These three images are part of the perimeter of The Bastide.
Top: Rue Barbes (yes, it made me smile, too) runs around the perimeter
Below Left: Portes de Jacobins on the southern wall
Below Right: Portes de Toulouse on the western wall |
Carcassonne is a town/city composed of layers. There is the medieval castle and its walls that protected the original inhabitents about 1200AD. Then there is the Bastide on the other side of the RIver Aude to the castle. Surrounding both these are the suburbs of the city of the current era. We never ventured there. For the next few posts, I will show you around the Bastide, the centre of which is Place Carnet, and, as you know already, our apartment was very close to Place Carnet. It was fine during the day, but dead as a dodo at night.
The Bastide is very orderly and the streets, although narrow, are laid out on a grid-pattern. Generally, they are one way, with a partner street going the other way. Many of the streets could be blocked off by the council whenever. The council, may I say was very active and efficient. Place Carnet was clean and tidy about 30 minutes after the market had finished on the Saturday. I was impressed.
| Assorted streets laid out in a grid pattern. The traffic is quiet in all of these. It did get locked up occasionally, but they were more patient than I would have been. They used the barriers extensively to restrict parking and to alter the flow of traffic. |
2 comments:
Julie, this is wonderful. Carcassone is definitely on our list of side-trips from Perpignan. I must send this link to Dick's computer, and you were there just last fall! Fabulous! (Not being a person given to over-enthusing, as you can see.)
-- K
Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel
There was so much more I could have said and showed about Carcassonne, Kay, but I found my time, once I got home, became extremely stretched.
Carcassonne had a lot to offer, however it did not support a stay of a week in the one place. I would think that three days would suffice. The old castle was wonderful, and we toured it twice.
I was not particularly impressed by Canal du Midi as it flowed through this area. Would not barge on it for mine.
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