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 Aude...

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

Rennes le Chateau and the Da Vinci Code

The Da Vinci Code books and films has placed a number of sights in the Pyrenees firmly on the tourist circuit.

Of these, by far the easiest to get to is the village of Rennes le Chateau which is about 15 minutes drive from Quillan on the Carcassonne road.

Not so long ago, there was one relativ...more

Montpellier

Montpellier isn't a touristy city as such and usually considered more as a jumping off point for other places.

As is typical with towns in the area there's a delightful medieval quarter. The Place de Comedie pictured is the main square in the town and where you'll find numerous restaurants along ...more

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