City of Narbonne
Narbonne is situated near the Mediterranean coast in the Aude department of the Languedoc region of Southern France. Narbonne is less than a one hour drive from the Spanish border. It is an interesting well maintained City with a long history. The centre of Narbonne contains boulevards, narrow streets, squares and ancient buildings. Among these are traditional markets, cafes, restaurants, boutiques, bakers and confectioners. On the outskirts of Narbonne there are hypermarkets, sports facilities and of course vineyards. I don't want to say too much about the City, because the pictures should be enough to make you want to go there.
Please book mark this page now, because there is a great webcam at the Marie de Narbonne web site, but once you go there, they don't make it easy for you come back here again. If you have problems connecting to the camera, it may be because of your firewall. If you turn off your firewall temporarily, the camera should work. (I use Norton Internet Security, the camera will work if I just switch off "Ad Blocking").
The Camera is mounted high up on the building in the photo immediately below
In Roman times Narbonne was a thriving Mediterranean port, but due to silting it is now a few kilometers from the sea. The Canal de Robine (which joins the Canal de Midi) runs through it's centre.
The old town has been tastefully enhanced with gushing fountains, pedestrianised streets and provides a wonderful Southern French atmosphere with a Spanish twist. You won't see the rif-raf who frequent Monte Carlo, Nice, Cannes and St. Tropez here. Narbonne is far too good for them and luckily they haven't discovered it yet.
Every morning it's fabulous food market in 'Les Halles' sells fresh locally grown vegetables, meats (including horse), charcuterie, fish, cheeses, pastries and much more including a few locally produced wines. The food of the Languedoc is a story in itself. The stalls selling food are interspersed with a few bars, where the men folk down a pastis or two, while their wives do the shopping.
Narbonne is the centre of the local wine trade, serving the wine areas of Corbieres, Minervois, St. Chinian, Fitou and others. There are many nearby wine producing villages including the village where I have my holiday home, Moussan.
Between Narbonne and the Mediterranean coast are salt lakes ( etangs ) to the south east and the hills of La Clape ( which is also a wine area ) to the east. Flocks of Pink Flamingos can often be seen on the etangs. The etangs and coast line are dotted with old villages such as Bages, Peyriac and Gruissan. The village of Narbonne Plage is modern and caters for those who want to experience beach life.
The picture of Narbonne plage above, was taken in spring, before the summer tourists flock to the long wide expanse of sand, which makes up most of the Languedoc coast line. As you can see the winter's drift wood has been raked into huge piles, which will be disposed of long before the holiday season crowds arrive.
Click here to see some great old prints of Narbonne
Click here to see Narbonne as mapped in 1638
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Ermengard was born around 1130 and ruled Narbonne as Viscountess until her death in 1196. Historian Frederic L. Cheyette has reconstructed her life and times, making use among other things, of the few remaining documents that still exist, which refer to her. These were the times of the Troubadours and Ermengard was the subject of some of their songs. Click on one of the images to read more about the book and it's availability. |
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For more information on the Aude department of the Languedoc try Ode to the Aude