LANGUEDOC ROUSILLON   >   FRANCE


Holiday in Languedoc Rousillon, located in the south of France.

Departments in Languedoc-Roussillon: Aude [ 11 ], Gard [ 30 ], Hérault [ 34 ], Lozère [ 48 ], en Pyrénées-Orientales [ 66 ]

Capital City Languedoc-Roussillon: Montpellier


holiday homes, hotels, tour operators, travel guides, travel to languedoc

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Campsites & Caravanning

  Eurocampings   -   ACSI International Camping Guide  -  Languedoc

Holiday Rentals / Apartments



   -   Languedoc-Rousillon
Cottages4you is the leading UK provider of self-catered holidays.

  Soleara   -   Cottages in France    

Hotels Languedoc Rousillon

  Hotels in Languedoc  
Hotels in Montpellier, Nîmes, Perpignan, Caissargues, Carcassonne, Villeneuve-lès-Béziers, Le Cap dʼAgde, Narbonne, Lattes, Pézenas, Balaruc-les-Bains, Mende, and more.



 Hotels in Herault
Hotels in Montpellier, Villeneuve-lès-Béziers, Le Cap dʼAgde, Lattes, Pézenas, Balaruc-les-Bains, Sète, La Grande Motte, Pérols, Clapiers, Béziers, Valras-Plage, and more ...

  Hotels Cap d'Agde
  Hotels in Monpellier
  Hotels in Nimes

 
Hostelbookers.com is one of the worlds largest online booking services for hostels. All hostels you see here are offering realtime prices and availability.

National Parks / Nature Parks

  Tour du Valet
Wetlands form transition zones between land and water and constitute a remarkable natural heritage, because of their biological richness as well as the important natural functions which they fulfil. In the first place they support populations of a wide range of birds and provide breeding habitat for many fish. In the second place, they aid in the smooth functioning of aquatic systems through the re-charging of groundwater reserves, the prevention of flooding and the self-purification of watercourses.
These habitats act as real biological reservoirs. In France, 30% of the interesting and threatened plant species occur in wetlands, and almost 50% of bird species depend on them.
--  Camargue Natural Park  -  between the two channels of the Rhône, close to La Grande Motte
--  Mediterranean Basin  -  the total extent of wetlands is about the same as the area of Sicily or Albania, comprising coastal lagoons (6500 km²), natural lakes and marshes (12000 km²) and man-made wetlands (up to 10000 km²).
Lagoons and salt marshes as in the Languedoc Roussillon region of France, constitute the most characteristic coastal wetlands.

Travel Agents / Tour Operators



  Naturist Holidays   -   Peng France au Cap d'Agde
Cap d'Agde is a self-contained naturist town, with shops, restaurants and bars, and its own police station, post office, petrol station, bank and cash point. Doctors and a chemist too. The glorious beach is wide and sandy, and 8 km long, with a 2 km naturist section. The resort contains several swimming pools and offers a wide range of watersports. These include water-skiing, jet-skis, windsurfing, snorkelling, boat hire and pedalos. Diving and parascending are possible in textile Cap d'Agde.
  Club Nautique de la Baie d'Aigues-Mortes   -   Ecole de voile française
Croisière, catamaran, dériveur, habitable.

Travel Guides Languedoc-Rousillon / Related books

  Languedoc-Roussillon (Lonely Planet Country & Regional Guides) - 1741792800
Nicola Williams (Author)
This guide contains extensive focus and coverage of chambres d'hotes (B&Bs), agencies that list gites accommodation, local festivals and food markets. All this enables visitors to engage with the community and make their visit a more personal authentic experience. This entire region is a fantastic destination for people who want their travels to be as green as possible. By nature, many of the traditions and practices here such as organic farming, sourcing food straight from a farmer at the local market, have always had sustainable roots. Dig deep into the region's culinary and boutique wine treasures. This title details the best land and water activities prevalent in the region.
Paperback: 304 pages; Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications (Feb 2009); ISBN -10: 1741792800; ISBN-13: 978-1741792805.

