Carcassonne, France

Right on the main Toulouse– Montpellier train link, Carcassonne couldn't be easier to reach. For anyone travelling through this region it is a must – one of the most dramatic, if also most-visited, towns in the whole of Languedoc. Carcassonne owes its division into two separate "towns" to the wars against the Cathars. Following Simon de Montfort's capture of the town in 1209, its people tried in 1240 to restore their traditional ruling family, the Trencavels. In reprisal King Louis IX expelled them from the Cité, only permitting their return on condition they built on the low ground by the River Aude – what would become the ville basseCarcassonne hosts two major festivals: the month-long Festival de la Cité in July, with dance, theatre and music, the highpoint of which is the mammoth fireworks display on Bastille Day (July 14); and the elaborate medieval pageant, Les Médiévales, held in the first fortnight of August.