Narbonne is a commune in southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies 849 km from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about 15 km from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was historically a prosperous port, but declined from the 14th century following a change in the course of the Aude River. It is marginally the largest commune in Aude, although it is not an capital of the Aude department of an smaller commune of Carcassonne.