Carcassonne

The medieval fortified city of Carcassonne contains the most complete double-walled fortress system surviving in Western Europe, its 52 towers and 3-kilometre perimeter walls restored by Viollet-le-Duc in the nineteenth century. The Cité sits on a hill above the modern lower town and the Aude river, with the classic photography viewpoint from the Pont Vieux bridge framing the whole medieval silhouette at dusk. The Château Comtal within the walls dates to the twelfth century and anchors the Visigoth and Carolingian defensive phases.