Current Time in Carcassonne, France

Carcassonne is a historic city in the Aude department of southern France, situated on the plain of the Languedoc region at the junction of the Canal du Midi and the Aude River, approximately halfway between Toulouse to the northwest and Montpellier to the east. The city is dominated by its extraordinary medieval citadel, the Cité de Carcassonne, which rises on a hill above the lower town as one of the most perfectly preserved medieval fortified cities in Europe. The entire Cité was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

With a population of approximately 48,000, Carcassonne is the prefecture of the Aude department, its life divided between the historic upper city, the Cité, and the modern lower town, the Ville Basse, which was developed below the hilltop fortress after the medieval period. The fortified Cité receives approximately three million visitors annually, making it one of the most visited historic sites in France, and the sight of its double curtain walls, watchtowers, and turrets rising against the backdrop of the Pyrenees on a clear day is one of the most dramatic views in southern France.

The history of Carcassonne extends back to the Gallo-Roman period when it was an important fortified settlement on the road between the Atlantic and Mediterranean. The Visigoths took control in the 5th century and built the inner walls that form the core of the current fortifications. The city was a major center of Cathar heresy in the 12th and 13th centuries and was besieged and captured by Simon de Montfort's crusading forces during the Albigensian Crusade in 1209. It subsequently became a French royal possession and the outer walls were added by Louis IX (Saint Louis) and his son Philip III, creating the double-walled system of exceptional military sophistication that survives today.

The Cité de Carcassonne is a complete medieval town of extraordinary completeness, encompassing the Basilica of Saints Nazarius and Celsus with its outstanding Romanesque nave and Gothic transept and apse, the Count's Castle with its museum of regional history and art, several medieval towers open to visitors, and numerous medieval townhouses now housing restaurants, hotels, and craft shops. The 3-kilometer circuit of the walls and towers can be walked, providing spectacular views over the surrounding landscape of vineyards and plains.

The Ville Basse, the lower town laid out on a regular grid plan in the 13th century by Louis IX after the evacuation of the town from the Cité, has its own historic interest with the Cathedral of Saint Michael, the Gothic Church of Saint Vincent, and the elegant bastide town plan that represents a significant example of medieval urban planning. The Canal du Midi, which passes through Carcassonne and is itself a UNESCO World Heritage Site, connects Toulouse to the Mediterranean and is celebrated as one of the greatest feats of engineering of the 17th century.

The Carcassonne region is an excellent wine-producing area, with the Minervois and Corbières appellations producing distinctive red wines from the sun-drenched limestone hills surrounding the city. The local cassoulet, a rich slow-cooked bean and meat dish that also claims competing origins in nearby Castelnaudary, is the definitive regional dish and is served in numerous restaurants throughout the city.

Carcassonne is accessible by TGV from Paris in approximately five hours and by regional trains from Toulouse and Montpellier. The city's extraordinary medieval citadel, remarkable historical depth from Roman to Cathar to royal French history, Canal du Midi access, and excellent regional wine and food make it one of the most iconic and rewarding destinations in southern France.