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‘The crowds were several deep as they passed under the Trencavel coat of arms hanging between the two towers of the Porte Narbonnaise. Children ran alongside the horses, throwing flowers in their path and cheering.’
After about 200 metres you will reach the main gate into the Cité. Look up at the Tours de la Porte Narbonnaise to see the statue of the Virgin Mary that has replaced the Trencavel ensign.
Leave the Cité by the incongruous drawbridge – Pont-Levis – constructed by Viollet-le-Duc in his 19th-century restoration. Look out for the carved stone pillar with a bas relief of Dame Carcas, after whom, in the reign of the Emperor Charlemagne, the city was named. It reads Sum Carcas – ‘I am Carcas’.