Toulouse, Carcassonne & Albi

We had been inspired to visit the medieval Cite of Carcassonne after seeing it listed on travel 'to do' list sites and hearing friend's travel tales. Located a short distance from the easily accessible by budget airline city of Toulouse, it was a perfect candidate for a weekend away. However now that we are indulging in post-travel reflection, Carcassonne was not the highlight of the trip. That award went to the red-brick town of Albi. Perhaps ignored by the tourist coaches, it definitely topped our list as one of the prettiest places to visit in Europe.


Gatwick Airport to Toulouse
Flying from London to France was a bit of a novelty, as we usually take the Eurostar route via Paris and onwards by rail to the destination city. For this trip, we flew out on a Friday night from Gatwick Airport, ensuring that we could catch the first train to Carcassonne in the morning and beat the crowds of guided tours.

During peak times the commute from central London to Gatwick Airport is easiest by train. Although our flight was due to take off at 6:10pm, we chose a slightly earlier train to avoid the Friday afternoon congestion. Once at Gatwick, we headed to Cafe Rouge to pass the time with an early dinner, nibbling on a meat platter with a solid serving of rillettes (potted meat) served with crusty bread, cornichons (little gherkins) and a pint of beer.

Pre-trip French charcuterie platter

Aéroport Toulouse-Blagnac
Our flight touched down in Toulouse close to 9pm. Catching the airport bus, we were shuttled to the center of town where locals, students and tourists were out and about enjoying their Friday night. We stepped off the bus near a wide long boulevard - Allee Jean Jaures that stretched out to the SNCF train station in one direction; and a pedestrian and restaurant district in the other.

Best Western Hotel Les Capitouls
Our hotel was located on the Jean Jaures Boulevard facing the airport bus stop. On check in, we were assigned a room on the upper floor with a view of the main street. Feeling that there was too much life in the streets to ignore by being in our rooms, we headed back out to explore the neighbourhood. The pedestrian area surrounded a small park with a fountain and was lined with restaurants offering alfresco dining and set menus written in multiple languages. A quick scan of the menu prices convinced us to save our 'eating out' budget for the following night. Instead we headed to Quick, a burger chain for a cheap and cheerful meal to end the night.

Fountain in the park

Gare de Toulouse Matabiau

The next morning, we skipped eating breakfast at the hotel and headed straight for the train station to catch the direct line to Carcassonne. The SNCF train station, Gare de Toulouse was located about 10 minutes from our hotel. This short walk passed by many Friday night revelers staggering to find their way home after a big night out.

The train station was located on the other side of Canal du Midi - the UNESCO listed 241km waterway that links Toulouse with the Mediterranean Sea. The entrance is the side with the beautifully decorated facade. There are several trains to Carcassonne per day, however we recommend starting off early to ensure you can get a seat as the train we boarded was only made up of a couple of carriages. Tickets don't need to be purchased in advance as it is only a regional fare and can be bought via one of the kiosks in the reception hall. The journey took about an hour and we met a travelling Filipino family during a tour of Europe who asked us for tips around other cities they were visiting.

Gare de Toulouse

Gare de Carcassonne

Carcassonne is located in the region of Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France, bordering Spain and Andorra. We had considered whether it was feasible to make the trek to the small country of Andorra on this trip in order to claim another country; however without rail connections it was going to take the best part of a day to get there and we decided to give it a miss.

On arrival at Gare de Carcassonne (located also on the Canal du Midi), we crossed the main street and arrived in an area full of retail stores and bakeries where we found a Quiche Lorraine for breakfast. This part of the city - Bastide Saint Louis needs to be crossed before reaching the Cité de Carcassonne, the medieval fortress and focus of our day trip.

Gare de Carcassonne

The city and surrounding region has an infamous place in history due to the Albigensian Crusade (or Cathar Crusade) from 1209–1229 AD. This crusade was initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate the practice of Catharism that was popular in the region. The campaign turned out to be a Church sanctioned slaughter of many thousands and the legitimate seizure of Cathar land and resources by French noblemen from the north if they volunteered to take up arms.

