Videos of Canal du Midi France
Carcassonne Video Tour: The Most Complete Medieval Fortified City in Existence
Take a barge trip along the Canal du Midi through gorgeous countryside and medieval cities of southern France. Dating back to the Gallo Roman era, Carcassonne is the most complete medieval fortified city in existence. With its 52 watchtowers, portcullis and extraordinary repertoire of defenses, it resisted the many armies that tried to storm this Camelot setting.
Carcassonne is a medieval fortified city set atop a hill overlooking the Aude River. Rising against the backdrop of the Pyrénée Mountains the city is striking not only during the day but also when it is floodlit at night. Composed of a circle of towers and battlements, turrets and ramparts, and also the longest city wall in Europe, Carcassonne is a perfectly restored medieval town. The oldest sections of its encircling wall were built by the Romans in the first century AD. Its name dates to the 9th century when the city was under siege by Charlemagne. Dame Carcas, in full view of Charlemagne, fed the last of the city's wheat to pigs. Charlemagne, thinking the act signified an endless food supply for the city's inhabitants, gave up and decamped. Credited with saving the city, Dame Carcas's act led to the city being known as "the virgin of Languedoc" and impregnable.
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