Whole Earth Guide
The Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France consists of the Departments of Aude, Gard, Hérault, Lozère and Pyrénées-Orientales making this one of the most varied of the French regions.
Castles and walled villages abound throughout the region. These range from castles of the Cathar era (Queribus, Peyrepertous being the most famous) to the walled city of Carcassonne along with numerous walled villages such as Villefranche.
The entire region is steeped in history with extensive Roman remains around Nime including the world famous Pont du Gard.
In the west the region stops just short of the Pyrenees whilst to the east it borders on Provence which gives you some idea of the range of climates encompassed here.
Watersports include everything that you would expect of a region that runs alongside the Mediterranean but with the addition of the Canal du Midi which runs inland and the Canal du Rhone which skirts along the Mediterranean beach resorts.
Amongst the collection of Les Plus Beaux Villages in this region are Aigueze, Castelnou, Eus, Evol, La Garde Guérin, La Roque sur Ceze, Lagrasse, Minerve, Mosset, Olargues, St Guilhem le Desert, Ste Enimie and Villefranche de Conflent.
The popularity of the region means many airport options including Toulouse (TLS), Carcassonne (CCF), Perpignan (PGF), Montpellier (MPL) and Nimes but numerous others lie just outside the region offering a wealth of choices.
The rail network is extensive but don't forget that the highspeed trains radiate out from Paris so whilst the high speed TGV trains will get you from Paris in under six hours, it can take just as long to go from Perpignan to Nimes.
A selection from Pyrénées Orientales...
Like to stay in a property in this area? Why not try one of these propertiesPerpignan: the capital of French Catalonia
When Salvador Dali arrived in the railway station he announced that it was the "Centre of the World". There used to be a statue to commemorate this in the station but it was removed some years ago.
Most of the town centre is a pedestrian area where you'll find the usual mix of international store...more
Cathar Castles
Remnants of the Cathar castles are confined to a fairly small area of southern France with all of them within a couple of hours drive. This being the case, it's possible to see them all in a single day or, more realistically, over the course of a couple of days.
The first group consists of Aquila...more
The walled town of Carcassonne
The walled city of Carcassonne is perhaps the most visited tourist site in southwest France and it's easy to see why. If anywhere looks like it was just ripped out of medieval times and dropped into modern day France, this is the place.
From a distance, the city looks just like what many people w...more
Our selection in Cádiz : Cadiz
You'll have probably heard of Cadiz in connection with the Spanish Armada or the voyages of Christopher Columbus when it was a thriving port not only that but it's actually the oldest continuously inhabited city in western Europe.With all that history, you'd expect some major league historical l...more
