Carcassonne: the medieval city of 52 towers, the Canal du Midi and cassoulet

La Cité, the medieval citadel, is surrounded by two rings of walls about three kilometres long with fifty-two towers. The earliest fortifications are Roman; most of what you see is medieval; and the pointed slate roofs are the work of architect Viollet-le-Duc, who restored the citadel in the nineteenth century and still divides experts.

You enter through the Porte Narbonnaise, with its drawbridge, and discover a small town of stone streets, squares, shops and restaurants. Between the two walls runs a path, the lices, which lets you walk around the citadel with views over the countryside.

At night, illuminated La Cité is one of the most beautiful sights in southern France. And after ten at night, when day visitors leave, the streets become almost empty and silent.

Inside the citadel stands the Château Comtal, a fortress within the fortress, with a moat, bridge and towers. The visit includes the castle rooms, a sculpture museum and, above all, a walk along the ramparts with spectacular views over the citadel and the plain.

The Basilica of Saint-Nazaire combines a Romanesque interior with a Gothic choir lit by magnificent thirteenth- and fourteenth-century stained glass. On a sunny day the coloured light fills the church, one of the most beautiful things in Carcassonne.

There are also small museums, medieval knight shows in summer and, on 14 July, the «embrasement» of the Cité, a firework display that makes the citadel look as if it's on fire.

Across the river Aude lies the Bastide Saint-Louis, the lower town, founded in the thirteenth century on a grid plan. It's where the locals live, with markets, shops, cafés and the lively Place Carnot.

The medieval Pont Vieux links the two towns and offers one of the best views of La Cité on its hill. Walking from one to the other is short and very pretty, especially in the late afternoon.

The Bastide is also where the Canal du Midi passes, a seventeenth-century engineering feat linking Toulouse to the Mediterranean, listed by UNESCO. There are short boat trips and paths along the banks in the shade of plane trees.

Around Carcassonne lie the so-called Cathar castles, cliff-top fortresses linked to the history of the Cathars, a religious movement persecuted in the Middle Ages. Peyrepertuse and Quéribus, perched on rocky ridges, and the four castles of Lastours are among the most impressive.

The climbs are steep, but the views and the feeling of being at the end of the world make up for it. Bring water, a hat and proper footwear, and avoid midday in summer.

The region is also wine country: Corbières, Minervois and Limoux, whose sparkling Blanquette claims to be older than champagne. A private tour lets you combine a Cathar castle and a wine tasting on the same day.

The region's dish is cassoulet: a slow-cooked white bean stew in an earthenware pot with duck confit, sausages and pork, topped with a golden crust. Carcassonne, Castelnaudary and Toulouse have argued for centuries over which has the true recipe.

It's a heavy, comforting dish, better suited to winter, but restaurants serve it all year. Order it at a place that makes it traditionally and pair it with a Corbières red.

Inside La Cité, restaurants are pricier and more touristy. In the Bastide you eat better for less, especially at the bistros around Place Carnot.