Transport / How do I travel to Languedoc

  Airport Béziers-Agde-Vias airport   -   Aéroport de Béziers - Agde - Vias
Direct connection to Paris. Daily flights (Air France).
  Carcasonne Airport   -   Aéroport Caracasonne
  Airport Montpellier  -   Méditerranée Airport [ MPL ]
  Rivesaltes ([ GF ]
  Garons [ FNI ]

 
Book cheap flights to France at ebookers and benefit from discounted airfares. View their latest offers and book your flights, accommodation, car hire and insurance online

  Airline Tickets Languedoc /  Bargain Flights  
Price comparison possible

  Ryanair   -   flights to Carcasonne from London and Dublin.
Also Cheap flights from Stansted to Giirona, Montpellier, Nîmes, Toulouse, Perpignan.

   -   Eurostar, TGV and high speed-rail travel across Europe
Rail Europe is the UK's leading supplier of European Rail tickets. Whether you want to take a short break or a fortnight, your train journey by Eurostar, and connection to Europe with the SNCF range of products, are available to book online.

  SNCF station at Agde   -   5h by TGV from Paris
Several daily connections by TGV Paris - Agde. Average journey time between Paris and Agde. Many connections to Great Britain [ TGV/Eurostar ], Benelux [ TGV/Thalys ]

   -   fantastic fares from all of the UK's major ports

   -   Dover - Calais / Portsmouth to Cherbourg / Portsmouth to Le Havre
P&O Ferries is one of the most well known and trusted brands. Wherever you are travelling to, on holiday or on business, P&O Ferries offers a wide range of routes.


Links

  Languedoc Tourism

  Montpellier   -   Capital City Languedoc   -   dynamic Metropole in Hérault

  Aude [ 11 ]   -   Pays Cathare   -   Aude Tourist Board 
Regions in Aude : Carcassonnais, Corbieres-Fitou, Lauragais, Minervois, Montagne Noir, Narbonnais, Pyrénées-Audoises / Limouxin / Quercorb / Pays de Sault
  Gard [ 30 ]   -   Préfecture du Gard
  Hérault [ 34 ]   -   Tourist Board Herault [ with capital city Montpellier ]
Bordering the Mediterranean is about 60 miles of coastline, which stretches between the hauntingly beautiful region known as the Camargue, and the tree-lined Canal du Midi.
In this sun-drenched corner of the south of France, you'll find sandy beaches lapped by the Mediterranean sea, wild open spaces in the Cévennes hills, monasteries and castles for sightseeing, and vineyards where you can taste some of the best wines in France.
The landscape of Hérault starts craggy and beautiful in the southern part of the Massif Central and descends gently until it opens like an amphitheatre onto the Mediterranean coast. With its lakes and saltwater lagoons, gorges and rivers, mountains and beaches, sunny climate and cultural attractions, Hérault is a magnet for tourists from all over Europe.
  Lozère [ 48 ]   -   Tourist Board Lozere 
The Lozère is divided into four diverse regions sculpted by geological forces, covered by pristine natural landscapes and fashioned and enlivened by ages-old human presence. The Aubrac Margeride Cévennes Tarn and Jonte gorges, Grands Causses, Lot Valley
  Pyrénées-Orientale [ 66 ]   -   Conseil Général des Pyrénées-Orientales   -   with CC Perpignan
In the south west of France at the Spanish border. Pyrénées-Orientales consists of three river valleys in the Pyrenees mountain range - from north to south, those of the Agly, Têt and Tech - and the eastern Plain of Roussillon into which they converge.

Beaches and Seaside Resorts in Languedoc-Roussillon :

