It was a nice hour and fifteen minute train ride from Montpellier to Carcassonne.
And we arrived on schedule to Carcassonne Station. The station is located in the "Lower City"; Ville Basse and based on Google Maps would be about a 30 minute walk to our AirBnb which was just outside the medievel La Cité. Instead of fussing around in an unfamiliar location, we decided to get a taxi to the flat. The apartment was wonderful, bright, modern, clean, with fast Wifi, something we don't take for granted here. And I had timed our arrival to the self check-in time. We got in, freshened up, put in a load of laundry and decided to do some exploration. I also wanted to make some restaurant reservations for places that I wasn't able to online, so we'd hit up those places on the way back.
The flat was located just down the hill from Porte de l'Aude right next to Eglise Saint-Gimer. So, of course we headed right up to La Cité.
La Cité does make quite a statement when you first see it…..
And looks quite imposing as you walk up Cote De La Cite.
We had purposely chosen to visit Carcassonne during this time of the year to avoid the crowds and well, we sure did! As we saw nary another person on this afternoon!
It is said that Carcassonne has been occupied since the 5th Century BC; first by the Iberians, then by the Gallo-Romans, who started work on the walls of the city, which were completed in 333AD. There are two sets of walls in La Cité, the inner rampart was completed in 485AD. It is said that there were 40 towers and up to 40 entrances to the city.
Look at that moat….no, it wasn't filled with water and carnivorous creatures, but was basically a ditch, and from what I read it was dug even deeper than what is in place today. Can you imagine crossing that bare space? See all the slits and windows? You'd be pretty much an easy target!
To get ourselves acquainted with La Cité, we took a walk across the city, on the silent streets.
And found one of the places on my dining "list"; Comte Roger, which was closed during the week of our stay! Sigh…..
We exited at the opposite end of the city at Porte Narbonnaise. There's an interesting cemetery right outside the gate and we took some time to explore.
Heading back into La Cité, we decided to take a walk along the outer ramparts.
Where we actually saw another "hooman" and his four legged friend having a stroll.
We turned back into La Cité at Place Saint Nazaire and took a quick look at the Basilica of Saints Nazarius and Celsus.
This was Carcassonne Cathedral until 1803, when the title was moved to the present Carcassonne Cathedral located in the lower city.
From here we waked along the ramparts, the view was quite lovely.
We could see clouds coming in and the sky was darkening, so it was time to head back to the apartment. I used Google maps and found what we thought was an exit to the city.
Which strangely led us to a dirt trail. Oh well, we scrambled on down.
We eventually made our way back to the apartment and took a break.
When dinner time came along, we headed up the street we were staying on, Rue Barbacane which curved right, then turned onto Rue Trivalle. I had three places on this little street in my "list". No talk about bad luck; all three places were closed for the week. What I didn't know and really didn't find any information on….it seems many places take a winter break during the last week of November! So, I was oh-fer-four right now. We walked along the street and noticed this lively place.
Named Le Passage. A quick check revealed that this was a tapas place. Well, there weren't many or even any other choices left on the street so we ambled on in…..to quite a lively scene.
It was an interesting crowd, obvious locals who knew each other watching the World Cup, folks staying at the hotel above the restaurant, and us.
The guys working were quite jovial and we ordered some tapas, which were actually fairly large portions.
Starting with the Medallions de Foie Gras (16€ – $17.50/US).
A very generous portion of terrine mi cuit, with a lovely apple jam. The accompanying sea salt and a touch of jam went well with the lovely, rich and buttery fois gras.
We got a kick of how baguette was served here…..in a tower.
The Missus loved the frites (5€ – $5.50/US) here.
Crisp exterior, creamy inside, the potatoes had a nice starchy sweetness to it. We enjoyed it so much, we got a second order!
We also ordered the Moules Gratinees (10€ – $10.85/US).
Not a big fan of this dish. The mussels were overcooked and on the tough side and there was a bit of grainy "sandy" bits. Also, we didn't care for the milky creamy flavors which really detracted from the briny – sweet mussels.
Of course this came with its own "baguette tower" as well.
Overall, this was a fun meal. Nice folks and really reasonable prices. We enjoyed the friendly, neighborly vibe of the place.
Restaurant Le Passage
15 Rue Trivalle
11000 Carcassonne, France
It was drizzling as we headed back to the apartment. We were looking forward to a nice night of sleep.
Thanks for stopping by!