Carcassonne fireworks

Text and Photos
By Shari Benyousky
Guest Columnist

Editor’s Note: This is the final article in Shari Benyousky’s trip to Europe.

The classic IQ test joke goes: “Which countries have a 4th of July?” The answer humorously points out that all countries do, though only the USA marks it as Independence Day. Over the pond in France, their national independence celebration falls on July 14th and is called Bastille Day.

What Is Bastille Day?

On July 14, 1789, France underwent a seismic transformation. Gripped by economic turmoil, epitomized by soaring bread prices that even led to the infamous Marie Antoinette anecdote, the nation teetered on the brink of unrest.

The Bastille, a symbol of royal authority where philosophers and dissidents languished without trial, became the focal point of escalating tensions. As the day unfolded, a defiant crowd marched towards the prison. When the governor of the Bastille responded with gunfire, it ignited the spark of revolution. Since 1790, the storming of the Bastille has stood as France’s foremost national holiday, akin to America’s July 4th. This brings us to the fireworks.

Where Is The Second Largest Fireworks Display In France?

Paris has the largest display, but the medieval castle of Carcassonne, France down south near the Spanish border puts on the second biggest. It’s so great that the town of 50k swells to nearly 500k to see the sky blaze over the castle for 30 minutes.

Fireworks light the sky

We arrived via the old train station uptown the day before the event to stay in an Airbnb in “new town.” New Carcassonne was built in 1245 AD down the hill and over the River Aude from Old Carcassonne, the medieval castle that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that has been occupied by Romans, Visigoths and Crusaders.

The fiery spectacle everyone is waiting for doesn’t begin until 10:30 p.m. but the narrow cobblestone lanes are jammed with café and bar chairs filled with laughing people speaking all kinds of languages and using their hands to ask for more wine. Overhead, thousands of multi-colored ribbons flutter over the streets to celebrate. Live musicians croon or rock depending on where you’re sitting.

Where’s The Best Place To See Them?

Some part of the sun burnt crowd has been jostling for the best fireworks viewing spots since around noon. They are aiming for the premium viewing spots on one of the two bridges that cross the river between old and new towns.

Thousands jostling for a good view of fireworks.

On the other side, a long path winds up to the gorgeously lit-up castle. The rest of the crowd empties from their café chairs in the new city by 10:15 and find a spot. People are everywhere. Cars are everywhere. Kids and dogs and tents selling things are everywhere. It’s a merry melee.

Exactly at 10:30, all the streetlights and castle lights blink out simultaneously. The crowd oohs and ahhs. The first rockets from over the castle stream into the sky. From the beginning to the end, the display is as bright and loud as a finale. The skies really do blaze, and the haze of pink and blue smoke streams overhead. Whenever there’s a pause, the crowd erupts in cheers that can be heard far downriver.

Up Close

We walked up to the castle itself the next morning. Our guide looked bleary-eyed from celebrating.

“This is only the third time that I’ve done the tour in English,” he apologized to the 10 or so of us in the group. He showed us the various building styles of the ramparts and doors. He led us up into the Justice Tower where Inquisition paper records once hung from roof beams to discourage the mice.

“What’s the English saying about the bag?” he murmured to himself. “Oh yes! It’s in the bag. You’ve heard that one? It comes from this.” We craned our heads to look up.

Why Did She Throw A Pig?

We also gazed down from the ramparts at the carving of a woman and a pig as the guide recounted the legend of Dame Carcas, the heroine who saved the city.

Ramparts during the day

According to the tale, Charlemagne had besieged the city for seven years, and its residents were down to their last pig. In a clever ruse, Dame Carcas, the city’s ruler, stuffed the pig with the remaining corn and hurled it over the walls, where it burst at Charlemagne’s feet.

Believing the city to be so well-provisioned that it could afford to throw away food, Charlemagne abandoned the siege in frustration. In celebration, Dame Carcas rang the city bells, giving rise to the name “Carcassonne,” derived from “carcas sonas,” meaning “carcas sounds.”

The guide was worth the 14 € we paid to hear the history, but you can see part of the castle freely too. But, be warned that you’ll have to run the gauntlet of French products like nougat, colorful flags, children’s armor, wooden swords, and all the things you didn’t know you needed, but suddenly do.

You can stand in an ancient courtyard and lick your gelato or sip your cold local wine. It’s worth the rocky, dusty climb under the bright blue southern French sky.

Planning to visit Carcassonne? From the famous hearty stew of cassoulet (white beans, sausage, and tender duck) to the friendly people and markets to the history, this place shoots for the stars.

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