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This page and travel advice has been provided to give you some practical and useful travel information for your French Holidays in the South of France. It contains up to date information and traveler advice for your French Holidays in Aude specifically and Languedoc-Rousillon generally, it pays to know what your travel requirements are before leaving home.

On this page you'll find information and tips about what you need to do before setting off on holiday, how to get to Languedoc-Roussillon, how to find stop-over hotels and ferries, how to travel by car, train or air with lists of all the budget airlines that service Languedoc-Roussillon. There are useful hints on topics such as driving in France and in particular advice on what car equipment you must have with you when driving in France. There is advice on travel insurance, suggested guide books for further reading, where to find out what the weather is doing in the Languedoc - Rousillion region and regional information about the departments that make up Languedoc-Roussillon plus suggestions for routes you can take to travel through the wine regions of Corbieres, Minervois and Fitou. All in all a comprehensive and useful page for your French travel advice.

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Travel Check List

This travel check list is intended to be a minimum requirements list for your travel visit to France and is by no means exhaustive. There will be items specific to your needs that may not be included so take some time to stop and think about what you need to take, personal medication is a good example and raises the point of making sure that you carry your medication in the original packaging and if possible with a copy of your prescription so that you can prove what the medication is and that its for your personal use.

Important Items	Useful Items	Taking the Car
Passport (ips.gov.uk)	Insect repellent (Express Chemist)	Valid full driving licence
Photocopies of all your important documents	Insect bite cream (Express Chemist)	Vehicle registration document
Money/Credit Cards (Moneysupermarket)	Mobile phone (Woolworths)	Motor insurance certificate (Esure)
Travel Insurance (Esure)	Guide books (Woolworths)	European motoring kit (Halfords)
Contact Numbers	Camera (search in shopwindow)	Sat Nav (Halfords)
Sunscreen (Express Chemist)	Travel Adapter (Halfords)	Maps (Woolworths)
European Health Insurance Card (ehic)

For essential foreign and commonwealth office travel advice and tips visit >>>

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Travel Insurance

It is essential that you take out travel insurance to protect both yourself and the members of your family to give you peace of mind that you will not incur expensive medical bills in the event of a medical emergency or illness. This cover should be supplemented with a free European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) which has replaced the E111 form and can be obtained online, see ehic.org.uk

Many of the airlines whether they are low cost airlines or mainline airlines make the taking out of travel insurance a mandatory requirement for using their services, you may also find a number of holiday packages that also insist on travel insurance and at the end of the day it is just good common sense to take out travel insurance given the low cost of the insurance versus the potential benefits it offers in the event of an emergency abroad. You will find that this recommendation is also included in the UK foreign office travel advice pages.

In order to obtain the necessary travel insurance you can select from the following websites all of which allow you to purchase travel insurance on line to meet your needs.

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Currency Exchange

It is worth thinking about how much money you are going to need on your vacation, ferry ports and airports offer you currency exchange services as do the post office and banks, but not always at the best rates, it is well worth planning what you are going to need up front and going to a price comparison site such as (Moneysupermarket) to get the best deal. You should also be aware that when using your credit cards you will not know what rate you are getting or what the additional charges are until you receive your statement. It's worth knowing that moneysupermarket can be used for price comparisons on most aspects of travel by clicking on the 'travel' tab in the main web site using the link on the right.

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Traveling by Air

The main airports in France that serve the Aude department and the Languedoc Rousillion region of Southern France are Toulouse, Carcassonne, Rodez, Perpignan, Montpellier and Beziers. It is also possible to fly into Spain to either Girona or Barcelona and drive back into France and it could be argued that doing this adds a little more interest to your holiday by providing to travel countries to visit.

The region is well served by a number of low cost airlines and main airlines to meet your travel requirement, see below for a list of who flies into the airports and where they fly from in the UK. There are some useful websites for checking flight availability and costs with the budget airlines which I have also provided below.

Flights

Check out the web sites below for your low cost flights to France and Spain, there are comprehensive lists of the airports in the region and which UK airports fly to those airports in the next section which you can use to speed up your search to find those cheap flights to France. Skyscanners flights seem to provide the most comprehensive listing of budget airlines to the Languedoc-Rousillion region.

Click on Skyscanner flights search logo to access their price comparison site. Once you have selected your best flight options they will re-direct you to the airline to make your booking.

This is a list of the main airports in France , where they connect to in the UK and the budget airlines that serve those routes, British Airways also has flights to France in this region so where that is an option I have included the information. For travel advice to this region you will find this list really useful as it is effectively your www flights listing for France.

