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Southern France
Our France Travel Blog
Do you want to travel Southern France?
That’s what we did, and I am so excited. Follow our blog and we’ll take you with us. Learn what’s possible in 11 days, what glorious sights you can see, where to stay and how to pace your trip.
One year we had a hankering to travel southern France. Those parts that we haven’t seen. Our previous France travel vacations took us to the Dordogne and the Bordeaux fine wine region. Another time we spent a glorious visit to the French Riviera beaches and hill towns.
Now we travel southern France to see Carcassonne and the Cathar castle ruins in Languedoc. Stay in Collioure on the Mediterranean just over the border from Spain. Walk the Carmague nature area and stay in the Arles/Avignon area of Provence to explore all those Roman ruins. Then west to the Gorges du Tarn and Albi.
As we traveled I kept posting on interesting and intriguing sites and all that French culture offers in this area that you should not miss.
It has taken us a lot of research to figure out how
long it takes to get from place to place, where to stay and what is possible in
14 days. The purpose of this travel journal is to make it easier for you to
plan your trip to southern France. Plus, I love sharing my adventures and hope you enjoy following along on
our travel southern France journey.
Travel Southern France
Day 1, September 8
California to Narbonne France
Travel day today. Plane, bus, and automobile to get from California to our
first night stop in Narbonne. We flew direct from California to Paris. I like
going direct since you can actually try to get some shut eye during the 10 hour
overnight flight. We landed at Charles De Gaulle airport, and thankfully did
not have to wait for the next Air France bus to Orly to catch our connecting flight
down to Toulouse. Orly is a much smaller airport than CDG and easy to get
around. We hopped off the bus, and checked in our bags for an easy one hour
flight to Toulouse, the capital of the Midi-Pyrénées region.
We are doing a driving tour of the Languedoc Roussillon region just to the south so we picked up our rental car at the airport and off we drove to Narbonne which is on the Mediterranean.
The highway took us by Carcassonne, the largest medieval walled city in Europe. We could see this incredible walled city to our left. After catching a glimpse of the imposing walls of the old city, we are so looking forward to visiting it later on our trip.
An hour and a half drive from Toulouse we checked into our hotel. A very clean and comfortable Ibis. 19 hours of travel door to 'porte' and we are ready for dinner. We are very tired but excited to be here. At least Gildas managed to sleep a little on the plane (luckily because he is our chauffeur). Me, 30 hours no sleep. Je suis fatigue!
Each day I used the form below to continue our story and add photos. Feel free to comment or ask questions.
Travel Southern France Blog
As we travel I'll keep you posted on interesting sites we see and French cultural points of interest, AND If you have stories to tell on your travels in southern France we'd love to hear from you.
My Southern France Travel Blog
Click on the links below to read about our latest adventure.
Albi France Not rated yet
Day 11, September 18
Our last day in southern France, we tour Albi France and then fly north to Lille.
From our hotel in Béziers we made our way …
Carcassonne France to Peypertuse Not rated yet
Day 10, September 17
Today we revisit Carcassonne “La Cité” and see the sites we missed last evening. Then a drive to the remote Cathar castle ruin …
Gorges de la Jointe, Millau Viaduct, to Carcassonne Not rated yet
Day 9, September 16
Leaving our hotel we drove down though the pretty town of Le Rozier which sits at the junction of the Tarn and Jointe rivers. Outside …
Site du Pont du Gard Not rated yet
Day 8, September 15
Today we are visiting the Pont du Gard and doing the spectacular drive along the Gorges du Tarn.
Waving goodbye to Avignon we …
Roussillon to Avignon France Not rated yet
Day 7, September 14
In Roussillon we walked the Sentiers des Ocres down the ochre path into the orange canyon. The small fee is worth the view of the …
Beaucaire France to Roussillon Not rated yet
Day 6, September 13
Today we are exploring the hill towns of Provence along small country roads with beautiful views. Our destination is Roussillon …
Arles France to Les Baux de Provence Not rated yet
Day 5, September 12
Today we explore Arles France and its Roman ruins plus a drive to Les Baux fortress.
But first our B&B, Mas Guiraud includes …
The Camargue, Montpellier and Beaucaire Not rated yet
Day 4, September 11
Departed lovely Collioure en route to the Camargue. An easy drive along the A9 (the toll highway) with the sea to our right, past …
A day and a night in Collioure France Not rated yet
Day 3, September 10
Woke up to a beautiful sunny day. Donned our swimsuits and walked the short way from our hotel, Hotel St. Pierre , to Port D’Avall …
Narbonne France to Collioure France Not rated yet
Day 2, September 9
Today we visit Narbonne France and then make our way to Collioure France for a few days of R&R.
We slept in after yesterday’s …
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