Narbonne Attractions

The old town of Narbonne (pop. 46,506), once an important port, now lies 16km/10mi inland as a result of the deposit of silt along the coast. The Canal de la Robine, which links the town with the river Aude and with the Mediterranean, was opened in 1789.

The Roman town of Narbo Martius, founded in 118 B.C., was an entrepôt in the trade between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic and until the fall of the Roman Empire was the seat of the Proconsul of the province of Gallia Narbonnensis. From 413 to 720 it was held by the Visigoths and thereafter by the Saracens, who were defeated by Pépin the Short in 759. In 817 it became the capital of the duchy of Septimania or Gothia; in 843 it passed to Charles the Bald; later it belonged to the Counts of Auvergne and then the Counts of Toulouse; and finally in 1507 it was united with France. Evidence of these vicissitudes is provided by numerous inscriptions, architectural elements and fragments of sculpture.