Narbonne Stopover

2000 years ago Narbonne was the Roman capital of Gaul and rivaled Marseilles. Knowing that there is hardly any trace of that past glory, we still had to walk on the ground for completeness, even just as a stopover on our way to Carcassonne from Montpellier.

Unlike Arles, Narbonne is cursed with misfortunes. Being the Roman capital of Gaul, Narbonne suffered more destruction by the Visigoths than its lesser neighbors. Later the Visigoths made Narbonne capital of their kingdom which invited extra sacking by the Saracens. After their archbishop emerged as Pope, Narbonne ended up with an unfinished Cathedral which is the 3rd tallest Gothic structure in France. Finally, the Aude river and the Mediterranean coast moved away from Narbonne in the Middle Ages. Plagues took them down further. I could go on, but it's too depressing....

Narbonne's most noted Roman Ruin is the underground Horreun, once thought to be a granary or warehouse(s), but current thinking says it's most likely a normal storage cellar or cellars - it's too small and damp to have stored grain. It was cool to walk through the subterranean tunnels, admiring the various types of very fine stonework of the ancient Romans. And the woman selling tickets was knowledgeable and enthusiastic.


Rounded corners.


Tiled walls.


Floor.


A part of the Roman road, the Via Domitia, built to link Italy to the Iberian Peninsula, was unearthed in city center.


City center.


The Cathedral is basically an enormous, luxurious choir. The rest was never completed.






The Archbishop's Palce is also large and luxurious, and houses several museums, and comes with a tower view (see way below).


And the Bishop's Garden has a large bench.


View from Bishop's Garden wall.


The Canal de la Robine bisects the town and was dug by the Romans to connect Narbonne to the Mediterranean Sea. Quite lovely.








The Roman bridge, Pont des Marchands (Merchants' Bridge), has shops on both sides, reminiscent of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence.




Les Halles de Narbonne (Market Hall).


A small section of the Roman Wall can be seen to the NW.


Eglise Saint-Paul.


The Musee Archeologique, in the Archbishop's Palace, has an excellent collection of Roman wall paintings.


And mosaics.


And paintings by George-Daniel de Monfreid.


And the adjacent City Museum.




Great views from the Archbishop's Dungeon (ie Tower). First, to the Cathedral next door.


To the Pont des Marchands.


To Canal de la Robine.


To the Via Domita.


Sun-Ling bundled against the rain, wind and cold.


Finally, a pano of the Cathedral.