Located in Historic Trivalle District between the Medieval cité & Carcassonne centre (walking distance to both). Newly renovated town house retaining original features whilst providing a high quality & all mod cons. Ideal all year round self catering holiday location balancing culture, gastronomy, romance & an appealing climate. Stunning oak framed roof terrace with great views over Carcassonne.
Apartments Cezanne & Monet with stunning views of Carcassonne medieval Cité. All recently renovated to a very high standard. Apartment Renoir is cosy, on ground floor with no stairs. Cezanne with private shaded roof terrace.
Friendly English owners living locally.
All inclusive prices with no hidden charges.
A TALE OF TWO CITIES - CARCASSONNE
Carcassonne is a tale of two cities - divided by the River Aude - the ancient walled Cite and fairy-tale castle on the plateau on the right side of the river and the 'newer' Bastide Saint-Louis or lower town on the left..
Theories on how Carcassonne got its name abound, but arguably the most popular is the story of Dame Carcas, which dates to a siege of the City in the early Middle Ages.
According to legend, around 8th Century the Frankish king tried to starve Carcassonne's Saracen population into submission.
After a long siege foodstocks were severely deplenished and defeat was looming - but the ruler's wife Carcas had a bright idea: she gave orders for a pig to be force fed with the very last sacks of grain, and then tossed over the city walls.
When the pig fell and split open, revealing the contents of its stomach, the watching troops were fooled into believing the inhabitants still had plenty of supplies.
As they retreated in dispair, the jubiliant townsfolk called for church bells to be rung in triumph: 'Carcas, sonne!' ('Ring Carcas!').
Today visitors to La Cite can admire a head and torso statue of a plump, smiling woman, representing the town's namesake, mounted on a column near the Porte Narbonnaise.
A more likely theory, however, is that the name comes from the Celtic Carsac, or the Roman Carcaso or Carcasum, (an important Roman trading post on the site some 2000 years ago).
Others say it derives from Occitan, from the words carac (meaning rock, after the spur on which it sits), and sonne (meaning wood, for the surrounding forest).
