Product Description

The definitive guide to one of France's most varied and exciting regions. The Rough Guide to Languedoc and Roussillon combines rich cultural and historical information and lively coverage of all the sights with detailed practical information - for all budgets. Special attention is given to outdoor activities, including cycling and hiking as well as boating the region's famous inland waterways. Expert advice is given on making the most of the region's gastronomic specialities and vineyards. Coverage is close up and critical - the guide tells you what to see, what to pass up and gives you all the inside information to make your travels in the region rich and rewarding.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #292383 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 496 pages

Customer Reviews

A great travelling companion!
I used this guide when driving around this area of France this summer and found that not only did it provide accurate factual information, but that it also captured the atmosphere of the area. It covers individual towns and villages in sufficient detail that you do not need to get individual guides, and the coverage ranges from describing the architectural features of a building to where you can go white water rafting.

I went to several of the hotels and restaurants mentioned in the guide and these had been accurately described and the prices in the guide were up-to-date.

The guide has a very helpful section on local food and wine, so that you can understand exactly what the regional specialities are before you order them.

I do however have one criticism: I did not find the maps of the city centres easy to follow.

If you are driving around this area, the green Michelin guide is also very informative and suggests lots of good routes along country roads.

Nearly excellent
One of the enjoyments of any holiday for me is buying the guide books in advance and reading them in bed last thing at night for at least the month before going away! Being restricted by weight considerations (flying) to how many I could take with me on holiday with me this summer, after much reading I ended up taking the Rough Guides to (1) the Dordogne and the Lot and (2) Languedoc and Rousillon.

They were both very helpful and the highlight was undoubtedly reading the section on Montsegur and its lost treasures to my companions as we surveyed the "pog" and fortifications on a pleasant Sunday evening with no tourists! Well worth the detour - although we decided we weren't upto the climb to the top.

However, I did search for two restuarants - one in Carcassone and one in Lautrec - which could not be found. I came to the conclusion that they may have closed or changed owners/names - or the directions needed to be improved.

Very poor
This is easily the most feeble of all the many Rough Guides I have used while abroad. If the author did all the research and writing on his own, than that's a mistake which shows. He's clearly uninterested in art (viz. cursory descriptions of Musee Fabre in Montpellier and Musee Goya at Castres), so someone who is interested should have been employed to help him out.

There are glaring omissions - the rural area around the Herault Valley is fascinating and offers lots of walking possibilities, and there should have been clear advice on where the best beaches are on the Languedoc Coast in the Montpellier-Narbonne-Beziers sector; Catlos more or less dismisses this whole littoral, which is wrong, as there are a few nice, uncrowded places among the dross, and that's just the kind of thing that a Rough Guide should know about and pass on.

I also think it's pretty unhelpful, re accommodation, to say: "you could try the Hotel Moderne at x village" without any comment at all on its merits or prices.