L’Occitanie en Camping-Car : location, advice, areas, routes

Are you going to visit the south of France? Here’s our mini-guide advice to visit Occitanie on a camping-car!

Second largest metropolitan France region after the merger of the former Languedoc-Roussillon with Midi-Pyrénées , Occitania is one of the most visited destinations in France. From the Aquitain basin to the Pyrenees chain, to the Cévennes and the Mediterranean coast, you will not miss the most important things to see and do.

Visiting Occitania on a motorhome offers an extensive route area, through many departments. Moreover, the region does not lack assets. Very sunny all year round, it houses many historical provinces that are no longer present: the Catalan country, the Languedoc, the Roussillon or the Gascony.

Are you planning to rent a motorhome or a van to barouder in the south of France? Here’s the essentials to visit the Occitanie on a camping-car!

Ideas of itineraries in Occitanie by motorhome

Here are some ideas of possible routes with must-see sites, depending on the duration of your trip. From Nîmes to Lourdes to Cahors, Toulouse, Montpellier, the coast of Vermeille or the Cevennes, the list of things to see and do is long in Occitania.

Visit Occitanie on a weekend’s camper

• 1st day: Nimes (Arenas, Temple of Diane, Jardins de la Fontaine, Tour Magne, Maison Carrée, le Castellum), Pont du Gard (25 km, 30 minutes);
• 2nd day: Montpellier (Parc du Peyrou, monuments of the historic centre), The Grau-du-Roi (village, Port-Camargue and the beach of Espiguette), Palavas-les-Flots (or Carnon or Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone) (35 minutes, 35 km) ;
• 3rd day: Sète, Beziers (the 9 locks of Fonseranes, the historic centre) (55 km, 50 minutes) or Clermont-l’Hérault and the Lake Salagou, Pézenas, Cap d’Agde(50 minutes, 50 km).

L’Occitanie en camping-car sur une semaine

• 1st day: Toulouse, Castres and Mazamet (90 km, 1h30);
• 2nd day: classified villages Haut-Languedoc park (Olargues, Minerve, Roquebrun, etc.), the gorges of Héric (55 minutes, 45 km);
• 3rd day: the mountains of Lacaune, Albi, Cordes-sur-Ciel, Montauban, Gorges de l’Aveyron (from Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val to Najac), (2h, 115 km) ;
• 4th day: Out, Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, Rocamadour, Padirac blow, Figeac (1h, 70 km) ;
• 5th day: Rodez, Gorges du Tarn, Corniche des Cevennes (Florac à Saint-Jean-du-Gard), Alès (3h, 190 km) ;
• 6th day: the cascades of the Sautadet (in summer), Uzès, the Pont du Gard, Nîmes, Aigues-Mortes, The Grau-du-Roi (1h30, 115 km) ;
• 7th day: the massif of the Gardiole, the cities of the pond of Thau (Sète, Bouzigues, Mèze, Marseillan), Narbonne, Gruissan, Port-Leucate (1h30, 130 km).

Occitania in two weeks

• 1st day: Toulouse (Capitole, Saint-Sernin Basilica, Raymond VI Park, the Filters meadow, the Jacobins convent, the Canal du Midi, the Daurade docks, the Carmes district, the Cité de l’Espace), Carcassonne and the Cité de Carcassonne (1h10, 90 km) ;
• 2nd day: ♪ Castles Cathares (Lastours, Quéribus, Peyrepertuse, Termes, Puilaurens, Montségur, Aguilar), Foix (1h30, 100 km) ;
• 3rd day: Lourdes, the Cirque de Gavarnie, Pic du Midi de BigorreTarbes (1h30, 75 km);
• 4th day: Auch, Montauban (1h25, 85 km), Albi (1h, 80 km) ;
• 5th day: Castres, Narbonne (2h, 100 km) ;
• 6th day: Béziers, Cap d’Agde (20 minutes, 25 km), Thau Basin (Mèze, Sète, Marseillan – 30 minutes, 25 km);
• 7th day: La Grande-Motte, Palavas-les-Flots, Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone, Grau-du-Roi (25 minutes, 25 km);
• 8th day: Uzès, Alès, Lac de Villefort (1h40, 85 km) ;
• 9th day: Florac, La Malène and Tarn Gorges (45 minutes, 33 km);
• 10th day: Millau, Pont-de-Salars (1h30, 140 km) ;
• 11th day: Rodez, Laguiole, Graissac (1h15, 70 km);
• Day 12: Figeac, Cahors, Rocamadour (45 minutes, 45 km) ;
• 13th day: Montauban, Toulouse, Castelnaudary (1h20, 115 km);
• 14th day: Perpignan, Collioure and Côte Vermeille (the beach of Paulilles), Port-Vendres, Banyuls-sur-Mer, Cerbère (50 minutes, 50 km).

What budget to travel by motorhome in Occitanie?

Here is an estimate of the budget of your trip:

Average budget for 1 weekend:

• Rental + motorhome insurance : 110€ per day on average;
• Essence + toll : 28€ (fuel) and 16,70€ (peages on the A9);
• Parking : until 20€ per day;
• Total: 305€ about.

