Hotel de la Cité, Carcassonne: A perfect hotel for a perfect stay
494
Special hotels are often found in very special
places. I once stayed at a hotel perched in the mountains right next to
Machu Pichu. At night, after the crowds left, we had the whole place to
ourselves and could wander around at will. The same was true of Mont
St. Michel. There is something special about a beautiful place when it
is almost deserted. My husband and I experienced all this magic all
over again on a wonderful trip to the enchanting city of Carcassone,
where we stayed at an equally enchanting hotel, the Hotel de la Cité.
It turned out to be the perfect hotel for the perfect stay. What
makes this particular hotel extraordinary is that it is embedded into
the ancient walls surrounding this fortified town, which seems to be
lost in time. Upon approach,
the walled city of Carcassone can be seen from a distance. Ominous and
magical at the same time, it is a fortress out of a fairytale with its
fifty-two watch towers and double wall, the result of sixteen centuries
of work. No sooner had we pulled
into a parking area, we were picked up by the small blue van sent by
the hotel, driven through an old gate and up to the doors of the hotel.
As the van inched its way past a group of onlookers who must have
wondered if we were royalty, royalty is what we felt like stepping into
the marble floored reception hall filled with antiques and a
resplendent odor of Easter lilies that had been arranged in an enormous
vase and placed in the middle of the sumptuous room where we were
checked in. Hotel de la Cité is
one of the Orient-Express Hotels found all over the world, renowned not
only for the train of that name, but for their attention to luxury that
keeps a faithful clientèle coming back again and again. From the moment
we arrived until the moment we left, we knew that the only thing we had
to worry about was how we were going to spend the blissful evening
before us. Built on the site of
a former Episcopal palace, and in operation since 1909 (it was
purchased in 1997 by Orient-Express) the Hotel de la Cité has a long
guest roster that includes Rudyard Kipling, Winston Churchill, Colette,
James Stewart, Goldie Hawn and many other celebrities. The
Hotel has three restaurants. The most famous is a gourmet bastion, La
Barbacane that features dishes such as free-range guinea-fowl rubbed
with vanilla and carpaccio of foie-gras on a bed of pink lentil salad.
A less formal lunch or dinner can be enjoyed at the brasserie Chez
Saskia with its large selection of traditional French cuisine including
cassoulet, the famous dish of this region. When
the weather is beautiful, there is a lovely restaurant in the Jardin de
l’Evêque where a meal can be enjoyed under trees in a garden. There is
also an area for private wine tastings or medieval candlelit dinners in
the wine cellar with its arched brick ceiling, red terracotta floors
and bottle-lined oak panelling. Our
room was perfect too: a marble-lined bathroom with a sumptuous tub to
luxuriate in, a signature container at the foot of the bed where, at
the touch of a button, the TV rose up for viewing on the horizontal.
The room had a beautiful view of some of the city walls, and we were
able to look down onto the busy narrow streets snaking below. The
best part of our visit was after dinner when we wandered around the now
empty streets. The walls, now lit up, and the calmness everywhere made
us feel like kids again, and we climbed up and down stone stairways,
peeking through portals along the top of the outer wall, marveling at
the city down below. That was when, gazing up at a star-studded sky, I
had a smidgeon of an idea of what it must have been like centuries ago
to stand on these very ramparts and know that no matter what goes on
outside the walls of Carcassonne, time rolls on. Web site for city: www.carcassonne.culture.fr Web site for Hotel: www.orient-express.comRates for hotel from Jan 17-April 11 and Nov 1-30 -E 250-E 525; April 12-Oct 31-E315-E650
La
Barbacane: Open from April to early November. Open for dinner
only (orders taken from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM). Closed Tuesdays and
Wednesdays.Average price for a meal 70 Euros excluding wines. Chez Saskia: Open 7 days a week. Lunch from noon to 2PM (last order) and dinner from 7:30PM to 9:30 PM (last order).Average price 23 Euros excluding wines. Le
Jardin de l’Evêque: Open 7 days a week weather permiting from May to
early October.Lunch from noon to 2PM (last order) and dinner from
7:30PM to 9:30 PM (last order).Average price 18 Euros excluding wines.The above rates include all taxes and service charges. Hotel de la CitéPlace Auguste Pont1100 Carcassonne, Francetel. +33-468 71 98 71fax +33-468 71 50 15
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Special hotels are often found in very special
places. I once stayed at a hotel perched in the mountains right next to
Machu Pichu. At night, after the crowds left, we had the whole place to
ourselves and could wander around at will. The same was true of Mont
St. Michel. There is something special about a beautiful place when it
is almost deserted. My husband and I experienced all this magic all
over again on a wonderful trip to the enchanting city of Carcassone,
where we stayed at an equally enchanting hotel, the Hotel de la Cité.
