Tour de France 2009

(Photo of leaders of 2006 Tour de France taken near Beziers)

Loads to watch in summer 2009
There’s plenty of excitement in this area now that all the details of the 2009 Tour de France have been finalised, and once again, the Languedoc area sees plenty of the action.

Running from Saturday July 4 to Sunday July 26 2009, the 96th Tour de France will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,500 kilometres. This year the tour even crosses the border into Spain, going to Barcelona

For us, the important stages are obviously those here in Languedoc. Probably the best two will be the sprint that will take place in Montpellier on Tuesday July 7. In 2009 the racers will enjoy the privilege of exploring the capital of Hérault in detail. The starting line will be in the magnificent Place de la Comédie.

Then it’s Stage 5, Cap d’Agde to Perpignan (197 km) on Wednesday July 8. The start from Cap d’Agde, one of France’s most popular seaside resorts’ will be thrilling for the thousands of holidaymakers who will be in the resort to cheer on the cyclists. Then, 137 kilometres along the coastal roads to reach Perpignan, the capital of French Catalonia. The following day, the tour enters Spain, going through Girona towards Barcelona, before turning to come back over the Pyrenees via Andorra. A gruelling stretch through the mountains.

Any cycling fan, or any holidaymaker who wants to witness one of the world’s greatest sporting events, should be thinking of booking their holiday accommodation now. All the properties on http://www.frenchcountry.co.uk/ usually have room for fans of the race. But you do need to book now!

Easier to get here...

New roads and air routes make it easy to get to Languedoc
It is certainly getting easier and quicker reach your holiday destination in Languedoc, south of France. The new A75 autoroute has made such a difference for people arriving by car, bypassing the town of Millau and the horrendous summer traffic jams (4 hour jam was the summer norm). Now the journey takes in the Millau Viaduct, the highest bridge in the world, designed by Lord Norman Foster.

The autoroute currently ends at Pézenas, but work continues to make the final destination a join-up with the A9 at Béziers (completion date given as Spring 2010). This makes it easy for people travelling to any of the coastal towns such as Vias, Valras Plage or Cap d’Agde, even those travelling further to Argeles-sur-mer and resorts near the Spanish border.

In addition, the number of flights into the area continues to grow, bringing holiday makers to the south of France sunshine. Last year Ryanair added Béziers to the number of destinations from the UK, and this year will start flights from Edinburgh to Carcassonne. More and more passengers arrive at Carcassonne with nearly 500,000 passengers in 2008. Current Airlines and flights include:

British Airways
Toulouse: London

BMI
Perpignan: Manchester

Easyjet
Montpellier: Gatwick

Ryanair
Carcassonne: Cork, Shannon, Dublin, Liverpool, Bournemouth, East Midlands, Stansted, Edinburgh, Brussels
Perpignan: Bristol, Birmingham, Stansted, Brussels
Nimes, Liverpool, Luton, Brussels
Montpellier: Bristol, Stansted, Brussels
Beziers: Bristol, Luton

All this makes it so easy to pack and get to you south of France holiday destination.

Get away from the cold weather

Long Winter Lets

More and more people are now taking advantage of the very low prices available for Long Winter Lets. Holiday property owners on www.frenchcountry.co.uk/ offer special deals for people wishing to escape the worst of the weather in the UK and other northern European countries.

Check out the properties on the website and send them an e-mail and ask about the special deals and low prices available.

Okay, the weather is not going to be lounging around the pool in bikini weather, but here in Herault in the south of France it is certainly kinder than the snow and blizzards currently hitting the UK. And, why pay for heating your home in the UK, or spending time shovelling snow from the drive, when you could be here in the south of France

And there is plenty to do. A quick look around the Pézenas area for example shows events taking place each week in Pézenas itself (Cinema week), Montpellier (always loads to see and do), a special event at Lac de Salagou to mark the 40th anniversary of the creation of the dam that created the lakes, and a series of comedy shows and degustation at a host of local villages, including Roujan, Saint Nazaire de Ladarez, Faugeres and Gabian. Phew!

More news to come later...

France is world's number one destination

82 million foreign tourists
France continues to be the world's number one tourist destination, with 82 million foreign tourists in 2007, keeping ahead of Spain which had 60 million. An increasing number of foreign tourists have been coming to France since 2000 and the latest available figure is up nearly 3% of that of 2006. However, revenue from tourism has fallen, from 7.3% to 6.3% in GDP in the last ten years. The United States and Spain both receive more revenue from tourism.

Three quarters of tourists coming to France are European. The British come top, ahead of the Germans. There have also been significantly more visitors from Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Eastern Europe. The number of Chinese tourists rose sharply to nearly 600,000 during that year. However there has been a sharp fall during 2008 due to the political fallout over the Olympic Games, with demonstrations when the Olympic torch was carried through Paris, and the recent meeting between the French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the Dali Lama.

To help boost tourism the French tourist industry are starting a campaign, enticing people to come to France for their holidays. The publicity campaign includes a 2 million euro makeover for the tourist industry, including a new logo. Initially targeting Russia, Brazil and China, the aims are to both increase the number of visits, plus the amount spent by each visitor.

A new initiative for Holidays 2009

News from Languedoc, south of France
This is our new French Country newsletter. Our aim is to publish regularly news and views of what's happening in the area, together with useful facts and information to get the most out of a holiday in Languedoc region of the south of France. Keep tuning in to get the latest...