Carcassonne Road Trip
The castle in Carcassonne, France
Southern France Road Trip
We are learning as we go when it comes to maps and getting around here in Southern France. Getting data on our mobile phone has been a challenge again. Getting the SIM card was a breeze at Orange, the premier French mobile provider.
Why not sell the data plan at the Orange store? No, it is better if you go to the supermarket where no one really knows what is the right plan for you. Or go to the tobacco store where they have no clue either and you end up buying airtime for your phone instead of a data plan.
Road trip France in the Citroën C3
Language Barrier
Okay, this is minor stuff, so we have decided not to sweat it and we did eventually find a solution by stopping at yet another Orange store in Carcassonne. Credit to the guys at this store. They were all very helpful and figured it out for us in less than 45 minutes.
This may not have been such an issue if our French was better. We still catch ourselves looking for the English part of all labels on food products at the supermarket as in Canada everything is marked in English and French.
A loupe road trip in southern France starting and ending at our base in Boulogne-sur-Gesse. Click to view a larger map.
Offline Maps
In the meantime, Di has been resourceful as usual and had downloaded maps to her iPad we can view in detail while offline. We are not quite sure how the location indicator follows us on the map. It is sporadic but it does follow us. We think Google is watching us.
Enough tech talk. Back to the road. We decided on a loupe route to and from Carcassonne as we do not fancy backtracking on roads already traveled.
This sometimes leads to less interesting stretches of flat farmland and other times to gorgeous rolling hills with beautiful scenery. We drove slowly and let others pass.
Di was knitting and navigating while I constantly look out for photo ops. We spotted several road bikers out for spring rides and enjoyed lots of sunshine. The highlight of the drive was outside the town of Mazemet where we spotted a medieval village located on the ridge in the distance.
The medieval village of Mazemet in southern France
City of Carcassonne, the Castle and the Cité de Carcassonne.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the castle in Carcassonne attracts over three million people every year. You can now add us to this count. A small medieval town is hidden behind the double walls and many watchtowers.
We opted for a self-guided audio tour and heard about wars raging here for centuries. Like in today's world, unrest was often caused by various religious beliefs. Once part of the Roman empire, Carcassonne was strategically placed on the French Spanish border.
The medieval fortress in Carcassonne
Carcassonne Castle and Fortress
It was incredibly windy and we had a hoot walking along the rampart inside the castle walls holding on to our hats and other belongings. On our first evening in Carcassonne, we walked up to the castle and found our way around the maze of pathways and castle walls.
The castle is of course lit at night but it was still a spooky feeling navigating it without a map at night. The walls surrounding the castle measure about one kilometer in length. Clear of the wind, we treated ourselves to a three-course lunch in the medieval village.
Lunch time at Carcassonne Castle
City of Carcassone
Carcassonne was more than just a castle and a medieval village. It was a very pleasant getaway city and we enjoyed excellent service from our Airbnb host. We stayed in Rue Trivalle in a perfect location with the castle as a backdrop.
Our hosts, Patrick and Nathalie have the most adorable 4-year-old son, and every time we knocked on their door for help he would be right there wanting to practice his English. He would start counting in English and I would count in French. When I was in trouble he would help in the most sincere way.
The view from outside our Airbnb in Rue Trivalle
At dinner we spoke with our waitress, who when asked where she was from told us; unfortunately, she had been born and raised in Carcassonne. She was about 19, spoke very good English and assured us she was planning to leave town as soon as possible.
However, right now she was stuck there. As parents we smiled and recognized the age-old desire for new adventures - the grass is always greener....or so we think.....
A game of chess at Gambetta Square in Carcassonne
The suite was only available for one night but we were lucky our host had a flat near the train station for the second night. We saved a bit by having boxed soup for dinner and spent the savings on a good bottle of wine, baguette, and snacks.
A lovely evening spent on several FaceTime calls catching up with the kids and Hanne, Jesper, and Emma in Denmark.
The vegetable market in Gambetta Square, Carcassonne.
The next morning we went through the market in Gambetta Square, picked up some fruit for the trip home, and of course made the obligatory stop for a baguette at the boulangerie.
Travel Photography From Carcassonne
5050 Travelog Destinations
All Travel Destinations
Europe
Southeast Asia
Middle East
Canada and USA
New Zealand
The photos in this article are made using a Fujifilm X-T1. Lenses: XF 14mm f/2.8 R - XF 23mm f/1.4 R - XF 35mm f/2 R WR - XF 90mm f/2 R LM WR (links to my camera and lens reviews). Editing was done with Lightroom and I have made use of Fujifilm’s film simulations in some of the photos.
