PEZENAS, LANGUEDOC, CANAL DU MIDI, BURGUNDY TRAVEL INFORMATION

This is general travel advice - if you make a booking I will send you detailed directions to the villas or gites, hotels, chateaux), before your arrival. If you are hiring a boat then the operator will have sent you detailed instructions.

Below is a list of our nearest airports with cheap inter-European flights to Languedoc and the Canal du Midi area. I will soon be adding airports appropriate for canal boat rental in the Burgundy Region and for South-West France.

These links below go to the airports' websites. They show where you can fly from, and which airlines you can use.

Helpful Advice If Clicking on the French Airport Links Below:

Don't try to use the 'Search for flights' systems on French airport websites - most of them don't work! You should go to an airline's own website if you want to search for flights on a particular date.

• Beziers Cap d'Agde (20 mins)
• Montpellier (45 mins)
• Carcassonne (60 minutes)
• Perpignan (68 minutes)
• Nimes (72 minutes)
• Toulouse (2 hours)
• Girona-Barcelona (2 hours)
• Avignon (2 hours)

JANUARY 2016 UPDATE : I just looked at Ryanair's website. If you're flying to this area from the UK, the following might be useful :-

• London Stansted to Carcassonne : everyday
• London Luton to Beziers : Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun
• Bristol to Beziers : Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat
• Edinburgh to Beziers : Wed, Thur, Sun
• Manchester to Beziers : Tues, Fri, Sat
• Manchester to Carcassonne : Mon, Fri
• Leeds to Montpellier : Mon, Thur
• East Midlands to Carcassonne : Mon, Wed, Fri
• Glasgow to Carcassonne : Wed, Sat

I will look up Easyjet's website when I get time.

Coming by car to Pezenas:
The nearest motorways are A9 and A75 (5 mins away). Please see my Pezenas maps page for details.

Coming by train to Pezenas:
The nearest train station is at Beziers (25 mins away), served by the TGV fast trains from Paris which only take 4 hours, as well as trains from places along the coast like Monaco.
Here is the link to the French Train Service website.

Coming by car to the Canal du Midi:
The nearest motorways are the A9 and A61 which run broadly east-west, just south of the Canal du Midi. The north-south motorway is called the A75 and it joins the A9 at Beziers.

Coming by train to the Canal du Midi:
The nearest train station will depend on where you are starting/ending your cruise. Typically this might be Beziers, Carcassonne, Narbonne, or Montpellier. These stations are served by the TGV fast trains from Paris which only take 4 hours, as well as trains from places along the coast like Nice and Monaco.

Here is the link to the French Train Service website.

Please Note:

Please use the local travel information above, but the following will be useful to you if you're coming from another continent.

Most international travel agents are very good, however a few think that the South of France is a small place, and it doesn't matter which airport you end up at. This is not the case!

If you are coming a long distance, you will normally be flying into one of the French major international airports, such as:

From the main airports, you then have a choice of internal transfer flights to the nearest regional airport, or you could take advantage of France's excellent TGV high-speed train network to get closer to your destination.

An alternative is to fly to London Heathrow or Gatwick, and transfer to one of the London airports serving low-cost flights to French regional airports. The French regional airports are shown on the clickable map to the right.

You will probably be flying into Paris Charles de Gaulle airport (CDG). From there you have 2 main options :

1. Catch the connecting flight from CDG to Montpellier (1.5 hours) or
2. Take the TGV express train from CDG to Montpellier or Beziers (4 hours).

If you are taking one of my luxury options, you'll be picked up from the local train station or airport. If you're taking a standard option, then you can take a taxi from the local airport or train station to your eventual destination. I can organise that for you if you wish.

Most clients prefer the train option over the connecting flight option. These are very comfortable trains which race you down through lovely countryside, and of course there aren't the delays associated with changing flights, checking in, waiting for bags, etc.

DON'T FORGET: I can also help you with a choice of hotels in our local area, and/or a week at your own private rental villa in mediaeval Pezenas, if you want to extend your vacation.

If your needs are regarding travel within France, rather than being about the local area, and you want special help, then I have a 'Concierge' paid service just for you.