  Argelès sur Mer   -   Argelès sur Mer   -   known as the 'Port of Venus'
Where the sandy beaches of Roussillon meet the rocky coves of the Côte Vermeille, you'll find the seaside resort and fishing village of Argelès-sur-Mer. As well as beaches and coves, it has plenty to offer, including sailing from the marina, scuba diving, sea water spas and children's entertainments.  This seaside resort and sailing centre is Roussillon's busiest fishing port.
  Balaruc les Bains   -   Tourist Office Balaruc les Bains   -   Terre des Eaux
  Banyuls sur Mer   -   Tourism   -   Mediterraneen sea
Nestling in the foothills of Pyrenees, Banyuls is a charming old fishing village, with quaint narrow streets and excellent beaches. The steep slopes of the surrounding hills are covered with vineyards. The Marine Reserve ,which covers 650 hectares between Banyuls and Cerbere, makes Banyuls a great diving and snorkelling centre. The gentle climate makes Banyuls one of the few places in France where oranges grow outdoors all year round with mimosa and olive trees.
Boat trips and diving expeditions in the Marine Reserve allow visitors to discover the beauty of our coastline and see the wonderful world that lies just below the surface of the sea.
Many cafes and restaurants overlook the beaches.Here you can sip a drink and watch the world go by. Maybe even watch the Sardane, the traditional Catalan dance performed to the music of a Cobla
  Canet en Roussillon   -   Tourist Board Canet en Rousillon
 Its huge sandy beach and the crystal seawater invite you to spend unforgettable holidays. Canet en Roussillon is a sports resort and offers a wide range of activities. Introduction to sports adventures, incitement to lazing around or invitation to cultural discoveries...
About twenty beach club are available, based on 4 kms of watched beaches. You 'll be fulfilled by the diversity of the services offered and also by the quality of welcoming.
  Cape d'Agde
  Carnon - Mauguio   -   Townhall Mauguio-Carnon   -   Port of Carnon   -   Tourist Board Canon
  Cerbère   -   Cerbere Village
Cerbère (half sea, half mountains) offers pleasant treks for any level. Cyclo-tourism Ride from Hendaye to Cerbère [ Crossing the Pyrenees east to west by bike, gives you an honorary title from the French federation of Cyclo-Tourism ]. Beaches towards Banyuls : The small tunnel beach only accessible by boat, The cove of "Bon Pomé" : can be reached by a path, but it is not safe, The cove of "Terrimbou" : is accessible by boat, and from the Aloes village on foot, The Peyrefite Beach can be reached by car.
Traditional Catalan boats ; a small association called "ARJAU" (which is the Catalan word for the helm), has maintained in working order a large traditional boat with the original sails [ bureau du port - 04.68.88.47.71 ]
A long time ago, the valley of Cerbère, was covered by forest, and wild life. Ancient writings of Greeks, like Strabon, or Romans like Pline the Young, in their description of the ancient world, often talked about a place populated by deer, "locus cervaria", in the Gaul ends.
  Collioure   -   Tourist Board Collioure
Nestling in a creek of the rocky coastline, the village harmoniously fits into the surrounding countryside. The same sepia color for the famous church tower, the castle and the beach ,the mountains burnt by the sun, the little typical Mediterranean painted houses, make from Collioure a very particular place to stay.
Collioure was a very important harbour during the Greek and Phoenician times. As early as the great Antiquity , cauco Illiberis was visited by the famous civilizations of the Mediterranean countries. After the Wisigoths and the Saracens incursions, Collioure was fortified during the Carolingiens time. From the XIIth to the XVIIth centuries Collioure was alternately annexed to the kingdoms of Aragon, Majorca and France. The town definitely returned to France in 1659 (Treaty of the Pyrenees).
  Frontignan La Peyrade [ Herault ]   -   Ville de Frontignan   -   Tourist Board Frontignan
  Gruissan   -   Gruissan Plage   -   Ville de Gruissan
Coiled around its castle on a peninsula, Gruissan offers all the preserved charm of a medieval village. But its heart beats around the harbor.
Gruissan is one of the most beautiful villages in France. One of most authentic as well where families of fishermen, wine growers and salt-workers have been living for generations.
  La Grande Motte  -  known for its striking architecture and green open spaces.  
It has a marina, conference center, sailing school, tennis courts, an 'Espace Grande Bleu' water leisure park, an 18-hole golf course, spa center and aquarium. See Tourist Board Grande Motte
  Le Barcarès   -   see Tourisme.fr
  Le Grau-du-Roi   -   Ville du Grau du Roi - Port Camargue
Grau du Roi is in an idyllic location on the edge of the Camargue, "a wild and mysterious land": a unique and protected ecological environment. See for boating Port-Camargue [ after a day or more at sea, stopping off at Port Camargue, is choosing to moor in the best possible conditions ]
  Les Cabanes de Fleury
  Leucate, Leucate Plage, La Franqui, Port Leucate   -   Ville de Leucate
  Narbonne-Plage   -   Tourist Office Narbonne Plage
  Marseillan   -   Tourist Board Marseillan
