Narbonne
Narbonne is in the department of Aude in Languedoc-Roussillon. It is 150km south-east of Toulouse, 65 km north of Perpignan.
Narbonne was once the capital of the first Roman colony in Gaul. Up until the middle ages it was a prosperous city port but plague, war and a harbour prone to silting up led to a decline. However it remains an attractive city on the Mediterranean coast between Perpignan and Montpellier.
Nice shops, an attractive area around the cathedral - the Place de l’Hotel de Ville - full of cafés where you can stop for a coffee and a sandwich, the Canal du Midi (Canal de la Robine at this point) running through the centre of the town and a whole selection of beautiful buildings with interesting architectural features make Narbonne well worth a visit.
Les Halles is an award winning covered market open every day and a great place to stock up on local fresh produce. It is one of the best in France.
Main attractions
The main attractions in Narbonne are conveniently situated close together in the centre of town. They are:
Le Palais Vieux: (the old Palace). Le Cour de la Madeleine, the old palace courtyard, is entered through a gateway, and the area is dominated by the Saint Theodard bell tower and the cathedral. Excavations at the site have revealed three older religious structures predating the current cathedral.
La Cathedrale Saint Just et Saint Pasteur and the Palais des Archeveques: together these form a large and very attractive structure. Despite its size the cathedral is in fact unfinished with only the choir completed. Finishing would have involved demolishing part of the city walls and so work stopped in 1340. On the outside the structure is lovely to see with its large buttresses. Inside it is the height of the cathedral which is impressive and it has some very good 14th century stained glass windows. Visit the cloister and the garden for particularly good views of the façade.
Le Palais Neuf is gothic in style and was built for the Archbishop.
Other attractions
- Outside on the Place de l’Hotel de Ville are the towers of St Martial, the Madeleine, and the Gilles Aycelin keep.
- Not far away L’Horreum (grain store) is the only building left from Roman times. Inside are lots of underground galleries in which goods were stored. Various remnants of other Roman buildings are displayed inside the Horreum.
- On the edge of the town centre is the Basilique Saint Paul, an early Gothic church which has been built on the site of a 4th-century necropolis.
Museums
Le Musee Archeologique situated in the archbishop’s palace has a gallo-romain section which includes lots of remains illustrating the life of Narbo-Martius when the town was a Roman colony in 118 BC. Well worth a visit.
Le Musée d’Art et d’Histoire includes a visit to the appartments of the archbishop arranged as they were in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Nearby
Near Narbonne is the Abbaye Fontfroide, a beautifully preserved monastic estate complete with church, cloister, chapter hall and laybrother’s buildings.
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The Narbonne hotels listed feature descriptions, guest reviews, ratings, location maps, online booking etc. as well as the 'best-price' guarantee. The search for hotels in Narbonne is provided by booking.com. General holiday / vacation options- See Languedoc-Roussillon gites for Narbonne-Plage holiday rentals - Holiday villages in Languedoc-Roussillon Holidays nearbyLooking for something close by? See a wide choice of hotels, holiday villages and holiday rentals at: Places to Stay near Narbonne-Plage Narbonne Car HireVisit Narbonne Car Hire for cheap car hire optons and available car collection points VisitSee Visit Narbonne for places to visit near Narbonne including: a detailed map, villages in bloom and most beautiful villages DiscussAsk questions or leave a comment about Narbonne in our Languedoc-Roussillon forum Airports near NarbonneCarcassonne airport at 77 km Montpellier airport at 114 km Perpignan airport at 51 km Narbonne property for saleSee Languedoc-Roussillon property for sale
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Places to visit near Narbonne, France
Explore places of interest within about 70 kilometres on a map at places near Narbonne.
Some places to visit within 30 km: 
26 km: Aigne (attractive village) 30 km: Beziers (importanttown) 21 km: Bize-Minervois (town) 13 km: Fontfroide Abbey (Abbey) 13 km: Gruissan (village and surfing beach) 27 km: Saint-Chinian (town) 17 km: Sigean Nature Reserve (African Nature Reserve)
See also Narbonne (version Francais)
