Article: Carcassonne? Meh.

[Pauline]

A blog post on the Rick Steves website gives a bad review of Carcassonne, the medieval city in the Languedoc in southern France (read more on Day Trip - Carcassonne). Perhaps written with the hope of getting some controversy going.

Rick Steves: Carcassonne? Meh., by Cameron Hewitt 18 June 2015

From the article: "In my travels, I’m most drawn to places that feel vital and authentic. And Carcassonne may have the widest gulf between glitz and substance of any place I’ve been. It feels like a stage set: Perfect for a postcard or a coffee-table book, but torturously dull to explore. It is, simply, soulless."

We spent three nights in the center of Carcassonne a few years ago and visited the Medieval City (La Cité) several times. I enjoyed seeing it and liked staying in that area. La Cité is the destination for most tourists who come to Carcassonne and there is a cluster of tourist shops, and tourists, at the entrance. And it is true, no one lives there. But is fabulous to see. You can walk the lanes in the city, then walk along the walls outside the city. There is even a castle there to explore. I loved the views of La Cité from other parts of the town.

It looks a bit Disneyland-ish because it has been totally renovated and is geared for tourists. And no one lives there - but plenty of people live in the city that formed around this medieval city. Carcassonne is a nice town. The Canal du Midi runs through it. There are lovely towns and villages nearby. You are not far from the coast. When we were there we drove south to see the spectacular cave art at Niaux.

If we are to condemn La Cité in Carcassonne, then shouldn't we also condemn some of those too-perfect Dordogne towns? The chateau in the Loire Valley that exist solely for tourists? Some of the towns in the North Cotswolds that exist for tourists and people down from London for the weekend?

 

[jonathan]

Architectural purists have always been rather sniffy about the (mid 19th-century) restoration by Viollet-le-Duc, because the roofs are so out of place. The steep profiles, and grey slates are typical of Northern France (where V-l-D came from), but are totally out of place amongst the shallow roof tiles of Mediterranean France.

 

[Chris]

If we are to condemn La Cité in Carcassonne, then shouldn't we also condemn some of those too-perfect Dordogne towns? The chateau in the Loire Valley that exist solely for tourists?

Or that awful castle at Les Baux?

 

[artnbarb]

Medieval walled cities are always appealing to me, and this was on my list for next summer - until I read that article! Now I'm going to be spending more time researching, then probably weeks agonizing over whether we should bother.....grrrrr

 

[Pauline]

Architectural purists have always been rather sniffy about the (mid 19th-century) restoration by Viollet-le-Duc, because the roofs are so out of place.

That is a good criticism IMO, but I still think the place is very interesting. I think that article was written more to appear opinionated because you could say the same thing about a lot of tourist destinations - and many of them are still worth the effort.

Or that awful castle at Les Baux?

Had I got to see the castle, then I would have an opinion! It is funny the things you skip just because it is an uphill walk and hot out. Castles mostly, since they are usually uphill.

 

[Pauline]

Medieval walled cities are always appealing to me, and this was on my list for next summer - until I read that article! Now I'm going to be spending more time researching, then probably weeks agonizing over whether we should bother.....grrrrr

What other ones have you seen and liked?

 

[Chris]

Or because it's lunchtime and you're hungry.

 

[artnbarb]

What other ones have you seen and liked?

Rothenberg (burg?) in Germany, and after that I'm drawing a blank. I'm blaming it on Stendahl syndrome since we're in Umbria!

 

[Pauline]

Monteriggioni in Tuscany, Italy.

 

[artnbarb]

Or because it's lunchtime and you're hungry.

Trust me, we have NOT been hungry for one minute!!!!

 

[Parigi]

"If we are to condemn La Cité in Carcassonne, then shouldn't we also condemn some of those too-perfect Dordogne towns?"
The problem is not an excessive perfection but that there is no real local life in some of these museum-villages. Not a single butcher, or boulanger, or a minimum of the kind of commerce that sustains a local life. And that is not just limited to the Dordogne
Are "villages" like Saint Paul de Vence a village ? It has a nice view and a zillion galleries and nothing else. Ditto, Les Baux. Ditto Rocamadour (substituting the galleries with a zillion religious geegaw shops). Ditto Beynac. Ditto Laroque-Gageac. I love to approach these two sights on a canoe trip. But they are sights, not villages.

 

[Chris]

When you're looking for a place to spend a week or two, the butcher and boulanger are important considerations, but I don't require that much authenticity if I just want to spend a few hours, enjoy the views and whatever it is that makes it famous. I love beautiful, undiscovered little gems, but I AM a tourist, and enjoy visiting many of the places you mention. Saint Paul de Vence for instance. It's gorgeous, the views are gorgeous, and I don't mind a little window shopping of the galleries. I wouldn't want to spend a week there, but an afternoon every 10 years or so (my current rate) is perfectly fine. I wouldn't skip it because it lacks the butcher and boulanger.

 

[Parigi]

I don't disagree with you. I was trying to say that I visit (some of) those villages as a museum, not as a living place with a lifestyle.
Back to Carcassonne. Like Rocamadour, I would at the most go to a spot about 2 km from it and take a photo in the distance and not go nearer.

(And for a perched village with a great view on the French Riviera, I much, much prefer Roquebrune and also Sainte Agnès…)

 

[Chris]

OK, we do agree, in general anyway. Saint Paul de Vence is a lovely museum. I've never visited Carcassone or Rocamadour. Next time I'm on the French Riviera, I'll definitely check those two out (if they are accessible without a car).