Saint-Louis Bastide

The Bastide Saint-Louis

The Carcassonne audio-guided tour takes you into the Bastide Saint-Louis, the lower town on the other side of the Aude, facing the Medieval City perched on its rocky spur. This regularly laid-out district forms the lively heart of present-day Carcassonne.

A new town of the 13th century

The bastide was created in 1247 by King Saint Louis, or Louis IX, who had just taken the town from the Trencavel family and annexed it to the royal domain. After expelling the inhabitants of the City, he had a new town built on the other bank, laid out on a quadrangular plan around a central square, today's Place Carnot. In the Renaissance, it acquired many private mansions built for the wealthy cloth merchants; in the 18th century, wide boulevards replaced the ramparts.

What there is to see

The bastide keeps its grid of streets, its private mansions, its shaded squares and its notable buildings: Place Carnot and its Neptune fountain, the covered market, the churches of Saint-Vincent and the Carmelites, the cathedral of Saint-Michel, the Hotel de Rolland. It is the district of shops, markets and Carcassonne conviviality, a complement to the City.

Practical information

The Bastide Saint-Louis is freely walkable on foot, on the other side of the Aude from the City. Its pedestrian and shopping streets, its squares and its cafes invite strolling. The market is held on Place Carnot several mornings a week; the opening times of shops and monuments vary with the day and the season.

Who founded the Bastide Saint-Louis ?

It was created in 1247 by King Saint Louis (Louis IX), after Carcassonne was annexed to the royal domain.

What is the difference from the Medieval City ?

The City is the fortress perched on the rocky spur; the bastide is the lower town, with its regular plan, which forms the present centre of Carcassonne.