Carcassonne

The Citadel of Carassonne is a perfectly restored medieval town. It crowns a steep bank above the river Aude, a fairly-tale sight of turrets and ramparts overlooking the Basse Ville below. The strategic position of the cidadel between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean and on the corridor between the Iberian peninsula and the rest of Europe led to its original settlement, consolidated by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. It became a key element in medieval military conflicts. At its zenith in the 12th century, it was ruled by the Trencavels who built the chateau and cathedral. Military advances and the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, which relocated the French-Spainish border, left its superb fortifications obsolete and it fell into decline. The attentionsof architectural historian Viollet-le-Duc led to its restoration in the 19the century.

The restored Citadel ~ Restoration of La Cite has always been controversial. Critics complain it looks too new, favouring a more romantic run.