Historic Fortified City of Carcassonne, Carcassonne

this ancient fortification has been well restored with care to show the restoration work in stone masonry that is easily visually distinguished from original stonework. of special significance is the fact that this old fort/castle is almost completely restored to its original construction. the first time i visited, i was put off by the commercialization of the site. the second time, i was less distracted by all the shops and hotels, and better able to concentrate on the amazing architecture and history of the site. the third, 4th, 5th... times i visited, i shopped a bit and was surprised to find that there are very high quality shops in la cite (right alongside cheap tourist gouges) and 3 very good restuarants out of about 8 or 10. yes, i think i've eaten at all of them. my understanding is la cite is the largest extant medieval fortification in europe. it is a very imposing structure. my only complaint is that some of the most striking architecture is in a couple of expensive hotels.