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‘The Cité was set on top of a grassy hill. The slopes swept down to streets filled with red-roofed houses. On the flat land at the bottom there were fields of vines, fig and olive trees, wigwams of heavy ripe tomatoes in rows.’
The best view of the fortified medieval Cité is from the Pont Vieux, the old bridge that links the Bastide Saint-Louis on the north bank of the River Aude with the citadel on the south. The Pont Vieux is closed to traffic so take it on foot. At night, the Cité is floodlit and looks like a movie set. The outer ring of walls was built in the middle of the 13th century, as additional fortifications, and was not there in Alaïs’ day.
On Tuesday 5 July 2005, the elusive Audric Baillard walks this way in Chapter 23 en route to Jeanne Giraud’s house.
