
the Empire receded.    
The Visigoths enlarged the city and held the fortified town until the Saracens captured the fort
and held it until 759, when the Frankish king Pepin the Younger defeated them.
The fort eventually passed to French and Spanish kings and counts and by the early 1200s was
an important bastion for the crusades, becoming a French citadel by 1247.
Political treaties reduced the forts military importance and in the early 1700s the fort was
abandoned. But for the efforts of architect Viollet-le-Duc and others, the buildings, under order
by the French government for demolition, would have been destroyed. Although the restorers
were criticised for their 1850s restoration, the use of non-traditional cone shaped towers, their
work is considered crucial to the saving of this splendid example of Gothic and Medieval
architecture.

Modern Carcassonne is now a city in southern France located astride the Aude River and the
Canal du Midi and currently the capital of the Aude Department.  The settlement is divided by
the river into the Ville Basse and the medieval walled city called the Cité.  
The commerce of Carcassonne is centered in the Ville Basse, the town below the fort known
for its clothing factories and as a center for the region's wine, grain, and fruit production, and for
its tourist activities.
Building of historic interest in the Ville Basse are the 13th century Cathedral of St. Michael and
the Church of St. Vincent.
In the fortified town across the river known as the Cité, of interest are  ramparts and towers that
date to the Visigoths of the 5th century and building phases that span the 11th and 13th
century. Also of historic interest within the Cité, the 12th-century castle and the Romanesque
and Gothic Church of St. Nazaire, built in the 11th and 14th century.    
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the Canal Du Midi.
The Canal du Midi offers tree-lined walkways on both sides
for biking and hiking on the 17th Century link between the
Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.  The Canal  
also offers tour barges.
Carcassonne Hiking in the south of France can start with a hike of the
Canal Du Midi
Carcassonne,
A UNESCO World
Heritage Site.
south France between Toulouse
When in the Languedoc region of
and Narbonne visit the old walled
city of Carcassonne, a Gothic and
Medieval city comprised of two
miles of walls. Perched high on a
hill and capped by 56 towers the
fort gives you a view of the
Pyrenees Mountains and the
border with Spain.
History
Carcassonne, one the walled City
on a hill and the other a town below
that spans the River Aude.
The lower town is a 13 the century
settlement designed in a grid-like
pattern surrounded by walls.    
The first settlement in the area
dates to the Gauls of the 9th to the
6th century BC and the region was
later inhabited by the Romans
around the 1st century BC.
Most of what is visible today is a
nineteenth century restoration (
1853) by Eugene Viollet-le-Duc
that some said was heavy-handed.
Most of the walls and towers are
original, however, as can be seen
by archival paintings done before
the restoration. Without this work
the walls would have been
destroyed.
Canal barges make tours of the
canal
Carcassonne Hiking in the south
of France
South of Carcassonne, Hiking
the Pyrenees and the  
mountains of Spain
Where is Carcassonne?   
coordinates
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Provence, France
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Carcassonne Vacation Hiking, Biking  Southern France
Restaurants to write home
about: Near Eygalieres   
When To Go To Carcassonne, The South of France:   
Mid March to Mid November is a good time to visit Carcassonne although October and November will have
more rainy days.  Winter months are without snow but could be cold in higher elevations.  Carcassonne is
about 400 feet above sea level.   Carcassonne biking and hiking is good any season.
March, April (41f-60 f) and May(50f-70f) and the early part of June (60f-80f ) are less crowded and pleasant
times to visit.    The end of June, and all of July and  August (60f-80f) can be warm in the mid day and
crowded at times as much of Europe takes its summer vacation.  Much of France goes on a six-week July
August  vacation and many people head south.     
Summer months are warm and dry.  September to mid November (40f-60f) offers fewer crowds and good
weather.  Weather is ideal in May and June and September October, great months to visit.
Showers could come in any month but will be infrequent in the summer, more frequent in October.   Mid
March to Mid November will find most seasonal attractions open.
Carcassonne is in the Aude Department of Languedoc-Roussillon of Southern France.  
Carcassonne can be reached by TGV train from Paris, by high speed road, and by air.     
Hiking, Biking,  Vacation Rentals, Canal du Midi hiking and boat rides, are located within a
short walk or drive from Carcassonne
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