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Airlines

This is a complete list of all the low cost airlines that have flights into France and Spain to the airports that provide access to the Languedoc - Rousillion region.

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Car Hire

To fully explore the region it is really worth organizing a hire car whether you are traveling down by train or flying in to one of the regional airports. To help you find a good deal I have provided some links to some popular car hire companies and a couple of price comparison web sites that will look for the best deal for you so that you can arrange cheap car hire, see below. Note click on Moneysupermarket to go straight to car hire or if you use the banner below go to the travel tab and then select 'car hire'.

Gamme Verte - France

In France, National operates its ‘Gamme Verte’ (Green Fleet) program which means that 65% of the fleet at 80% of locations emits less than 140g/km of CO2 .  Plus there are now more diesels on the French fleet and the hybrid Citroen C3 Stop & Start has been added.

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Airport Parking

To pre-book your airport parking at a lower cost you can visit Airport Parking and Hotels Ltd. and get reduced rates online.

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Traveling by Car

There are a number of mandatory requirements for driving in France, visit Halfords motoring abroad web page for practical advise and guidance on what you need to carry with you when motoring abroad. This includes specific information for France and Spain plus other European destinations.

Other practical tips are:

• Be especially careful when taking off after a stop at a service station or roadside picnic area for example and make sure you drive on the right
• Seat belts front and rear are mandatory
• Urban speed limits begin at the town or city sign and speeding and other traffic offences are subject to on the spot fines so make sure you are able to pay, have a photocopy of your driving license just in case they ask for a copy and always get an official receipt
• Don't drink and drive blood alcohol levels are stricter than the UK (no more than 0.5 mg/ml)
• If you are driving a right hand drive car leave more space from the car in front so you can see more of the road, especially when overtaking
• Children under 10 are not allowed in the front of the car

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As satellite navigation equipment becomes more affordable, it is worth considering procuring one for European travel, particularly if you want to avoid the ‘Peage’ motorway routes and prefer to opt for the free (par RN) roads to see a little more of the French towns and villages you would otherwise bypass on the motorway.  A big benefit of a satellite navigation system is that it gives you the confidence to go off route knowing you can easily find your way back to your intended destination.  Some sat navs also provide other useful features like hands free connection, travel reports etc.

If you are traveling with your children and need some help to keep them entertained on the trip, you may want to consider an in car DVD player so they can watch a film or a children's program to help pass the time away. Click on the link to the right and search for 'portable DVD player'. Other options are an iPod or MP3 player.

Driving in France is usually a pleasurable experience especially in Southern France where traffic is much less intense generally than the UK (French national holidays aside) so if you follow the advice and stick to the rules you should have no problems and can relax and enjoy the experience.

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Car Insurance

Please ensure that your car insurance and breakdown insurance covers you for driving in Europe so that you don’t get caught out in the event of an accident or mechanical problem, pay attention to the detail to ensure you have the level of cover required, it may not always be fully comprehensive.

If you need to renew your car or breakdown insurance then you can visit esure for a competitive quote on car insurance or IC Breakdown for European breakdown insurance. See below:

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Ferry Services

There are a number of channel ferries operating out of Dover providing options to dock at Calais, Boulogne or Dunkerque but you can also take an alternative route if that is your preference, see the Ferry Savers web site or use the form below to get cost comparisons and crossing times for all ferries to France.

The alternative to a ferry is to take the channel tunnel which you can book online at Eurotunnel

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Route Planning

The Michelin Guide is a useful point of reference for establishing recommended routes and associated costs for using the route options, the web site can be found at viamichelin.com  For convenience I have included a table of driving time and distances from the available ferry ports to Carcassonne in the heart of the Aude department using the Michelin recommended routes, but you can access the route planner for information on any desired route and destinations using the link provided.

You can purchase the Michelin guide of France online with free delivery at Woolworths

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Stop Over Information

Orleans is about mid way between the channel ports and Languedoc Rousillion and is a convenient place to stay over for the night, other options are Paris, which although it is not that far south is a very interesting and vibrant place to visit, also Chateauroux, Limoges or  Brive-la-Gaillarde could be considered, they are all stop over's that are further south than Orleans, Brive-la-Gaillarde being the furthest south. You can find hotels at any of these locations or elsewhere in France to suit your needs by clicking on the hotel bookings link or completing the form below.

