Archbishops’ Palace, Le palais des Archevêques, Narbonne, France Oops, I did it again. I’ve written about a museum which is undergoing major changes and no longer exists as I saw it. This is, however, a good thing, because while the museums had wonderful objects on show, the city will be opening a brand new museum dedicated to the Romans of…
New Palace, Palais Neuf, Narbonne, France From the central courtyard of the Bishops’ Palaces, you ascend a grand staircase to the suite of apartments which form the museum of the New Palace. It is an attractive though perhaps under-developed space, which provides the briefest glimpse into the evidently grand lives of the archbishops of Narbonne in the 17th and 18th…
The Cathedral Treasury, Le Tresor de la Cathedrale, Narbonne, France When visiting the beautiful cathedral of Narbonne and the museums in the adjacent palaces, you can also enter the tiny Treasury museum. What it lacks in size, it makes up for in the quality of a couple of items which almost make the town worth visiting by themselves. The Treasury…
Donjon Gilles Aycelin, Narbonne, France I’m not usually that bothered about seeing views from high places – frankly it’s usually quite disappointing, and usually when I do it, I wonder why I bothered. In this case, the Donjon – or rather, the tower – is positioned so that you could get a dramatic view of the cathedral and surrounding countryside.…
What’s New at the Palace? Exhibition, Narbonne, France With the opening of a new museum on Roman Narbonne, NarboVia, in 2020, the Palace Museums complex decided to show off some of its collections that have been languishing away from the public gaze. Since the Roman objects will be leaving the Palace, their place will be taken by others plucked from…
Lapidarium, Lapidaire, Narbonne, France On this blog, I have all too frequently written about exhibitions after they have closed, but now I’ve outdone myself: this post is on a museum that no longer exists. Yes, it closed down, not long after I visited – the collection going to be rehoused in a new museum in 2020. No matter how good…
Cathedral of St Just and St Pasteur, Cathédrale Saint-Just et Saint-Pasteur, Narbonne, France The city of Narbonne is very close to the Spanish border, so it seems appropriate that its cathedral is dedicated to two Spanish martyrs, the brothers Just and Pasteur. Actually, like many churches in this region, it retains its title of Cathedral despite the fact that…
The Old Archbishops’ Palace, Narbonne, France The formidable Roman history of the French city of Narbonne was, until recently, covered in the Old Palace building by the cathedral. It was a fitting home, but it is, sadly, no more. Come 2020, the objects will be in their new home, the NarboVia museum. This is not a bad thing, because while…
Lagoon Navigation: 2000 Years of Secrets Revealed by the Archaeology Museum of Catalonia, La navigation lagunaire. 2000 ans de secrets révélés par le musée d’archéologie de Catalogne, Henri Prades Museum, Lattes, France An unexpectedly excellent exhibition on Roman ships at the museum of Lattes in the summer of 2018 was extremely educational. Not only were there some fascinating survivors of…