It turned out to be the perfect hotel for the perfect stay.
places. I once stayed at a hotel perched in the mountains right next to
Machu Pichu. At night, after the crowds left, we had the whole place to
ourselves and could wander around at will. The same was true of Mont
St. Michel. There is something special about a beautiful place when it
is almost deserted. My husband and I experienced all this magic all
over again on a wonderful trip to the enchanting city of Carcassone,
where we stayed at an equally enchanting hotel, the Hotel de la Cité.
It turned out to be the perfect hotel for the perfect stay.
What
makes this particular hotel extraordinary is that it is embedded into
the ancient walls surrounding this fortified town, which seems to be
lost in time.
makes this particular hotel extraordinary is that it is embedded into
the ancient walls surrounding this fortified town, which seems to be
lost in time.
Upon approach,
the walled city of Carcassone can be seen from a distance. Ominous and
magical at the same time, it is a fortress out of a fairytale with its
fifty-two watch towers and double wall, the result of sixteen centuries
of work.
the walled city of Carcassone can be seen from a distance. Ominous and
magical at the same time, it is a fortress out of a fairytale with its
fifty-two watch towers and double wall, the result of sixteen centuries
of work.
No sooner had we pulled
into a parking area, we were picked up by the small blue van sent by
the hotel, driven through an old gate and up to the doors of the hotel.
As the van inched its way past a group of onlookers who must have
wondered if we were royalty, royalty is what we felt like stepping into
the marble floored reception hall filled with antiques and a
resplendent odor of Easter lilies that had been arranged in an enormous
vase and placed in the middle of the sumptuous room where we were
checked in.
into a parking area, we were picked up by the small blue van sent by
the hotel, driven through an old gate and up to the doors of the hotel.
As the van inched its way past a group of onlookers who must have
wondered if we were royalty, royalty is what we felt like stepping into
the marble floored reception hall filled with antiques and a
resplendent odor of Easter lilies that had been arranged in an enormous
vase and placed in the middle of the sumptuous room where we were
checked in.
Hotel de la Cité is
one of the Orient-Express Hotels found all over the world, renowned not
only for the train of that name, but for their attention to luxury that
keeps a faithful clientèle coming back again and again. From the moment
we arrived until the moment we left, we knew that the only thing we had
to worry about was how we were going to spend the blissful evening
before us.
one of the Orient-Express Hotels found all over the world, renowned not
only for the train of that name, but for their attention to luxury that
keeps a faithful clientèle coming back again and again. From the moment
we arrived until the moment we left, we knew that the only thing we had
to worry about was how we were going to spend the blissful evening
before us.
Built on the site of
a former Episcopal palace, and in operation since 1909 (it was
purchased in 1997 by Orient-Express) the Hotel de la Cité has a long
guest roster that includes Rudyard Kipling, Winston Churchill, Colette,
James Stewart, Goldie Hawn and many other celebrities.
a former Episcopal palace, and in operation since 1909 (it was
purchased in 1997 by Orient-Express) the Hotel de la Cité has a long
guest roster that includes Rudyard Kipling, Winston Churchill, Colette,
James Stewart, Goldie Hawn and many other celebrities.
The
Hotel has three restaurants. The most famous is a gourmet bastion, La
Barbacane that features dishes such as free-range guinea-fowl rubbed
with vanilla and carpaccio of foie-gras on a bed of pink lentil salad.
A less formal lunch or dinner can be enjoyed at the brasserie Chez
Saskia with its large selection of traditional French cuisine including
cassoulet, the famous dish of this region.
Hotel has three restaurants. The most famous is a gourmet bastion, La
Barbacane that features dishes such as free-range guinea-fowl rubbed
with vanilla and carpaccio of foie-gras on a bed of pink lentil salad.
A less formal lunch or dinner can be enjoyed at the brasserie Chez
Saskia with its large selection of traditional French cuisine including
cassoulet, the famous dish of this region.
When
the weather is beautiful, there is a lovely restaurant in the Jardin de
l’Evêque where a meal can be enjoyed under trees in a garden. There is
also an area for private wine tastings or medieval candlelit dinners in
the wine cellar with its arched brick ceiling, red terracotta floors
and bottle-lined oak panelling.
the weather is beautiful, there is a lovely restaurant in the Jardin de
l’Evêque where a meal can be enjoyed under trees in a garden. There is
also an area for private wine tastings or medieval candlelit dinners in
the wine cellar with its arched brick ceiling, red terracotta floors
and bottle-lined oak panelling.
Our
room was perfect too: a marble-lined bathroom with a sumptuous tub to
luxuriate in, a signature container at the foot of the bed where, at
the touch of a button, the TV rose up for viewing on the horizontal.
The room had a beautiful view of some of the city walls, and we were
able to look down onto the busy narrow streets snaking below.
room was perfect too: a marble-lined bathroom with a sumptuous tub to
luxuriate in, a signature container at the foot of the bed where, at
the touch of a button, the TV rose up for viewing on the horizontal.
The room had a beautiful view of some of the city walls, and we were
able to look down onto the busy narrow streets snaking below.
The
best part of our visit was after dinner when we wandered around the now
empty streets. The walls, now lit up, and the calmness everywhere made
us feel like kids again, and we climbed up and down stone stairways,
peeking through portals along the top of the outer wall, marveling at
the city down below. That was when, gazing up at a star-studded sky, I
had a smidgeon of an idea of what it must have been like centuries ago
to stand on these very ramparts and know that no matter what goes on
outside the walls of Carcassonne, time rolls on.
best part of our visit was after dinner when we wandered around the now
empty streets. The walls, now lit up, and the calmness everywhere made
us feel like kids again, and we climbed up and down stone stairways,
peeking through portals along the top of the outer wall, marveling at
the city down below. That was when, gazing up at a star-studded sky, I
had a smidgeon of an idea of what it must have been like centuries ago
to stand on these very ramparts and know that no matter what goes on
outside the walls of Carcassonne, time rolls on.
Web site for city: www.carcassonne.culture.fr
Web site for Hotel: www.orient-express.com
Rates for hotel from Jan 17-
April 11 and Nov 1-30 -E 250-E 525;
April 12-Oct 31-E315-E650
Web site for Hotel: www.orient-express.com
Rates for hotel from Jan 17-
April 11 and Nov 1-30 -E 250-E 525;
April 12-Oct 31-E315-E650
La
Barbacane: Open from April to early November. Open for dinner
only (orders taken from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM). Closed Tuesdays and
Wednesdays.
Average price for a meal 70 Euros excluding wines.
Barbacane: Open from April to early November. Open for dinner
only (orders taken from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM). Closed Tuesdays and
Wednesdays.
Average price for a meal 70 Euros excluding wines.
Chez Saskia: Open 7 days a week. Lunch from noon to 2PM (last order) and dinner from 7:30PM to 9:30 PM (last order).
Average price 23 Euros excluding wines.
Average price 23 Euros excluding wines.
Le
Jardin de l’Evêque: Open 7 days a week weather permiting from May to
early October.Lunch from noon to 2PM (last order) and dinner from
7:30PM to 9:30 PM (last order).
Average price 18 Euros excluding wines.
The above rates include all taxes and service charges.
Jardin de l’Evêque: Open 7 days a week weather permiting from May to
early October.Lunch from noon to 2PM (last order) and dinner from
7:30PM to 9:30 PM (last order).
Average price 18 Euros excluding wines.
The above rates include all taxes and service charges.
Hotel de la Cité
Place Auguste Pont
1100 Carcassonne, France
tel. +33-468 71 98 71
fax +33-468 71 50 15
Place Auguste Pont
1100 Carcassonne, France
tel. +33-468 71 98 71
fax +33-468 71 50 15
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