In Carcassonne, the rampart walk will soon be fully open to visitors

The news should delight all fans of the medieval period. On September 20, the city of Carcassonne, in the Aude, opens a new page in its history. On the eve of the European Heritage Days, which take place on September 21 and 22, visitors will be able to discover the entirety of the inner ramparts of the medieval city. Until now, the approximately 630,000 curious visitors each year could only visit part of the rampart walk, one of the highlights of a visit to Carcassonne.Tourists entered the medieval city, sometimes climbing the steps to reach the ramparts, but had to give up after a while due to lack of accessibility. explained Franck Doucet, administrator of the castle and ramparts, to the Figaro .

Another 300 meters remained inaccessible to the general public, due to their lack of security and their degraded state. Now, the entire 1,300 meters of the walk will be open to visitors, after 31 months of work that began in spring 2022. Nearly six million euros were needed to carry out this major restoration, between the Porte Narbonnaise and the Tour des Prisons. “We are currently completing the restoration of 300 m of ramparts. This may not seem like much, but it is what was missing to make the connection with the rest of the rampart walk. This is the most important project undertaken in the city since the restoration led by the architect Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century.”said Franck Doucet, in The Parisian .

Price 11 euros

“The work concerns the towers, the curtain walls and the patrol path, including the replacement of stone blocks and the installation of guardrails to ensure the safety of visitors.”explained the Ramparts of Carcassonne, on Facebook. In total, 17 workers and 8 stonemasons will have been mobilized. For the moment, the individual rate is 11 euros, it is free for young people under 25 who are part of the European Union.