Average budget for 1 week:

• Rental + motorhome insurance : 110€ per day on average;
• Essence + toll : 50€ (fuel) and 35€ about (peages on A20 and A9);
• Parking : until 20€ per day;
• Total: around 1 000 €.

Average budget for 2 weeks:

• Rental + motorhome insurance : 110€ per day on average;
• Essence + toll : 70€ (peages on A64, A20 and A9), 80€ (fuel)
• Parking : until 20€ per day;
• Total: approximately 2 000€.

Areas and driving in Occitania

Although driving in Occitania is subject to the same legal provisions as elsewhere in France, a number of elements are to be known to anticipate the preparation of your trip.

What documents do you have on board?

Always be in possession of:

• Your (B) ;
• map of camping-car ;
• And of certificate of insurance camping-car.

Motorway to Occitanie: what price for your camper category?

Occitania is crossed by the paid highways A9 , A61 , A62 , A64 , A20 and A68 . These are paid highways, except for the highway A75 . It remains free to date because it has not been granted by charter contract.

On the A75, the only paid section is the crossing of Millau’s viaduct. The cost of toll in motorhome (class 2) is 13,30€ 16 September to 14 June and 16,50€ from 15 June to 15 September.

To borrow the paid highways of the Occitanie region by motorhome, you will have to pay the tolls in class 2 (often, equivalent to 1 € every 7 or 8 kilometers on average).

Other information on driving in Occitania

The road network Eastern region good quality , with an expanded mesh of 141 543 kilometers of roads, of which only 1% of highways.

traffic on small roads in Occitania with a motorhome sometimes complicated .

This, especially on the communal or departmental tracks. Prudence in the Mediterranean departments, on the small axes of garrigue and paved with poplars: slow down for sometimes difficult crosses due to sometimes narrow pavements. In the mountains, repeat caution : Crossings, given the large gauge of your vehicle, can be difficult.

If you travel in winter camping-car in Occitanie, think to bring you snow chains and tires : the snow can be abundant, especially on the Pyrenean and Cevenol massifs. During the summer period or during periods school holidays , highway and road axes are very often loaded . These are the periods where tourist attendance is the highest, especially on the Mediterranean coast (Aude, Hérault and Gard). We advise you to arrive in the morning at your destinations (plages, tourist sites, cities, etc.).

Campsites in Occitanie: where to park?

Are you looking for a safe sleeping area during your stages to travel by camping-car in Occitanie? You can easily find service areas for motorhome in Occitanie region. From Lot to Gard to the Pyrenees-Orientales, the region has over 500.

The supply of spaces where parking is predominantly abundant along the Mediterranean coastline and near the towns. But it is scarce as one goes back to the interior of the land, especially on the heights (Great Causses, Cevennes or Pyrenean massifs).

On the service areas for motorhomes, a number of environmental and social rules are required for all. These, tacts or regulations concern both other travellers, residents and the environment (fauna and flora). Stay discreet and limit the shades sound and night taping (laughs, music, engine noise, etc.) after 22 hours. It is also fundamental, for the respect of all, clean the occupied space when you leave. Never throw detritus on the ground or in the water.

You will find quite easily service areas and parking facilities near the must-see tourist sites. For example, the area of Carcassonne, close to the Cité de Carcassonne, or that of Bruniquel, ideally located to visit this village ranked among the most beautiful French villages.

Or, 3 parking areas in Gruissan to visit the city centre and enjoy the most beautiful kitesurf spots in the Mediterranean. This is only a mere example. You come to visit the Hérault Gorges and the Pont du Diable For example? Throw away your devotee on Aniane’s service area, to park directly near the site. Depending on your destination, Caramaps and Park4night sites can help you find your next stop!

What is the best time to travel by motorhome in Occitanie?

Although the Occitania region is geographically located in the south of France, its area is so vast that it houses several climate influences. The climate of Occitania meets three climate influences. The Languedoc coastline is characterized by Mediterranean climate . The aquitain basin to the west, benefits from Ocean climate and the central massif and the Pyrenees have climate of mountain influence .

As a result, summers are hot and dry and mild winters, especially on the coast. In the north (Cévennes and Grand Causses) and in the Pyrenees, the temperature drops with altitude and nights can be fresh even during the summer period. In the mountains, winter is accompanied by snow and heavy frosts between November and March. On the plains and by the sea, the temperatures are more mild in winter. The spring in the Midi, is often wet until the end of April, while May already shows the strong heats announcing the summer.

The temperatures are mild in spring and autumn, then warm and sometimes suffocating in summer. The Languedocian hinterland (Gard, Hérault, Aude) and Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) are actually experiencing periods of severe heat exceeding 35°C or 40°C each year.

Moreover, the end of summer marks a pleasant back-season to travel, with between 25 °C and 30 °C. Then comes the sometimes violent storm season (the cevenol and Mediterranean episodes), with heavy rainfalls between mid-September and November.

We can visit the south of France all year . The best time to travel by camping-car in Occitania is nevertheless on the May to October .