If you want to stop over in Paris and do something a bit different to normal then visit the following web site to discover some truly alternative activities. Click on the link then select France as your destination to get to your options

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Traveling by Rail

Rail Europe is a very good source of information for rail travel in France and will allow you to book on line. There is also a motorail service if you want to take your car with you but you need to phone to make this arrangement, details are at the bottom of the web page, you can book from Calais to Narbonne with stop offs at Brive and Toulouse

You can also visit the French rail operators TGV and SNCF to explore other options for rail travel.

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Regional Information

The Languedoc-Rousillion is an interesting and diverse region of Europe which borders the Mediterranean sea to the east and the Pyrenees mountains to the south. The area is steeped in the history of the Cathar period, has been a wine producing region for more than 2000 years and plays host to 3 significant world heritage sites, namely Caracassonne, Canal du Midi and the Pont du Gard which bridges the river Gard near to Avignon north East of Nimes and Montpellier. Other attractions include the mountains, rivers, lakes, ancient cities and the fortresses that are more commonly known as the Cathar castles.

The region is made up of 5 departments and has 5 main cities

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Weather Forecasts an Information

It is always useful to know what weather you are likely to encounter on your travels and for French weather information the principle weather web site in France is meteofrance.com . You can look at the region of interest by entering a postal code or, town name, for example Castelnaudary which is located in Aude in France can be found by either entering the town name or its post code 11400.

Another useful web site in English is the Yahoo weather station weather.yahoo.com which again allows you to select the region or place of interest for specific information on your chosen destination and up to 6 days weather using the extended forecast..

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Wine Routes

Corbieres Wine Region

An excellent way to explore the Corbieres wine region is to drive from Carcassonne to Narbonne via Lagrasse. If you travel down the N113 towards Narbonne from Carcassonne you will come to the town of Trebes. In Trebes there is a right turn to Lagrasse, take this road and you will drive through the heart of  Corbieres country and will find any number of wine outlets and degustations (free wine tasting outlets) on route, you will also be able to enjoy some wonderful scenery. Lagrasse is well worth a stop over for lunch after which you can continue on to Narbonne or if you prefer head back towards Carcassonne, to do this take the D212 towards Fabrezan and eventually you will pick up the road back to Carcassonne or you can continue on to Narbonne either via Lezignan-Corbieres or down the A61 which sits between Fabrezan and Lezignan – Corbieres. The Corbieres region covers significant territory and there will be other routes available for exploration so please consider the above a starting point. See map

	Lagrasse is situated in the heart of the Corbieres wine producing region, click on image for a larger view

Minervois Wine Region

Another important wine region is the Minervois which generally sits to the North East of Carcassonne, in this case you should head towards Mazemet from Carcassonne and then bear right towards Bagnoles on the D620 and continue on to Saint-Pons-de-Thomieres. From there you can then travel south towards Aigne, stopping off at Minerve on the way (a delightful medieval city well worth a visit) after Aigne head for La Redorte via Olanzac and then back to Villneuve-Minervois and then Carcassonne. This will take you nicely through the Minervois wine region which you can explore to find the best outlets and degustations. See Map

	Minerve is situated in the heart of the Minervois wine producing region, click on image for a larger view

Fitou and Beyond

The following tour goes through the Languedoc-Rousillion region of southern France. It is for the wine buff, the historians interested in the Cathar period and for simple admirers of wonderful scenery. Obviously where you are staying will affect where you start your journey, but I am going to assume you are near Carcassonne.

My recommendation would be to leave between 9.00 and 10.00 a.m. head for the A61 to Narbonne, on route you will pick up the A9 going south to Perpignan. Now you have to make a choice about how far you want to travel, you are on holiday after all, but if it was me I would drive motorway all the way to just south of Perpignan (speed is of the essence here). You are heading for the gorgeous little port of Collioure so you need to leave the A9 near Le Boulou and take the D618 towards Argeles sur Mer, pick up the D2 to take you to the D114 and into Collioure. Now I had better warn you parking won't be easy this is a little gem of a place and the word is out so be prepared to have to tour around a bit to get parked. The months of July and August are particularly bad and bring hoards of visitors and long lines of traffic so beware.

Matisse "discovered" the town in 1905 and because of the clarity of light from the sun combined with the blue of the sky and sea, he persuaded other painters such as Dufy, Dali and Picasso to join him, the artist studio theme remains to this day and you will find lots of paintings and artists studios throughout the town.

The harbor is full of “working” fishing boats, as well as boats dedicated to coast tours, well worth taking for an hour and a half if you can spare the time. There are a couple beaches there which seem quite popular albeit they are pebbles rather than sand.