Bastid'Café

Walking up the main walkway, we passed many tourists emerging from their hotels and making their way to the Place Carnot for a caffeine hit. We stopped by the Bastid'Cafe for a cappuccino and used the time to plan our itinerary for the day.

Place Carnot Farmer's Market
The middle of Place Carnot is adorned by an 18th century marble fountain of Neptune, rising above the many stands selling vegetables, breads, cheese and cured meats. We hadn't intended on buying any supplies however when one of the vendors attempted to engage us by offering samples on the end of a knife, we decided to have a taste. Soon we were hooked and after trying a number of different saucisson (dried sausage) varieties that contained olives, nuts and truffles, we ended up buying a small collection for a planned picnic when we reached the medieval area.

Place Carnot and fountain

Pont Vieux

The UNESCO listed medieval fortress is located on the other side of the Aude River and can be reached via Pont Vieux. This old bridge provides an amazing view of the Cite and its many towers.

Pont Vieux on the Aude River

Carcassonne from a distance

Fortress Walls

The site on which Carcassonne now stands has been occupied by a fortified settlement since Roman times and contains a number of defensive characteristics including long thick walls and horseshoe shaped bastions. The walls made it very difficult for invaders to attack and 1209 it was besieged during the Cathar Crusade. The book 'Labyrinth' by Kate Mosse recreates the events and refers to the city as it would have been during the time of Raymond-Roger Trencavel, Viscount of Carcassonne. Over the centuries, the fortress walls were left as ruins and it wasn't until the latter half of the 19th century that they were restored by Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc.

Towers used to scan the horizon for invaders

A close view of the walls

Entering the Cite
Sitting below the fortifications is a residential area that contains a number of statues, colourful flower pots and terracotta decorations.

Flowerpots on the balcony

Fun figures on a wall

Wandering around, we found one of the cobblestone laneways that led to an entrance to the Cite, under the watchful eye of a large piece of artwork in the shape of an eagle.

Guarding the entrance to the Cite

Chateau Comtal

Inside the Cite we paid the entrance fee for the Chateau Comtal, home of the Viscounts of Carcassonne. We used the self-guided audio tour of the site, learning about the restoration and walked along the wooden covered walls and towers.

Footbridge over the old moat

Entrance to Chateau Comtal

Central courtyard

Walls used for defense

Near the Nabonne Gate- main entrance to the Cite

From the walls, we admired great views over the rest of the Cite. The restoration of the fortress had taken many years and tried to replicate different historical periods and architecture. As a result, some of the towers have different types of roofing.

View across the Cite

Towers along the walls

A former bastion now site of a city church

Chateau Comtal contains a miniature model of the Cite, trebuchet stones that were used during sieges and a museum with artifacts excavated on the site including a Roman milestone and stone work removed from the fortress walls and gates for conservation.

Collage of artifacts inside Chateau Comtal

Basilique Saint-Nazaire

The Saint-Nazaire Basilica is located within the walls of the Cite and contains large stained glass windows, majestic arches and gargoyles. 

Stained glass rose window

Gargoyle extending out from the walls of the basilica

Cassoulet

In Carcassonne, one dish ruled the cafe chalk-boards: cassoulet, a slow cooked casserole of white beans, confit duck and sausages. The dish is very filling and we ate it as part of a set menu at the La Table Ronde restaurant, complemented with pate, wine and a large bowl of ice-cream.

Cassoulet was a popular dish at the street side cafes

Place du Capitole

We returned to Toulouse in the afternoon and headed straight for the center of town - Place du Capitole to explore the Town Hall. The centre square was buzzing with tourists and locals enjoying the sunshine and preparing for a big Saturday night out.

