Cassoulet to Castle

Carcassonne Castle

The next day we were headed to the Camargue on the coast of France. But, Scott had requested a stop along the way. He is very fond of cassoulet, a traditional dish of Provence, but he had been holding off ordering it because he wanted to experience it in its natural setting.

The town of Castelnaudary is considered to be the “home” of cassoulet and it just happened to be on our route. So, we timed our trip to get there(ish) by lunch. The night before, we did some research and found that the “best cassoulet” in France could be found at a restaurant called La Demeure du Cassoulet that was in nearby Carcassonne rather than Castelnaudary. So we decided to go there. 

Not knowing how long it would actually take to get there and trying to avoid stress, we didn’t make reservations. I was a bit nervous about that, but we knew if we couldn’t get into La Demeure du Cassoulet we could find another cassoulet eatery.

So, we set the GPS and headed out. 

Leaving the Pyrénées

The beginning part of the drive took us through Foix, retracing steps from the day before. This time, we stopped a few places we had noticed the day before. That included old building that looked like an old Roman bathhouse. It was a no-longer-open bathhouse at the entrance of the Lombrives Caves (a cave I wished I planned on visiting) in the town of Ornolac-Ussat-les-Bains (“bains” means “baths”). 

It looked very Roman

We passed some talc mines in Luzenac, which you will recall is one of the greatest sources of talc in Europe ...

Cliffs of talc

... and saw ruins on top of a hill as we headed north and then east ...

Château de Lordat

Later I found out that this hilltop ruin is the remains of Château de Lordat. Overlooking the Ariège valley from the top of a 3,166-foot-high hill, Lordat is one of the largest medieval fortresses of Foix area. It was occupied from the 11th to the 17th Century.

Photo: Priscilla Martel

We even drove through a town named Mirepoix. I wanted to stop to see if they had streets named Carrot, Onion and Celery, but we didn't have time. This part of France is definitely cuisine-focused. Turns out (no surprise here), this is where mirepoix originated. The concoction, which is the basis for many French dishes, is named for 18th-century French nobleman, Charles-Pierre-Gaston François de Lévis, Duke of Mirepoix. 

Our Lunch Stop

As we approached the address in our GPS, we saw a spectacular walled city/castle and decided that, since we were hurrying to lunch, we’d find it after we ate to get some photos. It was, without a doubt, the coolest and biggest medieval castle I had ever seen. 

We weren't expecting this

As we followed the GPS, we got closer and finally realized that La Demeure du Cassoulet was inside the walls of what turned out to be Carcassonne Castle! Double score.

La Demeure du Cassoulet is somewhere in the front; Photo: Michael Runkel

The Castle is a major tourist attraction, it was Sunday and it was almost noon, so we struggled a bit trying to find parking until we happened upon a streetside “princess spot” right by the gates. 

Just minutes from car to portal

Lunch!

We rushed in and followed the GPS to the restaurant. We saw a sign saying Maison du Cassoulet and almost ran to the host desk. 

A rather abrupt man barked “Two O’clock” at us and stared. I figured out he meant that there was a seating a 2:00 p.m. and that was as early as we could eat. After some pantomime, we put our name on a waitlist and prepared to wait. 

I wanted to walk about and Scott wanted to sit, so I took off. When I rounded the corner, I saw a sign for La Demeure du Cassoulet.

We almost ate at the wrong restaurant!!!

Photo: Scott Stevens

La Demeure was a bit more tucked away and had available tables. A lovely hostess seated us immediately on the outdoor patio. Scott got his cassoulet. I (being not a fan of lots of meat, especially the required duck leg) had a fantastic zucchini tart with whipped cream infused with balsamic vinegar.

Cassoulet is a rich, slow-cooked stew that includes haricot beans, sausage, pork, mutton and preserved goose, aromatically spiced with garlic and herbs. It was invented in 1355 in Castelnaudary, which was under English siege during the Hundred Years' War. It was originally called an estouffet, with the name changing in the 19th Century. 

"Cassoulet" refers to the cassolo earthenware pot in which the dish is traditionally cooked.

Scott's lunch; Photo: Scott Stevens

In 1996, the Estates General of French Traditional Gastronom, a professional body dedicated to promoting regional products and traditional cuisine, specified the following proportions for cassoulet: at least 30 percent pork (which can include sausage), mutton or preserved goose (some recipes also have lamb or chicken); and up to 70 percent beans, stock (chicken, goose, pork or duck) and seasoning (usually bay leaves, thyme, garlic, onions and herbs de Provence). It is usually baked with beadcrumbs on top.

After my light lunch and Scott’s heavy one, we braved the crowds to explore the castle. 

We just walked around a bit; we didn't do a paid tour

A mixture of historic buildings and tourist destinations/services

We didn’t want to tour in depth because we had places to be and we really thought the better views were outside where you could see the full scope of the place.

Big scope

I took out my Google Maps to see if I could figure out a good vantage point and guess what came up? A listing called “Carcassonne Panoramic View.” 

This is where it took us

This is what we saw

We went there and took some photos, grabbing more good shots as we left town.

This is as we left

About the Castle and Walled City

Inhabited since the Neolithic, the town of Carcassonne is located between historic trade routes, linking the Atlantic to the Mediterranean Sea and the Massif Central to the Pyrénées. Ancient Romans occupied its hilltop until the demise of the Western Roman Empire. In the 5th Century, the region was taken over by the Visigoths, who founded the city of Carcassonne in the newly established Visigothic Kingdom.

Carcassonne Castle

Its citadel, known as the Cité de Carcassonne, is a medieval fortress dating back to the Gallo-Roman period. Like Foix, Carcassonne was a stronghold of Cathars until it was captured by Catholics in 1209. 

Some historic decoration

The city submitted to the rule of the kingdom of France in 1247. In 1659 Carcassonne's military significance was reduced. Its fortifications were abandoned and the city became mainly an economic center of the woolen textile industry. 

Walls and towers

The wrong material

The castle was restored between 1853 and 1879 (with some historical errors, including adding slate rather than terra cotta tiles for roofs). It was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997.

The fortified city consists essentially of a concentric design of two outer walls with 53 towers and barbicans to prevent attack by siege engines. 

The castle itself has its own drawbridge and ditch leading to a central keep. The walls consist of towers built over quite a long period. 

One section is Roman and is notably different from the medieval walls, with the tell-tale red brick layers and the shallow pitch terracotta tile roofs. One of these towers housed the Catholic Inquisition in the 13th Century and is still known as "The Inquisition Tower."

These have terra cotta roofs

Carcassonne was the first fortress to use hoardings in times of siege. 

Formidable

Temporary wooden platforms and walls would be fitted to the upper walls of the fortress through square holes in the face of the wall, providing protection to defenders on the wall and allowing defenders to go out past the wall to drop projectiles on attackers at the wall beneath.

Carcassonne graveyard

What a find!

All because of a pot of stew

Trip Dates: September 4-26, 2024