Known as Narbona in Occitan, Narbonne is a French city in the Aude department in the Occitania region. It is crossed by the Canal de la Robine listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. Narbonne is the largest town in the department as well as the most populated, with 55,516 inhabitants called Narbonnais and Narbonnaises. This city was founded by the Romans in 118 BC and was the oldest colony of the Empire in Gaul after Aix-en-Provence. This status has earned it the nickname “eldest daughter of Rome outside Italy”.