The medieval fortress instantly transports visitors back to the middle ages, though I doubt the shops sold all the modern convinces and trinkets they do now. You enter through a double sets of walls, each with defensible walk way to tour through cobble stone streets lined with shops. All the streets led to two points of interest the Chateau and the Romanesque Cathedral. This town has a real medieval feel to it, no matter how artificial it may be. I think it is because you are inside a real working castle (that has slightly been restored.) In fact it has such a feel to it, the annual Bastille day celebration is a major event here.

      There has been a fortress on the site since the 5th century. The normal suspects occupied it ( Roman's, Visigoth's, Crusaders) and then a series of counts bickering over who’s fortress it is. At one time this was a very important fortress. It stood on the border between France and Castalia (Northern Spain). The counts on both side were ever interested in "adding" to their holdings. There would be periodic raids were all the peasantry would run to the castle to hide. One main drawback of the original fortress was the lack of water so it was easy to be placed under siege and had the occupants “starved out”. There is one factious story of how at one time the occupants were about ready to surrender. However, instead of surrendering, they took the last pig, made it really really fat and then launched it over the walls at the people holding them siege. Upon seeing the pig come flying at them, assuming the people of Carcassonne had food to left, the siegers left.

      When the now Spanish border was moved a few hundred kilometers south, the castle lost its military importance and was abandoned. Fortunately there was a renewed interest in castles during the romantic period and the castle was restored with a couple minor flaws. Pointed towers were in vogue so the tower roofs became pointed. Towers in this region were flat. The second, the black slate tile came from the north, not this region. It was hard to tell from the tour guide if he liked all of the tourists coming to "his" town. I think he liked the attention, but he would have liked the castle to resemble the castles of the south.(The castle resembles the Norman castles). I enjoyed my stay here. However, I spent the night. That meant I had the castle to myself and my fellow vagabonds staying in the Hostel. My friend went with a tour bus that arrived with several other tour busses. She hated the town! I would advise spending the time of day the tour busses hit (early morning to mid afternoon) in the new town. Then venture back to the castle to enjoy it by yourself.