{"id":1335,"date":"2019-07-30T21:11:56","date_gmt":"2019-07-30T21:11:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1335"},"modified":"2019-07-30T21:11:56","modified_gmt":"2019-07-30T21:11:56","slug":"carcassonne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1335","title":{"rendered":"Carcassonne"},"content":{"rendered":"

The town of Carcassonne sits among several different winemaking regions, with Minervoix to the northeast; Corbi\u00e8res to the southeast;\u00a0 and Gaillac to the west.\u00a0 If you are on a wine tasting trip in the Southwest of France, you should definitely save time for a stop in Carcassonne.\u00a0 In fact, the town is a worthwhile destination, no matter what brings you to the French Southwest.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Cit\u00e9 of Carcassonne. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.<\/em><\/p>\n

The lower town is no different than many others in France, but the massive rock to the north is a wonder.\u00a0 It is a classic medieval fortress city essentially undisturbed since the late 13th century.\u00a0 Well, that\u2019s not exactly true.\u00a0 In fact, by the mid-19th<\/sup> century the town had fallen into such disrepair that the French were prepared to tear it all down.\u00a0 The hero of this tale is Eug\u00e8ne Viollet-le-Duc, an architect and antiquarian who made it his life\u2019s work to restore structures that had suffered over the centuries.\u00a0 He led the project to restore Carcassonne to its previous glory and although his vision was as much romantic as historical, the restored town is not only a monument to French history but also to the memory of Viollet-le-Duc.<\/p>\n

While there had been a town along the Aude river since Roman times, Carcassonne achieved a prominent place in history during a crusade against believers in a proto-Protestant religion known as Catharism, considered heretical by the Popes of the 12th<\/sup> and 13th<\/sup> century.\u00a0 The fortifications that can be seen today, called La Cit\u00e9<\/em>, were first erected to keep the papal armies out.\u00a0 The local nobleman who ruled the city decided to give it up without a fight and when all the wars were over, Carcassonne had become a part of kingdom of France.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The entrance to the Ch\u00e2teau Comtal.<\/em><\/p>\n

As a visitor, you can walk around the stone streets and along the ramparts.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t require much imagination to see the invaders below, holding Carcassonne in siege.\u00a0\u00a0 In fact, anyone who has ever dreamed of knights in shining armor and their damsels in flowing robes will feel a bit of romantic memory wash over them while inside the walls. \u00a0The Ch\u00e2teau Comtal, or the Count\u2019s Castle, is one of the sights not to miss.\u00a0 Here you will get a feeling for how the people of the time actually lived.\u00a0 Also, the Basilica of Saints Nazarius and Celsus, built before the age of the Cathars, is a testimonial to the glory of the Middle Ages.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A caf\u00e9 in one of Carcassonne\u2019s squares.<\/em><\/p>\n

Of course, Carcassonne is a tourist destination so there is the usual array of stores selling t-shirts and other souvenirs, but that shouldn\u2019t keep you away.\u00a0 This town is a piece of history that has been lovingly restored, and the 21st<\/sup> century gets along quite well with the 13th<\/sup>.\u00a0 Have lunch at an outdoor caf\u00e9, drinking the local wines and eating the contemporary fare and pretend that you are gathered with townsfolk to fete the Viscount and his court.\u00a0 You and your inner child will be glad you did.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The town of Carcassonne sits among several different winemaking regions, with Minervoix to the northeast; Corbi\u00e8res to the southeast;\u00a0 and Gaillac to the west.\u00a0 If you are on a wine tasting trip in the Southwest of France, you should definitely save time for a stop in Carcassonne.\u00a0 In fact, the town is a worthwhile destination, … Continue reading Carcassonne<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1335"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1335"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1340,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1335\/revisions\/1340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}