Marseillan is for sun lovers, bathers and those who love the natural environment. It is a friendly and charming seaside resort between the sea, the lagoons and the vineyards. Visitors will always find the warmest welcome for a wonderful, relaxing holiday.
Marseillan is an ancient Phocean city, founded in the 6th century BC. It has kept the authentic character of a fishing village on the shores of the Mediterranean and the Bassin de Thau.
  Palavas les Flots   -   Tourist Board Palavas les Flots   -   7 km of sandy beaches
Palavas-Les-Flots, a family seaside resort, bordered by a long fine sandy beaches, invites you to join in the party.
  Port la Nouvelle   -   Tourist Board Port la Nouvelle  -  A town right on the sea, 15 km of beach
In a beautiful position on the road to Barcelona, linked to the rest of France by modern highways, Port-La -Nouvelle has managed to preserve and retain a prosperous business fabric. New port facilities are allowing Port-La-Nouvelle to take its place among the great ports of France.
With a wide open beach, tranquillity, sunshine, sea and unpolluted water, Port-La-Nouvelle is the most authentic resort on the Languedoc-Roussillon coastline.
Fishing boats on the Canalet, a fish market in the harbour, sailing boats in the port, trawlers in the Darse, and barges stopping at Sainte-Lucie give Port-La-Nouvelle the ambience of a town with strong links to its past, but firmly in this day and age.
  Port Vendres   -   Ville de Port Vendres 
As the only natural port along the côte Vermeille between the Mediterranean, the Pyrenees and Spain, Port -Vendres was known already to the Greek mariners of antiquity. The port flourished after the french conquest during the 17 th century. It was this maritime prosperity which led to the construction, in the 18 th century, of a splendid urban complex around the port, symbolised today by the place de l'Obélisque. Today Port-Vendres is both a deep-water commercial port and a fishing and yachting harbour open all year round. With its creek beaches it offers every seaside leisure facility. Set on the magnificent rocky slopes overlooking Port-Vendres are the prestigious vineyards of Banyuls, wich also produce the Collioure appelation. Come and discover Port-Vendres and the Côte Vermeille, under the radiant Catalan skies...
  Portiragnes   -   Ville de Portiragnes 
  Saint Cyprien   -   Ville de Saint Cyprien
  Saint Pierre sur Mer, Fleury d'Aude   -   see Les Cabanes de Fleury
  Sainte Marie la Mer   -   Ville de Sainte Marie la Mer
Sainte Marie offers the charm and quietness of a country village gathered around its church of the XIIth century with a wonderful Roman chevet, while the built up area along the beach brings the modern view of a sea resort in full expansion.
  Sérignan   -   Sérignan Plage   -   Ville de Serignan  
  Sète   -   Ville de Sete   -  Tourist Board Sete 
Sète is poised like a pearl between the Mediterranean Sea and the Thau Lagoon, famous for its oyster beds. The town is separated from the Cap d'Agde by twelve kilometers of sandy beach. Over the years, Sète has managed to preserve all its authentic qualities. Its fishing port, situated in the heart of the city, adds to the traditional atmosphere. Each day, the strange ballet of trawlers, escorted by seagulls and cruise ships, unfolds before your eyes. Sète has been called "the little Venice of the Languedoc", with its quaint neighborhoods, traversed by its numerous canals, and its sun-drenched quais reflecting their colors on the water. It is a thriving city which succeeds in its double role as a seaside resort and a cosmopolitan city, with businesses open year-round.
  Torreilles  -  Tourist Board Torreilles
Proud of its natural setting and happy to offer you all the treasures of its heritage, Torreilles invites you to discover and to share the gentle pleasures of life in a typical Catalan village, which managed to preserve and keep its own identity and character !
A 4 km long wild beach sheltered by dunes and rewarded with the European Blue Flag, Mediterranean sun and fine sand, old stones and small lanes with flowered patios, fragrant gardens and picturesque traditional markets, aperitif under the dense shadow of old plane trees and a tasty cooking based on regional products... 
  Valras Plage   -   Toruist Board Valras Plage 
Whether you enjoy walking or fishing, eating fresh seafood, playing tennis or riding  a mountain bike, Valras -Plage is the ideal holiday venue, all year round. It is a lively seaside  resort that is great for families and has golden sands that stretch for 4 kilometres. You can bathe safely in the sea with your children, learn the basics of sailing, or just relax and build up your tan. You can lounge in the shade on a café terrace, watching the fishing boats go past, or could even try your luck at the casino.
  Vendres   -   Ville de Vendres
  Vias   -   Vias Plage   -   Ville de Vias   -   Tourist Office Vias
Vias is France's second largest camping and caravanning resort, enjoying a privileged position at the heart of the Pays d'Agde in southern Hérault. Here in the Languedoc, the Mediterranean has sculpted the beach in the shape of a long cove of fine sand surrounded by unspoilt lagoons where you can do all you ever wanted to do on a holiday, and see all you ever wanted to see…

