So much to do, so little time to do it. This is how a vacation to the Languedoc Roussillon will leave you feeling. Where do you start? Which tourist site should be first on your list? In my humble opinion the old Cité of Carcassonne should be your first stop.

This magnificent medieval fortified town looks like some kind of fairytale castle and is a UNESCO world heritage site. What you see today is the complete 19th Century renovation of what was once an impregnable fortress and a visit to this exceptional landmark will whisk you back in time to the dark ages. Well it will with a little imagination and arriving during the off season when there aren’t too many tourists.

There are plenty of restaurants to eat at and even a hotel. A tiny populace of 400 people still live behind the walls today. As well as being a great tourist site, Carcassonne is also a great place to start your vacation, as it is situated towards the south of the Languedoc Roussillon region and allows travellers great transport links not only into the area but also onwards to the other delights that can be found, like the Canal du Midi, that runs through Carcassonne, and then on to the Mediterranean coast. Here you can visit Montpelier, Perpignan or even hop over the border into Spain. Barcelona can be reached from Carcassonne within about three hours.

Happy travels.

I can’t say I’m looking forward much to the impending winter that will be here with us before you know it. I shouldn’t complain because living here in the southern part of France I certainly have better weather than I did when I lived back in  the UK. Nevertheless it’s a bit of a shock to the system when winter arrives in the Languedoc Roussillon where I live. It’s almost impossible to believe when you look at the weather now that it’s going to change so drastically in just a couple of months. Every time we get to Autumn I just think that this sunny weather is goin,g to continue. But beware November, the clocks go back everything gets dark and then…wham, the temperature drops and you’d better have bought the logs for your wood burner.