NARBONNE
Department: Aude (11)
Region: Languedoc-Roussillon

Narbonne, about forty minutes’ drive east of Carcassonne, is a bright and refreshing town, once the largest Roman province in Gaul and a great port until the Middle Ages, when its harbour silted up.

It offers an easy day out from Carcassonne. The autoroute is the quickest way to get there, but a more relaxed approach along the routes nationales leads through numerous diverting villages, and has much to commend it.

Thriving now on tourism and a flourishing wine trade, it is hugely agreeable to saunter along the winding narrow streets towards the Palais des Archevêques and the basilica of St Just, or to stroll along the banks of the Canal de la Robine and maybe take a Moka coffee or herbal tisane in the shade of plane trees.

In the centre of town, is the lively square with an exposed section of the Via Dominitia, the original Roman road that passed through the town.

The central part of town is a pedestrian zone. So, park in one of the car parks alongside the Canal de la Robine, and walk in from there; it isn't far.