  Agde   -   see Tourist Board Cap d'Agde
To the east, discover the barrier beaches sandwiched between the sea and lakes as far as the Camargue and also Sete and Montpellier along the way.  
To the north, the countryside with its picturesque villages, numerous historic sites and beautiful scenery extends a warm welcome. 
To the west, follow the Canal du Midi, which is classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and visit the proud cities of Beziers, Narbonne and Carcassonne...
  Alès [ Gard ]   -   Ville d'Ales
  Bagnols-sur-Cèze
  Beaucaire
  Béziers
  Canet-en-Roussillon
  Cape d'Agde
  Carcassonne   -   Ville de Carcasonne and Tourist Board
IMediaeval Hilltop Town, Canal du Midi. Twice listed as part of Unesco's World Heritage.
Throughout the centuries the historic site of Carcassonne has played a decisive role in the history of Languedoc. An Iron Age Oppidum transformed into a Roman town in the Ist Century BC, the city-state became the possession of the powerful Viscount Trencavel who ruled over Bas-Languedoc. At the end of the crusade against the Albigensians the city, with its improved fortifications, became one of the strongholds symbolising royal power on the frontier between France and Aragon.
  Castelnau-le-Lez
  Castelnaudary   -   Ville de Castelnaudary 
  Céret [ Pyrénées-Orientales ]
  Elne
  Frontignan
  Lattes
  Lavalette   -   Marie de Lavalette [ Aude ]
  Lezignan-Corbieres   -   Ville de Lézignan-Corbières [ au coeur de l'Aude ]
  Limoux
  Lunel
  Mauguio
  Mende
  Narbonne  -  Marie de Narbonne
  Nimes [ Gard ]
  Pepieux
  Perpignan   -   Townhall of Perpignan  -  Tourist Board Perpignan
Perpignan has many other faces. ''Big little town'' or ''Little big town'', it is the centre of an old province - the Roussillon - organized around an agricultural plain. It is located in a priviledged environment : on one side, the Mediterranean coast with its beaches and rocks, and on the other side, the mountains with the Canigou - one of the highest mountains in French Pyrenees. Country of the tramontana with a blue sky and a light which inspired « Fauvism » , Perpignan benefits from Mediterranean influences with 2,500 hours of sun per year. Perpignan is the prefecture which is located farthest at the South in continental France. . Although it is essencially Mediterranean , it represents « another South » different from Provence, Languedoc or the French Riviera. Perpignan is the capital of a department - the Pyrénées Orientales - whose geographical and cultural identity is turned naturally to Spanish Catalonia. It is a bridge between Barcelona and the other cities of Languedoc Roussillon.
  Pont-Saint-Esprit
  Prades [ Pyrénées-Orientales ]
  Saint-Estève
  Saint-Gilles
  Sète
  Tautavel
  Thuir [ Pyrénées Orientale ]
  Vauvert
  Villeneuve-lès-Avignon

