An excursion to Narbonne

This is just going to be a short post to share a little about our group’s day trip from Carcassonne to Narbonne.

There is normally an optional excursion to Albi, which is the birthplace of Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, but since the Musée Toulouse-Lautrec is closed on Mondays, Cyril, our trip leader, felt it would be a disappointment to go there (at a rather steep cost of $215 US). So instead he planned a trip to Narbonne. Just a half hour by train, with lunch and a guided tour, the cost was only $90.

Unfortunately, it rained pretty steadily most of the morning. We walked from the train station to the center of the town. Then we walked around in the rain for a while before lunch. After lunch it cleared up and we even got some sunshine.

Lunch

We had lunch at Auberge des Jacobins. I had tartiflette, a dish I’d never heard of.

Tour

The guided tour, after lunch, was excellent. Our guide took us into places that aren’t normally open to regular people, such as the Madeleine Courtyard of the Old Archbishop’s Palace and the terrace above the cathedral cloister.

He also showed us around the Cathedral, a beautiful space and one of the tallest cathedrals in France. It was never completed because it was built against the old city walls. The archibishop at the time (in the 13th century) wanted to knock down the walls to complete the cathedral, but the townspeople opposed the idea. Theri just a wall where the apse ended and the nave would have begun.

After the tour we went back to Carcassonne. It turned out to be a very enjoyable day, and thanks to our guide, I learned a lot.

Here are my photos from Narbonne.