The Languedoc region has a range of suitable areas for watersports. The Mediterranean coast has wide sandy beaches and rocky creeks along the Côte Vermeille. There are also clear lagoons, lakes, canals, rivers, swimming pools fed by natural hot springs, and even subterranean streams. Equipment can be hired for water skiing, sailing, windsurfing, fun boarding, SCUBA diving, sand yachting, kite flying, sea kayaking, jet skiing, canoeing, kyacking, white water rafting and canyoning. (click for water sport links)

The Languedoc region has a wide range of land sports on offer. Cycling is the French national sport, so cyclists are welcomed everywhere. Drivers of motor vehicles will give you much more consideration than horse riders. Serious cyclists can head for the Pyrenees or the many miles of off-road tracks. It is possible to hire bicycles in many towns. Canal towpaths have the great advantage of being flat and offer interesting routes.
There is an extensive network of maintained and marked out pathways in the Languedoc. These include coastal paths, mountain tracks, and gentle walks through gorges, valleys, rolling hillsides, vineyards, ancient villages and ruined castles. Apart from some of the higher mountain tracks they can be walked all year round. Climbing is also popular in France and the steep relief of the mountains Cevennes, the deep Gorges du Tarn, the Jonte or Héric provide good climbs. (click for land sport links)

The Languedoc has historically produced vast quantities of low quality table wine and although the region still produces over a third of all wine produced in France, the Languedoc wine industry has recently been experiencing commercial success due to innovative marketing, outside investment and an increased focus on quality. Many local vineyards have tasting rooms and welcome visitors throughout the year. The most popular local wine in the Bassin de Thau area is Pic Poul de Pinet, a dry white wine which is an excellent accompaniment to shellfish (especailly oysters). For those who seek the great wine houses of France, look no further that the Rhône Valley: Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas and Hermitage are but a few of the famous wines in the region. The Rhône Valley can be reached in about 2 hours by car and is an excellent day trip from the house. (click for wine links)

Golfers looking for sunshine, fantastic Mediterranean scenery and friendly, welcoming courses could do a lot worse than head to Languedoc-Roussillon for golfing in France. The region has a good selection of golf clubs and golf courses, several of them of international competition standard. The reliable weather allows for great golfing all year round. (click for golf links)

Languedoc Wildlife includes a wide range of mammals (including deer, large long-horned sheep, Pyrenean fawns, brown bears, wolves, bison, beavers, wild boar, otters), Languedoc birds include: vultures, grouse, woodpeckers, and owls. The Languedoc region also abounds with flowers, herbs trees and regional mushrooms (including truffles and many other edible fungi). You can find most of them in the wilder parts of the region, but it is generally easier to find them in Languedoc wildlife reserves and National Parks. One of the most impressive is The Cévennes National Park. This is a spectacular National park, declared a "World Biosphere Reserve" by UNESCO in 1985. It stretches across three Departements (54 % in Lozère, 36% in Gard and 10% in Ardèche). In altitude it rises from 378 to 1,699 metres above sea level. The park welcomes 800,000 visitors each year and is well worth a visit.
The Camargue region is also very interesting for wildlife enthusiasts. It is like its own little country. Once you're a few minutes south of Arles, you enter the atmosphere of the area, with its series of long, level roads criss-crossing the marshes and farmlands. Eagles, hawks and harriers soar in the blue skies and muskrats swim along the little canals. Black bulls and white horses graze in the fields, and lines of horseback riders file into the brush to observe the nature first-hand. Spring and Autumn are the best times for seeing the birds, the bulls and the horses of the Camargue. (click for nature links)

The South of France has some of the best preserved medieval architecture in the whole of Europe. Due to France's considerable power in the middle ages, extravagant and flamboyant buildings were commissioned as symbols of wealth and influence. Many of these great building works remain to this day e.g. the walled city of Carcassone and the fairytale-like Palais des Papes in Avignon.
The local area was a stronghold of the Cathars- a 12th Century religious movement, declared heretical by Pope Innocent III, and ultimately destroyed by an international force in the Albigensian Crusade. There are remains of Cather castles throught the region.