If you get your timing right you will be able to have a delicious lunch at one of the beach side seafood restaurants, then you can relax for an hour on the beach, visit the Chateau Royal, built by the Knights Templar in the 13th century or take one of the boat trips, but then you need to get ready to head back as there is still a way to go.

	The entrance to Collioure Port

If you prefer not to go this far south you could head off the A9 at Port la Nouvelle and track down the island of the Sainte Lucie which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful sites on the Mediterranean and then check out the beach at La Frangui or La Palme.

You now need to head back for the A9 or just aim for Fitou, you will see it signposted from the motorway or near Porte la Nouvelle, Fitou is wine producing country and you will find a few degustations where you can taste the local wine (driver can't swallow remember) so it's' worth a quick stopover, particularly as Fitou is the oldest Languedoc-Rousillion AOC wine.

You then need to head south again towards Rivesaltes where you can pick up the D117 to Espira-de-l'Agly. Once on the D117 you are going to stay on it all the way to Quillan, at the start you will be driving through wine country and will be amazed by the endless rows of grape vines, you do have to think who will drink all this wine. Then the scene changes to that of mountains and Cathar fortresses with wonderful scenery and lots of picnic places to stop in.

The road eventually starts to run alongside a mountain river that has carved a way through the rock, you can see where man has had to do the same to make the road high enough for the 'Camions' to get through. You will pass through Saint Paul-de- Fenouillet, Caudies de Fenouilledes and Saint Martin Lys passing very close to the Chateau de Queribus and the Chateau de Peyrepertuse.

	As you leave the Fitou region heading for Quillan you can see Chateau de Queribus rising above the vines

Quillan is a shoe making center and is just south of Esperaza which is on the D118 and is where they found some pretty cool dinosaurs eggs which are now on display at Dinosauria in Esperaza. After Esperaza you will come into Couiza (make a note of this place if you fancy some white water rafting at some point in your holiday). Couiza is where you will find the road up to Rennes le Chateau one of the most famous Cathar fortresses thanks to the Da Vinci Code, there is only one way up and down and that is from Couiza but it is worth it just for the views.

From Couiza you can take the D613 and visit Rennes les Bains (the name gives it away) where you will find the chlorine and calcium hot water spas and you can treat the rheumatism you got from sitting in the car too long. Arques is not too much further along this route where you will find a few Cathars still live and there is an exhibition in the town center at the Roche house.

Alternatively you can head up the D118 towards Limoux and Carcassonne and back into wine country. Limoux plays host to the sparkling white wine credited with being the oldest bubbly in the world from around 1531. you will also pass through the lovely Alet-le-Baines which is another spa town, never have guessed would you.

From Limoux you are nearly back where you started and can head home, there are plenty of other lovely places in the area including Fanjeaux, if you are heading towards Castelnaudary, where you can find some more wonderful views and a restaurant or two if you don't fancy cooking.

Of course Carcassonne itself is a wonderful city and has La Cite it's famous medieval fortified town where you can go to eat and relax before heading off to find your bed, because after this you are going to need a good nights sleep.

	On route to Quillan following the D117, still wine country but starting to get a bit mountainous

The whole area makes up the largest wine producing region for France and accounts for a third of  Frances vineyards. There are a vast array of different wines available to discover so look out for the red wines from the Minervois, Fitou and Corbières wine regions, and the crisp dry whites from just north of Béziers, as well as the sparkling wine from Limoux.

The information above is intended to give you a flavor for the area  but if you would like a more detailed account and information of  the region then the ‘Rough Guide to Languedoc and Rousillon available from Woolworths online is an excellent source of information go to Woolworths  for a discounted copy with free delivery.

If you are a newby to the world of wine and would like to find out more about the mysteries of French wine then you may interested in an easy reading book on the subject which helps to demystify the names, places, grape varieties and more. just click on the following link Woolworths, please don't take offense at the title.

If you would like to sample some of the wines of the region you can access a range of affordable wines for purchase online from Majestic Wine Recently recommended in the Sunday Times are the '2006 Domaine Cazal Viel, Cuvee Finesse Sauvignon sur Lie, Vin de Pays d'Oc' or '2005 Complazens Syrah, Vin de Pays d'Oc'.

France in General

I hope you found the travelers advice in this page useful and informative, but if there are other items of information you feel would be useful and you would like to see included then please let me know through one of the contact options available throughout the website. I am particularly interested in knowing if you need more British travel advice, foreign travel advice or international travel advice.

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