Every design for Narbonne

Narbonne is known as the eldest daughter of Rome outside Italy. Founded in 118 BCE as Colonia Narbo Martius, it was one of the first Roman colonies in Gaul and capital of the province of Gallia Transalpina, set on the Via Domitia, the first Roman road in Gaul, linking Italy to Spain. Even before Rome, Hecataeus of Miletus knew it as a Celtic harbour and marketplace, and later it prospered as a port until the river Aude changed course in the fourteenth century.

The Via Domitia still surfaces in the heart of the city, a reminder of where it all began. Nearby rise the Palais des Archevêques and the cathedral of Saint-Just-et-Saint-Pasteur, while the Horreum Romain and the Narbo Via museum carry the Roman story further. The Canal de la Robine, a UNESCO World Heritage site, runs through the centre, crossed by the Rue du Pont des Marchands, one of Europe's rare inhabited bridges, which earned the town its nickname of the 'Little Florence of Languedoc'.

Between the Clape massif, the vineyards and the sea, every road back to Narbonne leads to the canal and its bridge, and to home.