SPECIAL INTEREST, SPORTS AND ACTIVITY HOLIDAYS

Languedoc-Roussillon is one of the most popular tourist destinations in France with a wealth of attractions - long hot summers and over 300 days of sunshine each year, water sports and swimming from over 200 km of gently sloping beaches, a rich cultural heritage including Carcassonne and Pont du Gard, historic towns and villages including Pezenas and Nimes, a rich diversity in landscapes from the Cevennes to the Catalan Pyrenees for activity, sports and sightseeing, a superb regional diversity of Mediterranean cuisine and fine regional wines and a wide variety of festivals and cultural events throughout the year.

In addition to all this, if you are looking for something different on holiday, Languedoc-Roussillon offers an outstanding range of attractions whether you are seeking special interest, activity, adventure or sporting holidays.

When planning your holiday you may like to choose holiday accommodation where the owners offer courses, excursions or organised activities.  Alternatively, you may prefer to be more independent by picking and choosing your preferred activities and interests in your own time whilst on holiday.  Either way, it is well worth spending a little time finding the right location in order to ensure you enjoy your holiday to the full.

As an indication of the type of special interest and activity holidays offered by owners of holiday accommodation, we have compiled a list of options which you may find appealing:

Painting and Creative Arts weeks
Language courses
Therapies / Health
Cookery courses
Gourmet / Food & Wine holidays
Equestrian holidays / Horse-riding
Walking / Hiking
Cycling tours / Mountain Bike riding
Rock-climbing / Mountaineering / Caving
Coarse fishing / trout fishing
Classic Cars / Motoring
Rugby and corporate hosting weekends

Golf

Skiing

Photography

To complement the above list, most of which also lend themselves to informal participation, there are lots of other options which are usually more suited to inclusion as part of your holiday, using your chosen holiday accommodation as a base from which to make excursions.  You will find both the Languedoc-Roussillon regional tourist office, and the local tourist offices very helpful in giving you the information on availability and costs.  Property owners may also have details available at your holiday home:

Kayak / canoe
Watersports including water ski-ing, windsurfing, sailing and paragliding
Hang-gliding
Tennis
Adventure grounds / water fun parks
Music Festivals, Carnivals and Ceremonies - choirs, brass bands and orchestras
Bird watching
Thalassotherapy
Thermalism / Climatism
Health & Beauty Spas / Fitness Centres
Hot springs

Golf holidays

From American style courses to landscaped courses in Lozère or high altitude courses in the Pyrenees, the 20 golf courses in Languedoc-Roussillon provide an excellent variety to suit players at all levels.  Golf lessons and holidays are on offer to golfers looking for sunshine and beautiful Mediterranean scenery.  Currently, 14 of the courses offer a reciprocal golf pass allowing you to play a variety of courses during your holiday - for details visit www.sunfrance.com.

Skiing holidays

Languedoc-Roussillon also offers a good choice of skiing centres in the magnificent Pyrenees including Font Romeu, Pyrénées 2000, Les Angles, Puyvalador and Formiguères for both downhill and cross-country skiing.  The resorts offer ski passes valid for all their pistes as well as fixed price passes for cross-country skiing.

Skiing in Languedoc-Roussillon is well suited to independent travel and booking holiday accommodation direct with the owners, with a wide choice available and competitive budget airline flights to Toulouse, Carcassonne and Perpignan.

Canal du Midi

In addition to all the above, you may like the idea of a canal boat excursion or holiday on the Canal du Midi.  For details of boat hire, guest boat holidays and hotel boat holidays, take a look at the Languedoc-Roussillon Regional Tourist office site; for shorter trips, boat hire, etc., details are available at the local tourist offices and also from some owners of holiday accommodation.