Handsome knights braving a moat-bridge on clip-clopping horses. Peasants selling their wares loudly at market, while the smell of incense and the echoes of Gregorian chants waft over from the Gothic Cathedral.

Interior of St Nazaire and St Celse Cathedral, located at Carcassone, France

All this and more is what goes through one’s head as soon as one sees the fortified city of Carcassonne. Being an avid fan of not only medieval history, but also TV series like Game of Thrones and Merlin, you can imagine the way my imagination soared as soon as we were within sight of its crenulated walls.

The old city of Carcassonne, situated in the region of Languedoc-Roussillon in Southern France, is reported to be the largest medieval city having its walls still architecturally intact, in all of Europe. Being a Unesco World Heritage Site, as well as a picturesque and well-known attraction, it definitely merited a visit. I had, in fact, decided to go there almost as soon as we had purchased the plane tickets for Marseilles. Carcassonne itself is approximately three hours’ drive away from Marseilles, on the right bank of the River Aude. However, believe me, it is well worth the travelling time.

Carcassone attracts millions of visitors every year

The Cité de Carcassonne is a city within a city. The ‘new’ and modern town of Carcassonne is, in fact, sprawled around the medieval fortress, which, huge and imposing, dominates the landscape, perched as it is on the rocky hilltop. The thick walls and witch-hat turrets, not to mention the three kilometre-long zigzagging battlements, exemplify the perfect idea of the medieval castle, akin to the descriptions of Camelot or any magical castle in a children’s story book.

A gargoyle at the Basilica of St Nazaire.

I was immediately enchanted. As I crossed the impressive drawbridge and looked in admiration at the massive trees surrounding the inner walls, I was struck by the sheer number of towers interspersed around the fortification. There are in fact, 52 perfectly preserved towers which are part of the concentrically designed two outer walls around the medieval city proper.

La Cité, as the old walled town is now known, was actually first recognised as a strategic point by the Romans around 100BC, and has since seen the incursions of not only the Romans, but also the Visigoths, Saracens and Crusaders. The drawbridge over the main gate of Porte Narbonnaise leads into the Citadel’s interior – a cute maze of cobbled lanes and courtyards lined with tiny shops and restaurants. The prices of these are not cheap, however, considering the location this is not at all surprising.

St Michael’s Cathedral

An interior space around one kilometre wide runs in between the two walls, giving the instagram-loving tourist the chance to take as many photographs with the medieval walls serving as background. Keep in mind, however, that Carcassonne attracts millions of visitors every year, so unless you want other people to feature in your selfies, you’d better visit during the off-peak season. I was there in February. Though there were other tourists around, they were not that invasive.

After traversing through the fable-like twisting medieval alleys and purchasing some lavender-scented souvenirs (lavender is a main product in Marseilles and the stuff can be found everywhere, in some form or other), we moved on to enter the Castle proper. While entering the Cité is free, in order to have access to the Château Comtal and actually walk on the ramparts, one has to buy a ticket. This fortified Keep was built in the 12th century and, though empty on the inside, offers fabulous views of the surrounding countryside from its battlements. One can even see the Pyrenees in the distance in clear weather.

The historical city of Carcassone is the real deal

The castle was built for the Trencavel family, Viscounts of Carcassonne. It is also well-known for the role it played in the Albigensian Crusade, also known as the Cathar Crusade, during the 13th century. Although the old city of Carcassonne fell into disrepair during the 17th century, after the shift of the Franco-Spanish border, a campaign to preserve the fortress as a historical monument, as well as the restoration work done by the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, saved this historical treasure from being lost to the ravages of time.

After being wowed by the castle itself, we descended from the ramparts to go and explore the nearby Basilica of St Nazaire, also situated within the old city itself. This gothic cathedral is impressively preserved, the arches in the ceiling and the stained glass windows so beautiful that we spent our whole visit there with our necks craned upwards.

The ancient houses inside the fortification of Carcassone.

We were so engrossed, in fact, that we actually forgot our bag of souvenirs behind and had to go back look for it half an hour later, when we were already exiting the outer wall.Thankfully, we not only remembered where we had left the bag, but also actually found it still there.

The historical city of Carcassonne is the real deal. It not only looks but actually feels originally medieval. Perhaps, because, apart from the cameras and smart phones belonging to the tourists, there is no other modern apparatus to be seen anywhere at all. The walls of the fortress protect any who venture with-in from any further glimpse of the modern world.

Walking around this city is the closest I’ve ever been to living the medieval life, even though at the time, my clothes belied the fact. I urge anyone planning to journey to Southern France not to miss visiting this gem. If la Cité de Carcassonne seems familiar, it might be because you may have seen it while watching Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), which was partly shot in this extraordinary location.