Place du Capitole

Marble decorations inside the Town Hall

Basilica of St. Sernin, Toulouse
A short walk from the Capitole, we found ourselves outside the Basilica of St Sernin, a large brick building in Romanesque style that was constructed between 1080 and 1120 AD and is UNESCO listed as part of the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

Vieux Quartier (Old Town) 
The nearby cobbled streets of the Vieux Quartier (Old Town) caught our interest and we admired the rose-coloured brick buildings that give Toulouse its nickname of the 'Pink City'. We made our way towards the Garonne River and were in the process of crossing the Pont Saint-Pierre bridge when we saw a large procession on the nearby Pont Neuf. Curious, we headed for the area where the crowds were building and found ourselves in the middle of the Carnaval de Toulouse.

Pont Neuf with a lot of people

Carnaval de Toulouse
By coincidence, we had booked our trip to Toulouse on the same weekend as the city's Carnivale, celebrating a South-American/Brazilian theme perhaps in tribute to this year's World Cup. We spotted the animal floats all lined up at the entrance to Pont Neuf and when the signal to start the parade was made, we (and hundreds of others) followed the saxophone playing mayor across the bridge.

Selfie in front of the jaguar float

Floats with people wearing all sorts of costumes

Animals including a giant snail and pig

The parade concluded right next to our hotel on the Avenue Jean Jaures. The celebrations continued until late in the night, with the floats being taken apart or hoisted onto shoulders by happy revelers.

At the end of the parade

View from our hotel room

Le Carmivore
With so many people out in the street, we found getting a table at a restaurant near Pont Neuf to be quite challenging. Instead we headed down side laneways and with a bit of help from TripAdvisor, we found the restaurant: Le Carmivore that offered a set menu dominated by cured meats, steak and a chocolate dessert selection.

Love French food

Albi
On Sunday morning we caught another regional train to the Episcopal City of Albi, a UNESCO listed town to the north of Toulouse and famous for red brick and tile buildings, pretty architecture and interesting street artwork. The journey took about an hour and there was no need to book tickets in advance as there were few seats taken in our carriage.

Red bricks everywhere

Interesting paintings breaking up the brick landscape

Marche Couvert - Market Building

Albi Cathedral
On arrival at Albi, we stopped by the Tourist Office and picked up a map that provided us with a self-guided tour of the town and bought a coffee and quiche from the nearby bakery: La Mie de Pain.

Tourist office in front of the Bishop's Palace

First stop was the central square with the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Cecilia. Built like a fortress in 1287, it is supposedly the largest brick building in the world and was meant to represent the domination of the Catholic Church as it suppressed the heretics during the Cathar Crusade.

Quiche - perfect breakfast food

The Palais de la Berbie
The former Bishop's Palace, completed at the end of the 13th century is one of the best preserved castles in France. It now houses the artwork of the painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and has pretty flower gardens and a stunning view over the Tarn River.

Entrance to the Palace

Side view of the Palace

Spring flowers

Well kept gardens

Selfie with the Tarn River

Old Town Albi

Walking around Albi there are countless small laneways full of old buildings, cafes built in archways and secret courtyards revealing medieval cloisters (Collegiate Church of Saint Salvi) and gardens full of flowers. A curious explorer's dream city, we loved it more than Carcassonne.

Pont Vieux d'Albi

The Pont Vieux bridge dates back to 1035 AD and was built to encourage trade on the right bank of Albi, the area known as Madeleine. From the bridge, the view of the surrounding area was amazing and we took countless photos of the left and right side, soaking in the different pink and red colours contrasting against the blue sky and greenish tinged river.

Toulouse Botanic Gardens

We didn't have the luxury of staying in Albi for an entire day as we were due to catch a flight back to London later that evening. Back in Toulouse, the weather was perfect for a final stroll in the botanic gardens and being the height of spring, a rainbow of colorful flowers were on show around the ornamental lake.

Picnic at the Airport

With the majority of our time spent sightseeing and discovering historic sites, we had overlooked having our planned picnic with the sausage and cheese purchased in Carcassonne. Instead, at Toulouse airport we put these foods to good use for an early dinner. Obtaining plastic cutlery from a take-away restaurant and small wine bottles that we decanted into plastic cups - we had all the elements of a perfect end to an enjoyable weekend in southern France.

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