"La Cité" of carcassonne
by Emily & Teodora
"La Cité" is the name given to the medieval fortress which attracts many tourists to Carcassonne.
It is World Heritage of the UNESCO!
Video:
The legend of Lady Carcas,
presented by Emily and Téodora
Jeanne d'Arc High School.
Game: The castle of Carcassonne Crossword by Emily
This is a panoramic view of "La Cité", the medieval castle , and the "Old Bridge", name given to the bridge that is over the Aude River.
"La Cité" is a fortified fortress with double range of ramparts.
The ramparts stretch out along about 3 km. They are fitted with fifty-two towers that overlook the Aude river.
Within its ramparts, there is also the Earl's castle "Le Château Comtal" and Saint-Nazaire Basilica.
This little bridge on the right leads to the entrance of the Earl's castle.
There are "four doors" ("portes") - or main entrances to enter "La Cité":
The "Porte Narbonnaise"welcomes you with the statue of Lady Carcas who defeated Charlemagne who besieged Carcassonne when he was fighting against the Saracens.
Statue of Lady Carcas
Here below: the "Porte d'Aude"
an overview of "La Cité"
A few details of Saint Nazaire's basilica.
The other two doors are the "Porte de Rodez" and the "Porte Saint Nazaire".
The "Jean Deschamps Theatre"
Every year in July, many wellknown artists from all over the world come on stage here for their concerts. It is really awesome!
Since last year we've had two spots in Carcassonne for the shows: Read our programme and choose your favourite artist to book the seats! This is going to be awesome!
The "Canal du Midi"
This is our 2nd World Heritage of the UNESCO treasure!
This waterway links the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, from Agde to Toulouse, then to Bordeaux with the "Canal des deux Mers".
Paul Riquet started this project in 1662 in the 17th century. It took 15 years to build, from 1666 to 1681.
The idea was to to dig a canal and to use hydraulic engineering to open and close the locks to let the barges go. There are 63 locks.
The water comes from artificial lakes into the Canal.
It was open to merchant traffic in 1682 to transport wine, cereals, wood , woven material and more things on barges.
The Canal du Midi is lined with plane trees and provide a very particular landscape in our region.
The tourists travelling on their barges or on their boats get sunshade and the people who ride or walk on the canal banks too, during the summer hot days.
Bastille Day: 14th July
Every year many people come on purpose to Carcassonne to watch our fabulous fireworks display.
On that day we celebrate the French Revolution: 14th July 1789
