Tag Archives: Castle

France

Carcassonne France Medieval city

We went and explored the historic fortified city of Carcassonne in the southern part of France. We began by walking along the Roman bridge towards the fortified walled city.

View of the walled city from the Roman bridge.
View of the fortified city

Carcassonne was of a key strategic importance  between historic trade routes, linking the Atlantic to the Mediterranean Sea.  It has a very long history that dates back to around 3500 BC when the first signs of a settlement was established.  In 100 BC the Roman empire recognized the strategic importance of the area and began fortifying the hilltop. The hilltop eventually became a rural settlement and later under the control of Julia Carsaco. Eventually the name changed over time to Carcassonne.

The main gate entrance with draw bridge behind it.

The castle itself possesses its own drawbridge and ditch leading to a central area of the castle.

The draw bridge section into the main fortified city.

The fortified city consists of two outer walls with a total of 53 towers and fortified outpost to prevent attack. The walls consist of towers built over the years.

View of the outer wall fortification with a sentinel tower

We could see the different styles in the construction some were Roman and is notably different from the medieval walls.

One of these towers housed the Catholic Inquisition in the 13th century and is still known as “The Inquisition Tower”.

We explored the inner city and enjoyed walking along the narrow streets with unique shops and restaurants. 

One of the many narrow streets inside the walled city

We walked the walls of the city exploring the different towers along the way.

Shelley and Ray on the walls of Carcassonne
Shelley and Ray on one of the sentinel lookout towers in Carcassonne

We had great views of the surrounding areas of the city.

View of the outer wall and the rolling hills of the countryside

There was views that overlooked the outer areas of the fortified city while other views overlooked the inner city. Both were tremendous and beautiful in their own way.

View of the city of Carcassonne
View of the Cathedral from the walls of the city.
View of the inner portion of the walled city.

We spent the entire day walking throughout this amazing walled city. There was so much history and unique things to see. There was even a Roman Amphitheater within the walled city.

The Amphitheater in the walled city of Carcassonne

We thoroughly enjoyed this UNESCO world heritage site . It is an outstanding example of a medieval fortified town, with its massive defences encircling the castle. Here are a few pictures of the castle and walled city. It was well worth exploring this city.

“Certes, voyager est plus que voir des sites touristiques ; c’est un changement qui s’opère, profond et permanent, dans les idées de vivre. “– Miriam Barbe

Spain

Jaén Spain

We decided to take a trip to the Spanish city of Jaén for our anniversary. It is the capital city of the province of Jaén, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. We decided to celebrate there and stay at the Parador of Jaén on the Santa Catalina hill. It is located beside the Santa Catalina Castle and has stunning views of the entire area.

Image of the Castle of Santa Catalina

We checked into the Parador and were struck by the beauty of the building. It is considered one of the best castle hotels in Europe. There were stone features throughout the Parador and it felt as if we were going back in time.

There was an amazing vaulted ceiling in the main dinning hall which was 20 meters high.

There were many features that reflected a medieval time throughout the Parador.

Shelley at the gate at one of the Parador passageways

We arrived at our room and were amazed at the beautiful views from our room. We had our own private balcony and a nice outdoor sitting area. We decided to go hiking before settling into the balcony area.  We changed into our hiking clothes and headed out to explore the area. We went down a path along the side of the ancient fortified walls of the castle.

The remains of the ancient fortified walls of the Castle of Santa Catalina
Shelley standing on the ancient fortified wall overlooking the city of Jaén Spain.
Door arch through the fortified walls
Shelley and Ray on the ancient fortified walls of Jaén

We walked for about two hours exploring the area. There was a natural park area alongside the wall which we decided to venture into and explore. There were olive trees and a nice trail that lead along the edge of the ridge that overlooked the city below.

We came across some beautiful views of the city that stretched out below us.

After hiking through the natural area we decided to head back to the Parador and relax. We set ourselves up on our balcony with a snack and a glass of red wine. We rested and enjoyed the vistas for a while.

We rested up and then headed out to explore the city of Jaén. We walked into the city centre and explored the old city centre. 

Cathedral of Jaén, which began construction in 1570 and is one of the most important Renaissance-style cathedrals.

We walked through the marble streets looking at the unique shops and architecture. 

Marble streets in Jaén old quarter

Some of the marble streets were almost like pieces of art. They were uniquely decorated and looked like carpets or hallways.

Marble street in Jaén

There were beautiful plazas located in the centre which had fountains and highlighted by lighting.

One of the plazas in Jaén

We decided to stop for something to eat and take a break. We found a nice quaint small plaza called Plaza Posito and located in the plaza was a restaurant called “Bar Del Posito ” 

We enjoyed some great tasting tapas and the service was so friendly and attentive that we came back to this spot several times during our stay in Jaén. After enjoying some tapas we headed back to the Parador for the night.

We explored areas within the Parador and we went to the lounge area for a nightcap. Ray decided to have his photo taken with a couple of medieval knights guarding the premises.

Ray with a couple of the locals

The next day we explored the 13th century Castle Santa Catalina and the area around the Parador.  We walked through large arches and walked towards the cross of Castle Santa Catalina. 

Archway in the Castle Santa Catalina
Shelley in one of the archways of the Castle Santa Catalina

We walked along the stone walkway towards the peak area. 

Finally we reached the end of the walkway and came to the Cross of the Castle Santa Catalina.

The views from here were spectacular and we could see the entire region.

We looked down on the city of Jaén and could see the Cathedral.

View of the city from the base of the cross of Jaén

The cross which stands majestically above Jaén towers up above the landscape.

It is a monument that was erected by Ferdinand III in the spring of 1246 after overtaking the fortress. There are so many historic interesting facts about this area including the fact that Napoleon’s troops turned the fortress into a stronghold  in 1808. The cross was originally made out of wood but it is now a stone replica. 

“Que tengas un buen día”