Picking up from where we left off last week, we were now making our way from the lower part of Carcassonne, created in 1247 and known as La Bastide, to the upper town that dates from at least 500 BC and is simply called La Cité. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is Europe’s most complete medieval walled city surrounded by a combined length of 3 kilometers (2 miles) of 2 concentric limestone walls secured by 52 defensive towers. Before we could get there, however, we had to cross the Aude River (photo in this paragraph).

Visits to Christmas markets have been an important part of our vacations in Europe since we first started coming here 30 years ago. An Internet search on the subject turns up numerous websites detailing “the best…iconic…top 5…the most magical” markets in more than a dozen countries, most of which we’ve had the good fortune to have seen. Even with some health restrictions in place last year we were able to spend time in 3 northern French cities decked out for the holidays. This year, after some incredible vacations in Spain, Switzerland, and Ireland we’ve decided to spend Noël right here in Carcassonne.  As Bing Crosby sang in 1943, “Christmas Eve will find me, where the love light gleams, I’ll be home for Christmas”.

France has been the most visited country in the world for many years and we had a blog post earlier this year that explains some of the reasons. As you would expect there’s food, wine, culture, beautiful villages, and romance. History is another factor and it’s overflowing here since we live in a city with Europe’s largest preserved Medieval walled city with foundations that the Romans built 2000 years ago. None of that potential is lost on the municipal Office of Tourism that has been classified by the government as “Category 1” for their excellence in serving the public and in cooperating with local professionals in national and international promotion. But there’s not just one government organization interested in getting the word out about Carcassonne; there are four and each one has its own list of where to take the best photos of that Cité on your visit here. Let’s see how they compare.