Carcassonne in 5 minutes

travel videos & photos at: https://townsofeurope.com/ with text, maps & links.
In the next 5 minutes, you will see a summary of the important sites that you would enjoy visiting while in Carcassonne.
00:00 intro
00:28 Google Earth view
00:40 main gate in wall
01:28 Place Marcou
02:09 castle museum
03:30 Basilica St Nazaire
03:50 walk to New Town
04:11 New Town
Carcassonne is a very special medieval town up on a hill in southwest France with a castle and a fortified double wall going all the way around it.
And within the walls is a small village in a pedestrian zone with historic buildings, some of which date back to the 12th century .Carcassonne is a very special medieval town up on a hill in southwest France with a castle and a fortified double wall going all the way around it.
And within the walls is a small village in a pedestrian zone with historic buildings, some of which date back to the 12th century.
The main entrance through the massive walls is into this fortified gate with a projecting Barbican that has stone walls along both sides for protection and drawbridge to create an effective barrier at this potential weak spot and keep out any attackers.
The main street we walk in on could keep some visitors busy for 2 hours right here on this one block. It’s mostly souvenirs, but there’s a variety of all kinds of goods. It’s the main concentration of the town’s shops.
Within the walls, we have an actual functioning town with shops. There’s several small hotels and there’s 50 homes for the local residents as well, and a vast pedestrian zone that you’ll want to explore.
One of the nicest and most popular spots in town is Place Marcou, with its outdoor restaurants and bars, cafes, tables all around it. This is a happy place. During lunch and dinner it gets very busy.
You will find it’s very rewarding to stroll about the lanes that are inside the village. It’s not a large city by any means. The village itself is about 400 meters long, so it’s easy to walk around and get a nice feeling for the whole place.

Carcassonne is a very special medieval town up 
on a hill in southwest France with a castle and a fortified double wall going all the way around it.
And within the walls is a small village in a pedestrian zone with historic buildings, 
some of which date back to the 12th century. In the next 5 minutes, you will see a 
summary of the important sites that you would enjoy visiting while in Carcassonne.
Google Earth provides a spectacular view of the old town, showing very clearly the double 
wall that goes all the way around the medieval center and the castle and the turrets.
The main entrance through the massive walls is into this fortified gate with a 
projecting Barbican that has stone walls along both sides for protection and drawbridge 
to create an effective barrier at this potential weak spot and keep out any attackers.
The main street we walk in on could keep some visitors busy for 2 hours right here 
on this one block. It’s mostly souvenirs, but there’s a variety of all kinds of goods. 
It’s the main concentration of the town’s shops. Within the walls, we have an actual 
functioning town with shops. There’s several small hotels and there’s 50 homes 
for the local residents as well, and a vast pedestrian zone that you’ll want to explore.
One of the nicest and most popular spots in town is Place Marcou, with its outdoor restaurants and 
bars, cafes, tables all around it. This is a happy place. During lunch and dinner it gets very busy.
You will find it’s very rewarding to stroll about the lanes that are inside the village. It’s not 
a large city by any means. The village itself is about 400 meters long, so it’s easy to walk around 
and get a nice feeling for the whole place. And yet there’s enough here that you could easily 
spend a full day or even two days exploring it. In the center of the walled town of 
Carcassonne is the castle. And so, of course, when you’re visiting here, you must go 
inside this medieval castle. It was the medieval home of the Lord of this region. This castle 
was first built from the early 12th century. Google Earth view shows the overall castle shape 
with its central courtyards and fortified walls and towers. The castle is one of the 
most exciting features of the town. Once you’ve paid the small admission 
fee, you’re welcome to enjoy the various courtyards and also enter inside the 
castle where they have a historical museum. Now we want to get moving and start 
the walk along the castle wall, which is included in the admission fee for 
the castle. We are going to take you on a walk along the entire length of those walls
stepping back into the 13th century Another Google Earth view provides that 
perspective, showing how the wall goes around the entire old town and a photograph 
from the tourist Information office shows the many buildings that are within the walls.
As you walk along on top of the wall, you also get nice views looking out at the city 
beyond and some beautiful landscapes of vineyards, olive groves and green rolling hills.
Before we continue walking, at the end of the first section of the ramparts we have a chance 
to visit the Basilica of Carcassonne. Originally, this was a cathedral back in the 10th and 11th 
centuries. It was built in a Romanesque and Gothic style and is the oldest building in Carcassonne.
In addition to the fortified old town, there is a large new town down at the bottom of 
the hill, and you can get there by going right out the gate. It’s the Aude gate, and there’s 
a walkway that takes you down a 15-minute path into the new town. The view of the castle 
as you come down the path is spectacular. This new town is quite attractive in its 
own right. One of its main lanes is just for pedestrians, with lots of shops and 
restaurants along it. You’ll also find some lovely parks with fountains and statues making 
this new town a fine place to visit and stay for a while. And it has a supply of hotels that 
would make good accommodations for your visit. There are some lovely shops, pedestrian streets 
and the open market. It’s well worth visiting. And this is another reason for you to be 
spending a couple of days in Carcassonne. What more could you want? Open market, 
sidewalk restaurants, pedestrian lanes and a fortified castle with a wall around it up 
on the hill. Carcassonne is a place to treasure. Now that you’ve seen the summary, you could have 
a look at our longer videos that go into much more detail about your visit to Carcassonne.
We frequently upload new movies, so please subscribe to our channel and click 
that little alarm bell so you’ll be notified.