I stayed in an airbnb when I went to Carcassonne in South of France last June. As it's my first time to visit the place, i was very excited to explore the fortress. After giving me the key of the flat, my friendly host said,
" well, there's more English-speaking tourists than French in there"!
With my limited French, that was music to my ears! So going around the fortress, one can hear a lot of American accent from the tourists! My friends in UK have not even heard of Carcassonne till I've mentioned it. Although there's a few Brit accent, there were more Americans.
Carcassonne is quite famous for its fortress and inside, it doesn't disappoint. It's a nice walk along the alleys with shops and some restaurants. For such a tiny place, it have a few hotels and a school. One thing to not miss is the very old St. Nazaire church with its famous glass-tainted windows.
They say the fortress is better viewed at night. As my accomodation is located at the foot of the fortress, near Pont Vieux, I made a point of seeing it myself, every night with my bottle of wine ;)
The Bastille is about 15 minutes walk away, where bars and shops abound. The train station is also near the Bastille, across the Canal du Midi. I was hoping I get to see it's market day, but it wasn't to be!
Left side of the river from Pont Vieux
A friend and I were talking of buying a property in France. Since I got friends near Toulouse, Carcassonne seems to be a good place to start with because of it's location. Also accessibility to Toulouse, Provence and Barcelona, probably Italy too through Nice. But regardless, a friend from Toulouse did mention that it's quite cheap in Carcassone, but due to its location, it's also a haven for druglords. It's a shame if true...I like the feel of the place. And the people are friendly too.
Some random pics of Carcassonne taken from my Samsung S6:
