Carcassonne Ville Basse (South of France)

There are two parts of Carcassonne: 1) Carcassonne La Cite which refers to the ancient stone walled city 2) Carcassonne Ville Basse or lower town which is the modern day city of Carcassonne.

Carcassonne Ville Basse
Website: Carcassonne Tourism

I did not have high expectations for this trip. I just wanted really to be wowed by the massive medieval citadel. Indeed, it wowed me totally and anybody who happen to pass by Carcassonne really. Who would not be impressed? The stone walled city looks stunning! The citadel is nestled on a small hill along Avenue du General Leclerc so anyone passing by with the car will see its spectacular beauty.

The Dutchman however is the only one who will disagree. Heâ€™s seen so much of France during his childhood days that he cannot appreciate anything French anymore. Actually any European historical city does not excite him anymore. I told him he should be grateful that I do not mind travelling alone and that I do not pester him to come and tag along. He does however agree to this =)

Anyway, for the rest of this visit I just wanted to take things slow. Since I am already in Carcassonne and although I am staying inside La Cite, I decided to take a little walk down to the lower town across the River Oude and took some pictures along the way as well.

Come, join with me in my walk around Carcassonne Ville Basse.

Quite a number of buildings were rundown here in Carcassonne and I wonder if people live here, but nevertheless, I have to admit they do have their own charm as well.

La Cite (the citadel walled town) in the background of Ville Basse (the lower town, modern-day city). This is Rue Trivalle.

From the citadel, I had to walk through this part of town and then take the bridge crossing the River Oude to get to the city centre.

This is the foot bridge (Pont Vieux) and the best route to get to the citadel on foot.

On the other side of the foot bridge is the bigger bridge for cars on Avenue du General Leclerc.

Stunning view of La Cite Carcassonne from the foot bridge, Pont Vieux.

Rue de Verdun, one of the main streets in the city centre.

I visited a church that has been converted into an exhibition space. Here they are exhibiting new plans for the renovation of the buildings in the city centre.