Following 3 nights in Carcassonne, next stop was Narbonne, about 15km from the Mediterranean sea. Narbonne has a canal, the Canal Robin, which connects to the Canal Midi and together with other canals forms a network which reaches from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. Canal holidays are a popular holiday activity here.

 

 

We spent 3 nights here in an Airbnb rental which was less than great, although it did have wifi. So far we really haven’t done too well with accommodation in France but happily the weather was good and we didn’t need to loiter in the digs too much.

 

 

This is a small town of about 50,000 with a nice town centre with the flower lined canal running through it. There is a cathedral, of course, a basilica, the usual local museums and an underground network of ancient warehouses dating back to Roman Times. We thought it would be a nice town to spend a couple of days in and so it was although in truth none of the attractions were compelling and otherwise there isn’t a great deal to see and do. The fact that the town’s Halles (covered market) and the Tourist Office are 2nd and 4th in the top 10 things to do on tripadvisor probably says it all.

 

 

The Halles of Narbonne, the daily covered market, is one of the most famous markets in France and for us the highlight of our visit. The building itself is attractive and all manner of fresh foods, meat, fish, seafood, fruit and vegetables and a lot more besides can be had. It’s a big market with stalls galore and in addition there are several bars and restaurants and  an area of tables and chairs where you can take you own purchases, maybe some cheese and bread and enjoy your own picnic lunch with a glass of wine or a beer brought to you by a waiter from one of the bars. It’s great fun and a very pleasant way to spend an hour or two people watching.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pictures of the Halles below show the Chez Chabelle restaurant.  Owned and run by a well known local former rugby player he serves mainly steaks and grills from the adjacent family beef and horse meat stall or duck or chicken which he orders from neighbouring stalls. As he takes an order from a customer he bellows the order through a megaphone and within a minute a parcel of beef, chicken or whatever wrapped in paper is thrown to him as he stands with the serving staff and Chef behind the counter. It’s all very theatrical and great fun and although it’s basic fare – everything comes with chips – the steak was a generous size and some of the best we have eaten.

 

 

 

 

 

We spent 3 nights in Narbonne enjoying some good food and wine and doing not very much at all other than a little walking and sitting on the “promenade” by the canal watching the world go by. On May 12th we left on a train to Beziers.

 

We had decided to  would break up the journey between Perpignan to Carcassonne by stopping off for a few nights in rural France proper. We chose Quillan in the Aude district of South Central France which is also referred to by the Tourism Department as Cathar Country.

Quillan  is situated in the foothills of the Pyrenees on the banks of the River Aude on the road from Perpignan to Carcassonne. With a mountainous backdrop it’s a small town of about 3,000 folk. Much of the flatter area round about is devoted to wine growing.

Tourism here is all about the outdoors, hiking, cycling, fishing, white water rafting and winter sports – in winter –  but another “attraction,”  is the history of the area with a collection of castles and strongholds built on the Black Mountains to the west of Quillan. The  mountains formed a natural defence against the Spanish and these castles provided fortications against the enemy. Some also  served as refuges for Cathars back in the 12th and 13th centuries when the Popes sent Crusaders to eradicate the Cathar heathens during the Medieval Inquisition. Thus these are known as the Cathar Castles and thus the strap line of Cathar Country now applied to the region by the Tourism Department. More recently, in the Second World War, the area was  a centre for the resistance movement with many local heroes also adding to the historical interest.

We thought we would get some decent walking done here but it rained for much of our stay and the town had little to amuse us. It’s regarded as a good place to retire but we found little to commend it. Its true there are decent transport links but frankly the town has clearly seen better days. There is a sufficiency of  bars and restaurants but there are also plenty of closed down shops and restaurants giving the air of a place needing something serious to kick start it back to life.

So Quillan was a disappointment probably in no small measure exacerbated by the grey drizzly weather that prevailed but we just couldn’t see its attraction as a place to retire. We thought it a rather sad place really so much so we took only a handful of snaps which were taken in gloomy conditions and not worth showing. An excursion to the neighbouring town of Limoux which is a tad bigger than Quillan was equally  uninspiring. We stayed little more than an hour in Limoux and left on the next train!

Next stop Carcassonne hoping for better things. Our first 10 days or so in France had been disappointing but we thought that Carcassonne would have much more going for it – and the weather was improving.

Wiki describes Carcassonne as a hilltop town in southern France’s Languedoc area in the valley of the River Aude and is famous for its medieval citadel, La Cité, with numerous watchtowers and double-walled fortifications. The first walls were built in Gallo-Roman times, with major additions made in the 13th and 14th centuries. Château Comtal, a 12th-century castle within the Cité, offers archaeological exhibits and a tour of the inner ramparts.T he walls surrounding the Cite are 3 miles long. About 2 kilometres from the Citadel there is a more modern city.

 

 

 

 

On this occasion we joined a tour of  La Cite and also a separate tour of the chateau. The history is fascinating and especially the 12th and 13th centuries when the city was a Cathar stronghold. This is one of France’s top tourist resorts and the narrow streets through the city are lined with shops restaurants etc. It is rather Disney-esq with the shops selling all manner of tourist tat and we were happy to get out of it following our tour

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still inside la Cite there is a 13th basilica, the Basilica of Saint-Nazaire, worth a visit to see its impressive stained glass and gargoyles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Away  from the ancient city, across the river Aude, the lower city  is more modern than the ancient city but certainly not modern as most of  it dates back to the Middle Ages.

We stayed in a very nice apartment very handily placed for the main squares and shopping areas of the lower city. All was good except that for a second time we found ourselves without wifi at a time when we wanted to watch the last few matches of the Premier League season. Happily, once again we found a local bar with an owner who obliged us on a couple of occasions by devoting one of their screens to footy instead of the usual rugby which is the  main local interest.

Our  apartment in Carcassonne – very comfortable but wifi -free!

We enjoyed our Carcassonne visit and  would recommend it as a nice place to visit for a long weekend. We thought it a lovely town with some nice squares, a proper market and the Canal du Midi running through it providing some nice walking and cycling. After our disappointing start to our journey in France, things were looking up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our next stop is Narbonne, further east along the Canal du Midi. Unfortunately we couldn’t find a way to get there by boat with our luggage and so it was back on the train.