Toulouse, Narbonne, Beziers?
 

I will be leaving Paris around October 5th to spend a 9 or 10 days further south. My wish list includes a couple of the Dordogne medieval villages like Domme, La Rogue Gageac so I have thought about travelling ( train travel is my choice) to Sarlat la Caneda for a couple of nights to do a tour to cover that.
We leave France from Toulouse on 14th Oct. My other wishlist items are simple, to look around the Canal du Midi towns, possibly cycling or taking a day trip on the canal and also to see the Mediterranean sea! I live very far away from it and am unlikely to have the chance again
So if I have 2 or 3 nights in Caneda, how do I get to my next stop ,which I would like to be a quiet base until we leave and should it be Toulose, Narbonne oe Beziers??
This is my first big overseas trip (from NZ) and I'd appreciate any thoughts

I haven't been to Narbonne or Beziers, but found Toulouse absolutely glorious. And from there, you could spend a day in nearby Albi ... stunning!

For your transportation options, consult rome2rio.com and be sure to click through to underlying sites.

If you do stop in the Dordogne and have ANY interest in art, consider visiting some of the caves with prehistoric art -- there are some outstanding options. For most, you would do best with a reservation.

Hope this helps!

I've been to all three and the canals in the region multiple times..

Narbonne is glorious, the canals are great Bezier is ok. Toulouse is ok, Carcassonne is awesome.

Girona is even better.

October is still warm. Cycling along the canals or time by them is lovely.

Very different from kiwi. You'll have a blast,

Paris to Sarlat-La-Canéda is not the easiest train itinerary, and neither is an onward journey to Toulouse, Narbonne or Beziers. Work it out on SNCF-connect.com, lio-Occitanie.fr and transports.nouvelle-Aquitaine.fr. Maybe bus to Souillac (not frequent) then a train to Toulouse, changing again there for the other two.

Are you quite, quite sure you couldn’t be happy with Occitanie’s lovely medieval towns like Pezenas, Cordes-sur-Ciel, Mirepoix, Lagrasse, Albi, Carcassonne?

In favour of Toulouse
- more likelihood of organized tours, check its tourist office web site
- more choice of good restaurants as it’s a bigger place
- on the Canal du Midi, with boat tours definitely on offer

in Favour of Narbonne
- close to pleasant seaside towns with bus connections, though they might not be too lively in October
- easy bike rental and then travel along the Canal de la Robine either to the Med or up to the Canal du Midi
​​​​​​- highly strollable centre of town
- Roman heritage sites to explore

in favour of Beziers
- also close to seaside resorts
- great stretch of the Canal bike path, including the stepped locks at Fonserannes and the Oppidum d’Enserune just off the path; or take the train to Agde and cycle back

I'm planning a trip to the same area, and also prefer trains - but we couldn't figure out a way to do it in the Dordogne and Lot, so are renting a car.

For nine days I would pick either Toulouse / Dordogne or Toulouse / Mediterranean. I'll post my upcoming Toulouse circuit in another thread. For nine days in the south, by train, you could do:

Paris - Nîmes - Béziers or Narbonne - Toulouse, with three days in each. I know Nîmes wasn't on your list, but it's an under-rated gem that would be on the route.

Thank you, this is helpful . I think time around the canals will be more relaxing than what I've been trying to make happen. Time for a re set

Thank you! On reading replies so far I am definitely rethinking Dordogne in favour of the Toulouse - Narbonne area. I think this would allow us easier options to get to canal, med and some awesome medieval villages suggested by FTOttawa.

Yes, yes I think you are right! I have had blinkers on but your suggestions of villages and towns has opened my eyes to things I hadn't looked at. These all look beautiful and I certainly would be satisfied!
I also think that we have more choices of tours we could do and directions to go in - as well as rail links to take us to some of them.
I'm thinking travel from Paris by train to this area is going to be simpler - I'll look at that soon
Now to decide about basing at Toulose or Narbonne - or some time in each - hmmm?

Thank you so much for the info

Gail

Toulouse is excellent and is a major hub. Narbonne and Béziers are more low key. In that area, I would choose Montpellier.

Toulouse is interesting. Fyi, also spent time in and around Narbonne and Montpellier with a car few years ago (we visited but didnt particularly enjoy Beziers), my TR may be useful (post#85 onwards)
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur.../#post17381406

The cycle route from Narbonne to Toulouse is lovely and even riding gently is about 2 days long, 3 at a stretch.

I am also a big fan of Montpellier. There is so much to do in the city and it is also accessible to many other places by train or car. We spent a month there two years ago. This is the link to my report.

https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...armer-1713476/

In thinking about where to go next winter/early spring, I am leaning towards a return trip to Montpellier.