History of Carcassonne dates back to as early as 3500 BC with strong references to constructing it between 400 and 700. Known for its city walls, it is essentially a fortress within a fortress.
Legend tells that it was named after princess Carcas, whom devised a plan to save the fortress from Charlemagne. She used the remainder of the grain within the castle to fatten up the remaining pig and sling shot it over the city walls to show she was doing just fine while the impending forces looked to starve them out. Legend has it that the plan worked and the intruders could not hold out and surrendered their seige. 'Carcas sonne' means 'Carcas rings.'
It was really great that there were so few other tourists there on this Saturday morning. We were allowed almost complete range as to where we wanted to go. Quite cool.
