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Like Clermont-Ferrand, Carcassonne was another one of the cities I never failed to include in my Interrail plans, and I was obsessed with it ever since a planned middle school trip to this place got turned into a visit to Avignon and Nîmes. Don’t get me wrong, both those cities were absolutely wonderful and I’m glad that I was able to see them, but Carcassonne got stuck in my head for over a decade. I arrived at around 10 p.m. and settled down in a hostel in the lower town. The next morning I firstly visited the historic Carcassonne Cathedral, and then I crossed the old bridge toward the Cité, the fortified town. This incredibly well-preserved medieval citadel is an exceptional instance of a fortress town dominating a hill and surrounded by an extensive wall system. I spent the morning exploring the Cité, visiting the castle and the Basilica of Saints Nazarius and Celsus, while enjoying some great views on the area. I also had lunch in the old town, and again it was truly delicious. Firstly, I had a salade de gésiers, a salad with gizzard meat, and then I tried the most popular dish from the region, cassoulet, a stew with a pork sausage, duck confit, and beans.
Since there wasn’t much else to do in Carcassonne, I decided to reach my next stop a few hours earlier than expected. After just an hour by train, I was in Toulouse. Carcassonne was small but really pleasant, with a true medieval atmosphere in the old town. Also, the weather started getting much hotter from here, despite being late October. When I arrived in Toulouse it was 28 °C, a huge difference with the 4 °C of Stockholm almost one month earlier.
I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Toulouse. I started from the Basilica of Saint-Sernin, which was really close to my hostel, an impressive example of Romanesque architecture among the most notable of its kind. After visiting the historic Church of Notre-Dame du Taur, I arrived in the main square of the city, which hosts the large Capitole building. I passed by the imposing Church of the Jacobins, then I crossed the bridge on the Garonne river and got to enjoy some amazing views at sunset, before returning to the hostel. During this entire day between Carcassonne and Toulouse however, my mind was stuck on trying to figure out the final weeks of my trip, but I’m going to talk about that a bit later.
The following day I went to visit the Cité de l’Espace, the Space City. This is a large science theme park dedicated to astronomy and space exploration, located at the outskirts of Toulouse. It’s a bit far from the city center, but I decided to walk anyway. It took me about an hour to cover the five kilometers that separated the hostel from the Cité de l’Espace, but at that point of the trip, no distance felt like too much, and I found a Pokémon card on the ground, so it was all worth it. Anyway, I spent the rest of the morning there, enjoying the many different rich exhibits and reproductions of famous spacecrafts, it was a real throwback to my time in university. Did I mention that I have a master’s degree in astronomy?
Anyway, I slowly made my way back to the city center and I stopped to have a quick lunch at a Vietnamese place, enjoying a good cà ri gà, a dish of chicken curry, and then I reached the Toulouse Cathedral. This church is another truly remarkable monument, built over the centuries with different and contrasting styles, and with richly decorated interiors. I took another walk around the city center to end my visit of Toulouse and then I headed to the train station for a two-hour-long journey that would get me to my next destination, Bordeaux.
I arrived in Bordeaux late in the evening, and the following morning I started my visit from the historic Porte d’Aquitaine city gate, and then I walked down Rue Sainte-Catherine, a long pedestrian avenue and the main shopping street of the city. From there, I took a couple of detours to see two other ancient city gates known as Grosse Cloche and Porte Dijeaux. After passing by the Grand Théâtre opera house, I visited the Palace of Gallienus, which has nothing to do with that emperor and is actually the ruins of a Roman amphitheater. Afterwards, I walked through the Public Garden and then all the way to the Cité du Vin, a modern exhibition space dedicated to wine, but I didn’t enter since it was a bit too expensive. I made my way back to the city center by taking a stroll on the Port of the Moon, the historic crescent-shaped riverfront along the Garonne. Back in the heart of the city, I had lunch at a restaurant with a chicken omelette and a dish of spicy meat skewers. Once again, it was a really tasty meal.
In the afternoon I went to Place des Quinconces, one of the largest city squares in Europe, that was hosting a fair and was filled with amusement rides and food stalls. There, I saw the outstanding Monument to the Girondins and then I moved on to another important square, Place de la Bourse. Various ornate eighteenth-century buildings face this plaza, while the side near the river is occupied by the Miroir d’Eau, a large and beautiful reflecting pool. Next, I visited the Church of Saint-Pierre and two more ancient city gates, Porte Cailhau and Porte de Bourgogne. Finally, I went to see three different churches, the Basilica of Saint Michael, the Church of the Holy Cross, and the Bordeaux Cathedral. All three of those are stunningly beautiful historic buildings with numerous elaborate decorations. Later, as part of my dinner, I tried the canelé, a small pastry and a specialty of Bordeaux.
Toulouse and Bordeaux were both really delightful and filled with many significant monuments and artworks. Overall, my time in France has truly been among the most enjoyable of the entire journey, I saw breathtaking landmarks and fascinating cities, and I was especially impressed by the many huge and elaborate Gothic churches. Along with much history and art, I also tried some of the best food of this adventure. I was a bit sad that I had to leave and I would have loved to see more places in France but, after about a week in the country, it was time to move on to Spain.
Chapter 12: Madrid, Segovia, Ávila >>