Camping Holidays In The Languedoc-roussillon, South Of France

By Author: Woolley Thomas
Total Articles: 61
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For those who haven't yet experienced the delights of the Languedoc region I had better start with precisely where it is because France is quite a large country. Languedoc is in the true south of France, and in the west it starts at the French/Spanish border near to Perpignan and follows the Mediterranean coastline eastwards to approximately two thirds of the way round the Golfe du Lion. This length represents roughly a third of the French Mediterranean coast, the rest of it being the Provence-Alpes-C�te d'Azur.

The amazing thing is that it is only relatively recently that Brits have discovered the wonders of Languedoc, and one of the reasons for this is that they may have previously taken their holidays in the next door Provence which, though nice, has become extremely expensive because ever since the high old days of Brigitte Bardot it has been used by the "Jet Set" who have pushed up the prices there to a sky high level.

But now we have a situation where Montpellier, for instance, is buzzing with new shops, restaurants and tourist events, whilst Narbonne and Beziers have also been awakened by the new ...
... tourist boom which may in part have been caused by the still-low property prices there.

Camping holidays in Languedoc, and of course, we include mobile home or static caravan holidays in that, are absolutely wonderful as this region has some of the best weather in Europe, some of the best beaches, superb food, lots of history to be explored and masses of different activities to be experienced. To be honest, it's a wonder anyone can find the time to fit all this in during a couple of weeks there.

Luckily for the area we now see a great many more British, Dutch and German tourists here, as well as a great many of the indigenous French because most of them prefer to take their holidays in their own country, and who can blame them?

If your holiday here actually involves DOING something then this is the place to be as there is water near enough everywhere for activities such as canal boating, canoeing, sailing, windsurfing, Kite surfing, fishing and swimming. Probably the only water based sport unavailable here is surfing because the Med doesn't have high enough tides for that.

Golfers and tennis players are also well catered for as there are golf courses and tennis centres across the whole region, and for later in the year there are three mountain ranges which provide skiing, but in the holiday season they are still great for walking and rock climbing.

The more ambitious tourists can take to ballooning; floating over the rivers and vineyards of Languedoc must be a once in a lifetime treat with all the rivers, old castles and fantastic scenery to be seen from the air, but ballooning isn't the only airborn activity on offer as you can just as easily go paragliding or even take a flight in a light aircraft - guided flights over the Cathar castles come highly recommended.

Of course, no camping holiday in the Languedoc would be complete without checking out some of the local wildlife, of which there is a great deal, especially in the mountainous and swamp regions, with everything from vultures to pelicans.

Equestrian sports? Well, not eventing but something much more rewarding where you can have a wonderful time on Le Sentier Cathare, or Cathar Way which is France's most famous horse trail, all 250 kms of it!

Blame Dan Brown and his book The Da Vinci Code for this, but inadvertently he set off a tourist boom for people interested in the fabulous Cathar Castles, most of which appear to be perched high, high up in the mountains, and are the last remnants of the once proud but ill fated Cathars once so wrongly wiped out because they were deemed to be heretics.

But now you can retrace their steps and learn about the legends that linked them to the Holy Grail on horseback along the Sentier Cathare over 250 kms of breath taking Languedoc countryside which links nine Cathar Castles from Port-La-Nouvelle on the Med coast across the Corbi�res and the foothills of the Pyr�n�es, Aude to the historic Ari�ge town of Foix.

We are certain that you will love your time camping or staying in a mobile home in Languedoc for a couple of weeks, and even if you don't take to any of the activities we have briefly described then you can always fall back on a holiday sunbathing on some of the best beaches in Europe.

Art Johnstone has been a Francophile since going on a driving holiday with friends at the age of 18, and now, 46 years later the passion for France, its people and their way of life is undiminished. Art writes for several high-profile France related websites and invites you to take a look at his pages about camping south of France in general and the camping Languedoc in particular. Visit http://www.justcampingfrance.co.uk/france_south_camping.html .