Surviving the South of France on a budget.

Everyone loves a good holiday, but not at the cost of your life savings. So here's a guide for low budget holiday ideas in the Languedoc region.

First of all, choose the right property for you. On our website we have properties that suit every possible need, so you're guaranteed to find something suitable for yourself. Even our budget friendly properties are absolutely gorgeous, beautifully decorated and wonderfully located.

Once you've found the right property, there are tons of things that you can do in the Languedoc area that are either free or cost very little!

1. Spend the day at the river, Roquebrun is the perfect place for this, there is a beautiful river open to the public where you can lounge around, swim in the water, or just gaze at the beautiful hilly surroundings and waterfalls. There is also a Mediterranean Garden in Roquebrun which is gorgeous to wander around. You can finish off the evening by eating at one of the cheap local restaurants overlooking the river, our personal favourite one is Le Petit Nice.

2. The beach! Of course, the beach! Free for all and the best day out you could ever wish for. There are so many beaches all around the Languedoc, the best ones are Cap d'Agde, Grau d'Agde, Portiragnes and Valras (my personal favourites). Money-wise, if you're thinking of grabbing some drinks or some food after your day of sunbathing, I would choose either Portiragnes or Valras, as they have a lot of affordable places to eat.

3. Walk along the Canal du Midi. I think that every local in the Languedoc has done this at some point as it is such a nice day out, surrounded by beautiful views and fresh air. While walking along the dirt road, you'll come across some picnic tables. Make a day of it and pack a picnic to enjoy while gazing over the river,

4. Visit marinas. There are a lot of marinas in the South of France and for some reason it's always been one of my favourite things to do. You can wander along the Valras-Plage port, admiring all of the beautiful boats, If you're lucky and there at the right time, you can watch the fishermen come back with the fish they've caught, and if you're extra lucky they might have caught something big like a tuna fish which they will then display on a hook before taking photos.

5. Visit a wine cellar. I don't need to tell you that wine cellars are pretty common in the Languedoc, you'll find one in pretty much every village and city that you visit. You can just walk in and ask for a free degustation. They will let you taste the wine, take you on a tour of the cellar and you might even get a bottle of wine to take home! It's a really interesting day out, and you can learn all about how wine is made. I enjoyed this so much as a little girl so be sure to bring the kids along, it's a great experience.

6. Go to a waterpark! Now this is a bit more expensive but definitely worth it if you've got little children with you. Aqualand in Cap d'Agde is probably the most popular waterpark in the region, it has so many slides for young and old, and the atmosphere there is incredible. Everyone is in good spirits riding down the slides! It costs 30euros per adult to get in, but if you bring your boarding passes with you they should allow you a discount. Bring a picnic though, the food is very overpriced and not very nice. There are lockers where you can store your things, so you can bundle everything inside of them and race each other down the slides.

7. Watch the sunset on a deserted beach. There are countless beaches in the Languedoc, it's only fitting that some of them are rather 'undiscovered'.Often, if you go to a popular beach but drive right down to the end of it, there will be next to no one there. It'll be lovely watching the sunset on a golden sanded beach.

8. Go on a day trip to a big city, Montpellier has always been my favourite city in Languedoc, thanks to its beautiful buildings, students roaming around and incredible shops and architecture. It might cost you a little bit to get there depending on where you're staying, but once there you can spend the day exploring the beautiful city. Stear away from the tourist spots and just allow yourself to get utterly lost in the hundreds of little side streets; you'll discover absolute gems. The tram isn't very expensive at all, so you can just buy a ticket and zoom around the different parts of Montpellier. I don't think I've ever come across an ugly part of this city.

9. Go to a Festipal! During the summer there are so many festivals it's become too hard to count. One of the most popular ones is the Pezenas Festipal. The city centre gets completely transformed with decorations and tables, food stalls show up, live music comes at you from every direction and couples dance with their families. It's an utterly amazing experience and the food on offer is delicous!

10. Spent the morning roaming around a market. There are so many markets in the Languedoc it's hard to choose. I definitely have 3 favouites which are St Pierre sur Mer, Pezenas and St Chinian. Get there early to insure a parking space and just lose yourself in the midst of all of the different stalls. Try some olive tapenade, juicy strawberries and delicious seafood, pick from the cheese and meat platters and to finish off, buy a delicious roast chicken and ratatouille for lunch.

So there you have it, just 10 cheap or free things to do in the South of France during the summertime. My family and I do every single one of these every year, as they are so much fun and really make a great day out!

The best places to go Christmas shopping.

Having lived in France for quite a few years, I've had many Christmasses there, and thus have done a lot of Christmas shopping. About a year or two ago I discovered that you could actually purchase presents on amazon and therefore I did all of my shopping in one afternoon, which is great but not exactly festive. But before I knew amazon even existed, I had to venture outside of the comfort of my own house to find some gems.

