French Walled Towns: Where to buy in France

My first sight of the ancient city of Carcassonne was on a school trip quite a few years ago. Surrounded by fields of sunflowers, we spotted it from afar, seemingly floating above the landscape as light began to fall. It was almost Disneyesque with enormously impressive fortifications, high walls and towers topped by pointed roofs. Immediately seduced by this citadel – surely the setting for many a knight to rescue fair maiden – it lived up to its promise with winding streets, ancient buildings and enormous walls. Little did we know the pointed roofs were a 19th-century addition but, as they say, never let truth get in the way of a good story! Since moving to France I’ve been lucky enough to visit almost every corner of France-at every turn it seems you discover more wonderful places, many with walled and fortified towns, designed to protect the borders in defence of the realm.

In France, the origins of many walled cities date back to ancient Gauls and, of course, vestiges of Roman building works remain everywhere. Major cities like Paris were fortified, and towns along the Roman roads connecting the empire benefited from their building expertise – it amazes me how they actually managed to do it and, naturally, all had to be fortified. Spare a thought for the poor souls tasked with digging foundations and shifting stones without the assistance of machinery! Strategically, France’s borders were somewhat fluid until the 20th century, especially around Alsace and the deep south. Walls were built to protect lords, knights and clergy, traders and townspeople as well as travellers on pilgrimage who, spotted by entrepreneurial locals along the way, provided the medieval equivalent of ‘a nice little earner’!

During wars, bastions were often destroyed by invaders who later rebuilt on top of ruins, adding a rich tapestry of layers to the fortifications – a tower here, gate there and even a new palace or two within. However, one fortified town in the Haute-Marne in eastern France, Langres, has survived relatively untouched for centuries. Perched between Burgundy and Champagne, far from normal tourist trails. this pretty town was built in a virtually impregnable position on a promontory 500 metres high and still boasts the longest enclosed ramparts in Europe. Inhabited for centuries, its walls stretch 13km, with towers, gates and views to die for. The reason it remains unchanged is simple no one ever captured it. Invaders looked up, decided it was too difficult, stuck it into the ‘too hard basket’ and changed their minds!

France’s borders are dotted with walled cities; St-Malo, Guérande and La Rochelle all guard parts of the north and Atlantic coast. Dinan, slightly inland between Rennes and St-Malo, retains its medieval streets and is famed for its market. Brouage was fortified by the Catholic Cardinal Richelieu in order to fight nearby Protestant La Rochelle; its ramparts rise up from surrounding salt marshes. Aigues-Mortes, once a Mediterranean port, is an impressive citadel on the salt marshes of the Camargue. The walled city of Avignon, once home to Popes and with its famous bridge, sits beside the Rhône in a strategic position, providing a safe haven for travellers and traders. In the Champagne region the beautiful walled town of Provins is easily accessible from Paris, and is also in the heart of the Brie producing area. With medieval ramparts and ancient gates, it exudes charm at every turn of course, Joan of Arc visited, a plaque on the church wall tells us so! Strategically east of Paris, it is also close to Reims where the French kings were crowned.

In the 17th century, Vauban, Louis XIV’s brilliant military architect, fortified many towns along France’s borders, frequently consolidating medieval walls or ramparts – a practice continued by his successors until the 19th century. Vauban designed geometric masterpieces such as Neuf-Brisach, near the German border, shaped like a perfect octagon criss-crossed with streets; others had star- shaped walls, no doubt pitched perfectly for fields of fire from the latest weaponry. Le Quesnoy in Pas-de-Calais also received his attention – many of his fortified towns now have Unesco World Heritage Site status.

These weren’t the only fortified towns. In southwest France there are many ‘bastides’, most built between 1200-1400. I read somewhere there could be as many as 500-700! In medieval times this was a ‘frontier’ region and keenly disputed as it belonged partly to France and partly to England. Back then the French-speaking English kings were Angevins, having moved their power base from Angers in the Loire Valley to England while retaining massive land possessions in France-notably Aquitaine. On any trip along the Dordogne, Garonne or Lot rivers, you’ll see châteaux and ancient fortified villages clinging to promontories in strategic positions – English, French… they changed hands and fortunes many times. Originally, bastides were built at a time of relative peace and prosperity, before the start of the Hundred Years’ War, so the earlier towns weren’t fortified but rather served the purpose of building the local economy. Raising money for governing lords through taxes, they also raised standards of living with people moving in as freemen rather than serfs.

It was only when Anglo- French relations deteriorated that many bastides became fortified. On the whole, bastides were built to provide order and house a rapidly growing population, not always on hilltops or defensive sites but often on sites of old villages or crossroads on major routes.

It’s fascinating to walk around Issigeac, just a few kilometres south of Bergerac airport, as its streets are laid out in almost snail like fashion, winding around each other, brilliant for defence – many old houses still bear scars from six or seven hundred years ago with perhaps scorched beams or rebuilt walls. It’s a bustling place with its market, shops and great restaurants.

Most bastides though were built on a grid pattern with a central square, usually surrounded by covered arcades, a boon in our sunbaked climate, such as Eymet in the southern Dordogne. These squares established the commercial hub of the bastide, where markets are still held, and roads lead off in every direction. Streets were built wide enough to drive carts through. While many have been somewhat modified since medieval times, their layout remains virtually unchanged; their charm remains undiminished too One of my favourite bastides is Talmont-sur-Gironde, a tiny promontory sticking out into the estuary of the Gironde river before it empties into the Bay of Biscay. Enclosed by walls with a sheer drop on its sea side, it was once surrounded by salt marshes. The church here predates the Norman Conquest but it was Edward I of England who decreed the village be fortified in 1284.

No cars are allowed to enter so you can wander around the ancient streets bounded by roses and towering hollyhocks thrusting their way between the cobbles in summer. This was an important crossing place across the river for pilgrims travelling to Compostela – nowadays there’s a car ferry from Royan to the Médoc.

Close to my home, the 12th-century walled château at Villebois Lavalette dominates the surrounding countryside like a mini-Carcassonne. Keenly fought over until 1346, I admire it every time I go to the supermarket – where else but France?

Joanna Leggett is the Marketing Director at Leggett Immobilier – view the full portfolio of properties for sale in France at leggettfrance.com

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