Like many things in life, this trip was definitely worth the wait. From the train station in Nice, France, my traveling companion Bibsy Carballo and I took a hiatus from the Cannes Film Festival and boarded a six-hour TGV high-speed train for a weekend sojourn in Carcassonne. I could hardly believe I was finally headed for this medieval citadel in the south of France. The scenic terrain along the Languedoc-Roussillon region along the Mediterranean coast prepares the senses for what is impending. The sight of sprawling vineyards, grassy carpets where black-and-white-spotted cows graze and colorful flowers strewn across the rocky promontory is intoxicating. The lovely fortress of ancient history beckons, magnetizes as we gravitate towards the epicenter of nobility and historic charm.
All at once, the mesmerized traveler forgets that he needs a car as the narrow streets highlight the shops and lodgings carved out of ancient rock. Time seems to stand still and one spontaneously rediscovers the spirit of the indefatigable people who journeyed on foot or straddled on horses. I could almost hear the rumblings of the carriages carrying soldiers in armor and artillery who centuries hence embarked on pilgrimages, war or trade missions. The golden walls witnessed heroic sieges within the fortifications built by the Gauls, Romans, Visigoths, Moors and Franks. Here the towers and walls resonate with the past clamor of battle and the footsteps of famous characters. No wonder actor/director Kevin Costner chose it to be the site of his movie Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves in 1991.
Anyone would be excused for thinking he was approaching a fairytale world. The fortified city stands majestically on a hill overlooking the lush countryside of the Laguedoc and the distant Pyrenees mountains. Carcassonne’s history dates back as far as the Roman Gaul and parts of the city’s fortifications date back to the first century AD. Located in the strategic intersections of two historic trade routes, from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and from Spain to the center of France, Carcassonne’s defenses were strengthened by successive owners. In the 5th century, the Visigoths extended the Roman defenses and for many years the castle proved impenetrable to invaders.
The Cite de Carcassonne is located in the lovely Laguedoc region of France, near the border of Spain. The closest big city is Toulouse, about 60 miles to the Northwest. Carcassonne is considered one of Europe’s most preserved medieval sites. Bathed in the sunset glow that illuminates the dark clouds above, the Cite (as the walled city is known) is awesome. The legend of the city’s name goes back to the year 760 AD when the besieging Franks hoped to starve it into submission. The hunger led Lady Carcass, widow of one of the nobles, to collect all available grain and feed it to one remaining pig. Thus fattened, the pig was catapulted into the Frank camp as proof of persistent abundance. Seeing a perfectly fattened pig disheartened the Franks who felt their siege was futile. They lifted the siege and in honor of the resourceful Lady, the city was renamed Carcassonne. Viollet de Duc was commissioned to restore Carcassonne and its medieval fortifications. Ancient ramparts, keeps, barbicans and towers in the mid-19th century were restored and were completed in 1910. The restoration proved a great success. Today, over three million visitors visit Carcassonne yearly. The double walls stretch over two miles around a maze of medieval streets and museums. Over 50 towers rise from the fortifications to overlook the River Aude River and the surrounding green countryside.
The highlight of our stay here was the opulent Hotel de La Cite strategically located inside the medieval city. We were definitely in good company as we learned that luminaries like Rudyard Kipling, Winston Churchill, Walt Disney, Cecil de Mille, Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Queen Elizabeth, Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, and Julio Iglesias have stayed here. Why wouldn’t these famous people gravitate toward Hotel De La Cite, when it is proudly among the list of Orient Express Hotels?
Over a delightful dinner at the one-Michelin-star Barbacan restaurant, Bibsy and I had the privilege of interviewing Jacques Hamburger, GM of Hotel de la Cite. He proudly shared how James Sherwood founded the Orient Express Hotels in 1976 with the purchase of the Hotel Cipriani in Venice. He bought the old vintage cars of the old train and restored them into service. The Venice Simplon Orient Express Commercial commenced operation on the London Paris Venice route as well as Istanbul in 1982. From these beginnings, Sherwood invested in luxury hotels, restaurants, tourist trains and inland waterway cruises in 25 countries owning more than 50 percent of the properties.
Hamburger shared his experiences in exotic destinations like the road to Mandalay, Mallorca in Spain and other travel sites we ought to visit. We had a gastronomic feast at its one Michelin star La Barbacane Restaurant and savored the fine wines, soups, salads, seafood dishes, cheeses and a heavenly selection of sumptuous desserts.
Like poetry in motion, we explored the luxurious and historic Hotel de la Cite with its 21 suites and junior suites and 40 bedrooms, each individually decorated in a light French Provencal style with hand-painted furniture. We marveled at how the designers have respected the hotel’s original neo-gothic revival style that originated in England in the 19th century. Perhaps the holy knights in search of the Holy Grail spent many hours around the impressive wooden fireplace planning their sieges? The atmosphere of pointed stained glass windows, beamed ceilings in the gourmet restaurant La Barbacane, carved woodwork in the bar/library and the staircase, mosaic floors, walls decorated with the classic fleur-de-lis pattern and colorful coast of arms of the region’s noble families painted by Henri Savade (1865-1945) is simply medieval magic.
The cool breeze kissed our faces as we sipped some champagne and savored fine cheese with freshly made Belgian chocolates in our veranda with a view of the well-manicured gardens and the ramparts overlooking the Black Mountains to the North and the Pyrenees to the South. Built in 1909, the Hotel de la Cite has built on the site of a former Bishop’s palace; the Hotel de la Cite is located next to the Saint Nazaire Basilica. It is the only luxury hotel within Carcassonne. Built in 1909, the Hotel de la Cite has undergone major renovation to restore it to its former glory. The renovation and interior design of the Hotel dela Cite are the work of Parisian decorators Gerard Gallet and Jean-Michel Ley (from Polyedre) under the watchful eye of GM Jacques Hamburger.
In the reception hall, I admired four large paintings by Jacques Ourtal (1868-1962), one of Carcassonne’s most famous painters and a friend of Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec and Cezanne, depicting the different stages of the construction of Carcassonne’s citadel.
I have always been awed by castles, stories of knights in shining armor and fairy tales of happy endings. Truth is, this fascinating medieval setting is far beyond what I had imagined. Suddenly, I realized how humbling it is to attempt to measure up to a glorious structure built as early as the first century AD. It was a cool morning the day we left the Cite as I raced around the moat of the castle. It was exhilarating to run through such historic drama and realize that to appreciate the past is actually an attempt to remember. And Carcassonne is simply too beautiful to forget. No matter what tale it narrates, this medieval fortress is a timeless witness to history preserved and perfected.
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For more information please call Hotel de la Cite at +33 468 719871 or e-mail reservations@hoteldelacite.com or log on to www.hoteldelacite.com.
Thai Airways flies to Paris. From Paris, take a flight to Carcassonne Airport. Hotel de la Cite is 10 minutes away from Carcassonne Airport. You can also take the TGV High Speed train from Paris or Nice.
E-mail the author at miladay.star@gmail.com.