Languedoc events during November.

Contrary to popular belief, the festivities don't abruptly end the second that the sun disappears. Sure, lots of restaurants and businesses close and beaches resemble ghost-towns, but the events don't stop! There is so much to do during the colder months, you just have to know where to look!

Here is a list of events going on in the Languedoc region this November:

1. HAUT LANGUEDOC CHESTNUT FESTIVAL

Autumn is here!

For me, Autumn is one of the best seasons to spend in the South of France. Don't get me wrong, the summer is by far the best, but Autumn is a close second.

Esprit Plage - Vendres-Plage.

Hiya!

So in the last blog post I spoke about Sanders dad coming to stay for a week, one of the many things that we did with him was go to the beach. I've been to a lot of beaches in the South of France, most likely every single one; so when everyone asked me which one we should go to, I was kind of speechless because that really depends on what you're looking for. They just wanted to relax on the sand and splash about in the sea, so we went to Vendres-Plage.

We parked the car and had to walk along a boardwalk path, through loads of vegetation to even get close to the beach. The walk there is stunning though, the bushes are so thick you feel like you're walking through the prettiest swamp you've ever seen in your life, it feels really magical. 

Once you arrive at the beach, there's a massive sign advertising the beach bar on this part - Esprit Plage. The bar is great, one of the better ones I've seen in this region. A lot of places feel a bit too beachy for my liking, it feels like you're not really "off" the beach when you set foot in it, but Esprit Plage is completely different.

The Béziers bikers.

Béziers has always been really historical and such an interesting place to visit, minus the hundreds of noisy students that there are there, but every year without fail the place is packed with tourists from all around the world, taking photos of the Theatre and the churches.

During the summer the main centre is full to the brim with different kinds of markets, from food and drink to a beautiful flower market, you'll always see happy tourists wandering around.

Then you hear a bit of noise, a little bit of laughter and maybe an engine being revved; this means one thing and one thing only, the bikers have arrived.

Falling and falling again; my skiing experience.

Me coming down the slopes.

I remember the first time I ever went skiing, I was only 8 years old and I went with my mum and brother. One of our friends had an apartment up in Les Angles, so we were lucky enough to be able to use it. We were all so excited we went straight to the ski rental place and fitted into our skis, and off we went.

A trip to the Côte d'Azur.

Earlier this year, my mum and her friend and colleague Jill, decided to go on a business trip to the Côte d'Azur.

They started their trip by visiting a fabulous property in Grasse, the owner of the property was then kind enough to direct them to the Perfume Factory. They had a good look around the shop and then spent quite a while talking to one of the sales ladies about Argan oil. They sampled so many different perfumes and products that they even ended up buying some for themselves. (I've pinched some of these products and let me tell you first hand how amazing they are).

Le Pont du Gard

I'm sure you've heard of the Pont du Gard and how amazing it is, but you have to be there and see it for yourself first hand in order to understand what everyone is talking about.

Storms? In the South of France?

As everyone knows, one of the best things about France is the sunny weather. Having said that, when a storm comes along, it hits you with everything its got, and is the most amazing thing to witness.

A review of Andorra

There are few places, in my opinion, more spectacular than the Pyrenees mountain range. Since living in Herault, I am fortunate enough to be able to view the Pyrenees from the French side, the Spanish side, and in Andorra - one of the world's smallest countries. And boy, what a view!

Holidaying in Nissan.

The village of Nissan Lez Enserune is a small, mediaeval wine-producing village. In the village centre you will find bars, several restaurants, banks, ATM. grocery store, salon, local wine outlet, bakery, post-office and chemist. Nissan has a traditional street market every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning.

Weirdest requests from 2011.

Working in the holiday rental business, you're constantly in contact with people from all over the world, with different life stories and quite frankly, different ways of life; so you're bound to have a few... let's say... different types of people. One of our qualities that we pride ourselves on here at South France Holiday Villas, is that we try our very best to fulfill any and all requests from our renters, and it's safe to say we've had a few strange ones over the years. Here are the funniest and strangest ones from 2011. Be prepared for a chuckle!

A review of Capestang.

There are so many different villages and towns in the South of France, and every single one of them has something different to offer! We asked one of our property owners to describe life in Capestang for you, so you can get a really solid idea of the wonderful town itself. If you would like to see his property, click HERE!

"The village of Capestang is situated in the beautiful wine growing region of Languedoc, 25 minutes by car to the nearest Mediterranean beaches.
A typically Frencg working village quite unspoilt by tourism, which has a selection of bar sand restaurants, all within walking distance of the house.

7 Things to know before you book your holiday.

Holidaying in the South of France is just as amazing as it sounds. The sunny days, sandy beaches and crystal clear swimming pools aren't all myths, but there are some things that you need to be aware of before booking your holiday; just small things that you wouldn't usually think of, so I'm here to help!