  Camargue   -   salt & bulls
  Lagrasse   -   Canton of Lagrasse
In the heart of Les Corbieres, the largest wine producing part of France and the foot hills of the Pyrennes.
  Lot Valley   -   Lozère.
  Margeride en Aubrac

  Canal des Deux Mers   -   linking the southern coast of France with the Bay of Biscay
The Canal du Midi and the Canal Lateral to the Garonne river forms France's longest navigable artificial waterway. Together they are called the Canal des deux mers. The Canal du Midi, created by Pierre-Paul Riquet, is now nominated as Unesco World Heritage Site.
In the dry Aude department climat the Montagne Noire is the cradle of the canal's water supply system.The water irrigates the Lauragais plains and then the Corbières and Minervois country sides.
A variety of trees, primaily centenarium plane trees and poplars line the banks of the Canal des Deux Mers against the hot summer sunshine. For people in search of calm and peaceful time, this is great place for a relaxing vacation
  Dinosauria in Esperaza
In this area in the upper valley of the Aude River, rocks deposited during the latest part of the Cretaceous period (75 to 65 million years go) yield abundant bones and eggs of dinosaurs.
Large scale palaeontological excavations have been carried out in the vicinity of Espéraza since 1989. In 1992, this scientific research resulted in the establishment of the first museum solely dedicated to dinosaurs in Europe.
Espéraza is in southern France, in the department Aude, fifty kilometers south of Carcassonne and sixty kilometers west of Perpignan.
  Museé Parc des Dinosaurs   -   Meze
Discover the largest complete skeleton in the world in the Mèze Dinosaur Museum-Park! The Brachiosaurus was one of the largest dinosaurs, some 80 ft long and weighing 50 tons! Distinctive sign: it was the only dinosaur whose front legs were longer than its back legs.
The largest Museum-Park in Europe devoted to dinosaurs in the middle of an outstanding paleontological site.
  Press   -   Herault Tribune   -   Local Magazine
Agde, Cap d'Agde, Grau d'Agde and Tamarissière.

Cuisine   -   French Cooking

Languedoc-Rousillon: The Wines and Winemakers   -   by Paul Strang, Jason Shenai (Photographer)
Languedoc-Roussillon is one of France's oldest wine regions and this illustrated book explores the terroir, traditions, winemaking practices, laws, personalities and wines of the region. Chapter by chapter the author identifies each of the region's most important wine-producing areas, exploring their local grape varieties and influences on wine growing. He then highlights the winemaking methods used in each area and profiles the producers and their wines. The book includes maps detailing rivers and roads, main wine towns and villages and where each producer can be found. The colour and black-and-white photography illustrates the diversity of the landscapes and personalites, while fact boxes offer information about the climate, soil and grape varieties in each area.
Hardcover 192 pages (October 17, 2002); Publisher: Mitchell Beazley
  Arrazat's Aubergines: Inside a Languedoc Kitchen   -  by Patrick Moon
Hardcover 288 pages (May 12, 2005); Publisher: Profile Books Ltd
  Muscat de Frontignan
Golden wine of the Mediterranean, with its well-known twisted bottle, is famous everywhere in the world simply because this generous natural sweet wine is produced in a traditional way by craftsmen who love their land, among the "garrigues", the sea and the ponds.

History of Languedoc

The Mediterranean coast of Languedoc has been settled by the Greeks, Phoenicians and Romans, and invaded by the Alamanni, Vandals, Visigoths, and Saracens.  in the Middle Ages Languedoc was known as the county of Toulouse.

  Museum von Tautavel

The Southern French Nobility and the Albigensian Crusade: The Trencavel Viscounts of Carcassonne and Beziers 
By Elaine Graham-Leigh
The Albigensian Crusade was called by Pope Innocent III in 1208 against the Count of Toulouse in response to the murder of the papal legate Pierre des Castelnau. The Pope's aim was to force the Count and other nobles in Languedoc to take action against the Cathar heretics in their lands, but in the end, the defeat of Catharism in the south of France was achieved through the establishment of the Inquisition and the extension of French royal authority to the area. While some Occitan noble families survived the crusade, others were destroyed and the behaviour of the crusaders towards the local nobility has often been regarded as rather arbitrary, unconnected to how these families related to each other before 1209. This study takes the case of the Trencavel Viscounts of Beziers and Carcassonne, who were the only members of the higher nobility to lose their lands to the crusade, and argues that an understanding of how the Occitan nobility fared in the crusade years must be based in the context of the politics of the noble society of Languedoc, not only in the thirteenth century but also in the twelfth. Elaine Graham-Leigh gained her Ph.D. from the University of London.
Hardcover 216 pages (July 1, 2005); Publisher: The Boydell Press

Music, Arts & Culture Languedoc, Events

Two distinct, proud cultures  -  Occitan and Catalan, a tradition of heresy and steadfast rebellion, and age-old customs all combine to make this a region deservedly unmatched in its romantic associations, at once epitomizing and contradicting everything that is France.

  Culture en Languedoc   -   culture guide Languedoc-Roussillon


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