The Walled City of Carcassonne is known first and foremost as a fortified medieval town; but this rocky outcrop has been occupied by man since the 6th century B.C., first as a gaul settlement, then as a Roman town fitted with ramparts as early as the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D.

On the western face of this primitive fortification rests the castle, built in the 12th century by the vicomtes Trencavels.In the early 13th century, Carcassonne was taken by Simon de Montfort during the Albigensian Crusade, then annexed to the royal estate. Fortification works lasted throughout the 13th century, with the construction of the outer wall and the modernisation of the inner rampart, making this place an impregnable fortress.

The Cite lost its strategic importance after the signing of the Pyrenees Treaty in 1659. In the second half of the 19th century, it underwent a major restoration project supervised by Eugene Viollet-le-Duc and was included by UNESCO in the World Heritage List.