Narbonne: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
English|
EUR 58 - 105 Hôtel Restaurant Du Midi
 This hotel is situated in the historic city centre of Narbonne, next to shops, bars and restaurants. The Hôtel du Midi offers spacious guest rooms wi… MoreEUR 59 - 165 Novotel Narbonne Sud
 The Novotel Narbonne Sud is located near the motorway (exit 38) and beaches and offers cosy, affordable accommodation.
Guest rooms are equipped with … MoreEUR 59 - 128 Will´s Hotel
 Will´s hotel is located in Narbonne city centre, just 150 metres from the Gare de Narbonne SNCF Train Station. The guest rooms are bright and sp… MoreEUR 40 - 60 Hôtel Le Régent
 Le Régent is located in the heart of Narbonne, not far from the train station. It offers comfortable rooms with free Wi-Fi internet access.
Le regen… MoreEUR 86 - 120 Hôtel La Résidence
 Close to the city centre and historic monuments of Narbonne, the hotel offers charming and stylish accommodation in an authentic setting.
Built in t… MoreEUR 48 - 104 Campanile Narbonne
 Located just outside the centre of Narbonne, the Campanile Narbonne offers well-equipped rooms, features an excellent restaurant and offers free priva… MoreEUR 39 - 49 Fasthotel Narbonne
 The Fasthotel Narbonne is located 2 kilometres from the Narbonne exit on the RN9 south, 5 kilometres from the city centre and 12 kilometres from the b… MoreEUR 52 - 76 Brit Hotel Plaisance
 Ideally situated near the A9 and A61 motorways, this hotel welcomes you just 5 minutes from Narbonne´s city centre.
The Brit Hotel Narbonne Pla… More | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Narbonne: Guide
Narbonne (Narbona in commune of southwestern département, of which it is a sous-préfecture. Once a prosperous port, it is now located about 15 km from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
Geography
Narbonne is linked to the nearby Canal du Midi and the Aude River by the Canal de la Robine, which runs through the centre of town.
History
Narbonne was established in Atlantic across Toulouse and Bordeaux. In addition, it was crossed by the Aude River.
Politically, Narbonne gained importance as a competitor to Marseille. Julius Caesar settled veterans from his Legio X Gemina|10th legion there and attempted to develop its port while Marseille was revolting against Roman control.
Later, the Roman province|provincia of southern Gaul was named "Gallia Narbonensis", after the city, and Narbonne was made its capital. Seat of a powerful administration, the city enjoyed economic and architectural expansion.
It was subsequently the capital of the Visigoth province of Septimania. It was part of the Emirate of Cordoba until conquered by the Franks after which it became part of the Carolingian Viscount of Narbonne|Viscounty of Narbonne. In the 12th century, the court of Ermengarde of Narbonne (reigned 1134 to 1192) presided over one of the cultural centers where the spirit of courtly love was developed.
In the 11th and 12th centuries, Narbonne was home to an important Judaism|Jewish exegesis|exegetical school, which played a pivotal role in the growth and development of the Zarphatic (Judæo-French) and Shuadit (Judæo-Provençal) languages. Jews had settled in Narbonne from about the 5th century, with a community that had risen to approximately 2000 in the 12th century. At this time, Narbonne was frequently mentioned in Talmudic works in connection with its scholars. One source, Abraham ibn Daud of Toledo, gives them an importance similar to the exilarchs of Babylon. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the community went through a series of ups and downs before settling into extended decline.
Narbonne itself fell into slow decline in the 14th century, for a variety of reasons. The decline was due to a change in the course of the Aude River causing increasing silting of the navigational access. The Aude river had a long history of overflowing its banks. When it was a port the distance from the coast was around 20 to 30 kilometers - but the access to the sea was deep enough. Over time as the Aude river fluctuated in flow, direction and sediment, and as the Mediterranean sea level slowly rose the 'sea port' aspect of Narbonne declined due to relentless silting, and could thus no longer serve directly as a port.
From the 16th century, anxious to maintain a link to important trade, the people of Narbonne began costly work to the vestiges of the Aude River's access to the sea so that it would remain navigable to a limited draft of vessel and also a link with the Royal Canal. The major undertaking of works finished with the construction of the Canal de la Robine, which was finally linked with the Canal du Midi (then the Royal Canal) in 1787. In the 19th century, the canal system in the south of France came into competition with an expanding rail network but kept some importance due to the flourishing wine trade.
Hence, despite its decline from Roman times, Narbonne managed to hold on to a more limited importance as a trading route, particularly through the more recent centuries.
Highlights
Saint-Just cathedral dating from 1272
Charles Trenet
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikipedia article "Narbonne". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
The "Palais des Archevêques" or Archbishop's Palace and its "donjon" with views over Narbonne
Musee Archeologique - an archaeological museum in the town centre.
The Roman Horreum, a former grain warehouse, built underground as a cryptoporticus
Remains of the Via Domitia in the city center
The canal, "Canal de la Robine", running through the centre of the town
The Halles de Narbonne covered market operates every day. The busiest times are Sunday and Thursday mornings.
The nearby limestone massif known as "La Clape" and the beach at Narbonne plage.
Narbonne's rugby union| union team, Racing Club de Narbonne MéditerannéeNotable people from Narbonne
Léon Blum
Saint SébastienExternal links