Need Touring Advice on SW France
 

I want to spend a week by car touring the SW area of France in late June, and any advice on what to do and see will be appreciated. I am only interested in the area BELOW Bordeaux-Toulouse-Carcasonne, if I were to draw a line. Thanks!

Dear Winesipper:

If you wish to tour the SW region of France south of Bordeaux, Toulouse and Carcassonne, you could start at the eastern end of the Pyrenees at Collioure and work your way east to the Ariege, in and around Foix then finally ending up in the Pays Basque at Biarritz..a distance of about 275 miles. There are numerous sites and towns of interest. If you post what it is you are looking for, I could offer some more advice...

Regards.
Luis

Hi W,

The Michelin Green Guide for Languedoc, Rousillon, Tarn Gorges lists as highly recommended:

Carcassone, Peyrepertuse, Le Canigou in the East and the area around Lourdes in the West.

It also has 7 driving tours.

((I))

Here are a couple of sites which give places which are of interest.

http://www.cg66.com/

http://www.sunfrance.com/

The first site is in French only, I think but the second has some English section.

I hope it has some help.

Blackduff

Okay, I wasn't able to keep from listing this site.

http://www.ot-sorede.com/

This is where I live. Sorede! It's about 10 kms to the sea. I can walk up the hills to the Spanish border, and it's some of the most sunny part of France. How could want more.

Blackduff

Dear Wine:

I committed a faux pas.. from Collioure you would head west toward Foix and the Ariege, not east..

Get a good map of the area. Drive from Prades up to Mont-Louis and from there down to Quillan. Mirepoix is worth a stop. Go see the church in St. Bertrand de Comminges. Visit the Cirque de Gavarnie. Drive to the top of the Col du Tourmalet.

You folks are great! Thanks for the intial ideas. Ira, good to hear from you again too as you always have good feedback. Langcraft, I'll get back to you after some spade work on my part. Many thanks!

Search this board using Dudley Languedoc and you will find a lot of helpful advice.

Winesipper:

The Pyrenees are dramatic..Pau is an interesting city to visit..and just east outside town on the Autoroute A-64 there is a great piece of ironwork sculpture hailing the Tour de France at a rest stop...you can see it from the highway..photo op...I would suggest you follow one of the most popular TDF routes through the main passes...you may still see some of the "signs" painted on the road, cheering for this rider or that...Armstrong's name is everywhere...
you can visit Lourdes and then head to the passes ...Col de Peyrasoude, de Aspin, du Tourmalet, and the final one at the Spanish border, Col de Portillon. Pau and/or Tarbes, Foix can be used for bases to expore the range and the passes. Some lovely spa towns en route, also...Bagneres de Luchon, Bagneres de Bigorre. You would probably have enough time to continue east and stop at Colliure to soak up some sun and a dip in the ocean. Enjoy...great trip. We thoroughly enjoyed it.
Stu T.

We have a place slap bang in the middle. It's not a touristy area, most of its charm deriving from the small pretty towns and bastides, and from the mountain scenery. Further north you get the grandeur of the Tarn and the Lot valleys.

In our neck of the woods, you should see St Bertrand de Comminges, Auch and its cathedral, a good Madiran vineyard, and you should go to a spa. Plus do what Stu said.