Languedoc Roussillon by Rail

What's Included

INCLUDED

• Return Eurostar/TGV from St Pancras/Ebbsfleet to Montpellier via Paris/Lille
• Six nights' accommodation in standard room on bed and buffet breakfast basis at the four-star Oceania Montpellier Hotel based on shared occupancy of twin room
• Full coach touring as detailed in the itinerary conducted by tour manager
• Tour manager throughout 

NOT INCLUDED

• Single room supplement
• Holiday insurance 
• Standard Premier/1st Class upgrade on Eurostar/TGV. On the Eurostar this constitutes upgraded seating and light meal with complimentary drink with upgraded seating only on the French railway leg
• Meals other than those stated
• Items of a personal nature such as drinks, laundry, telephone calls etc
• Porterage and gratuities.

PLEASE NOTE: As with most trains, passengers are responsible for carrying baggage onto and off the train. Baggage can be stored on overhead shelves or at the entrance to the carriages.Trollies are available at St Pancras and Lille, but bags do need to be carried on to the platform.

Travel Editions recommends a luggage delivery service called thebaggageman, where your suitcase can be picked up from your home before departure and delivered straight to your hotel; therefore removing the worry about carrying your cases onto and off the trains. Please click here for more information and we have arranged a 10% discount exclusive to Travel Editions clients off the thebaggageman service. Tel: 01844 264890

Travel Info

Accommodation

Oceania Montpellier Hotel
The recently renovated traditional four-star Oceania Hotel is located in the centre of Montpellier, dating from 1898, is just a five minutes’ walk from the main square. Hotel facilities include a bar, restaurant, garden and swimming pool. Rooms all have private bathroom facilities, air-conditioning, hairdryer, telephone, TV, free wi-fi and safe.

Oceania Montpellier Hotel Website

Pre-tour accommodation is available at the Premier Travel Inn, London Kings Cross St Pancras, about a 5 minutes walk from St Pancras International, at an approximate rate of £120 per room. Bookings can be made direct with the hotel on 0871 527 8672 or visit their website.

Places of Interest

Montpellier
The capital of the Languedoc-Roussillon region, Montpellier is an attractive and lively southern city, and the perfect base for touring this area. The main sights here include the Promenade de Peyrou, a grand 18th century square dominated by the Chateau d’Eau; old town lined with 17th century mansions including the Hotel des Trésoriers de la Bourse; 12th century Towers de la Babote and Des Pins, and Musée Fabre that houses an excellent collection of French paintings. Eating out here is an affordable delight with plenty of restaurants catering to most tastes and budgets.

Millau Viaduct & St-Guilhem-le-Desert
The 1.5 mile Millau Viaduct has been hailed as one of the engineering wonders of the 21st century and it is certainly a spectacular sight. Standing 1,125 feet tall it is the highest bridge in the world, taller than the Eiffel Tower and more than 100 metres taller than Canary Wharf. The huge bulk of the 242,000 tonne structure, designed by British architect Lord Foster, is belied by its elegant lines, described by its creator as a “sculpture in the landscape.” Remotely situated in the Hérault Valley, the stunningly picturesque 9th century village of St- Guilhem-le-Désert grew up around the abbey founded by William of Aquitaine. It is dominated by the strikingly simple Romanesque Abbey church, famed for its possession of a fragment of the True Cross.

Pézenas and Sète
The charming and compact town of Pézenas is easily appreciated in a gentle stroll that takes in most of its (well-indicated) sights, such as the Hotel des Barons de Lacoste, Maison des Pauvres and Porte Faugères. The fishing port of Sète is very much a working town as well as a tourist destination, and its quayside restaurants selling fish straight off the boat are as likely to be frequented by sailors as visitors. Sights here include the Grand Canal lined with Italianate houses decorated in pastel colours and seafood restaurants and the Marin Cemetery above the town, where poet Paul Valéry is buried.

Carcassonne and Narbonne
The citadel of Carcassonne is a perfectly restored medieval town. Crowning a steep bank overlooking the River Aude, it offers a fairytale skyline of turrets and ramparts. Dating back in parts to the 5th century, highlights of the fortified old town include the Chateau Comtal and the Basilica of St-Nazaire which houses the famous Siege Stone, Musée Lapidaire and Porte Narbonnaise, the gateway to the old city, which is almost like stepping back in time. The charming town of Narbonne is bisected by the 17th century Canal du Midi, with the restored medieval quarter to the north, where most of the sights are to be found. These include the 13th century Cathédrale St-Just et St-Pasteur, Archbishops’ Palace and “horreum,” an intriguing underground warren of granaries and grain chutes dating from the 1st century BC when Narbonne was the capital of the largest Roman province in Gaul.

Aigues-Mortes & the Camargue
The perfectly preserved walled town of Aigues- Mortes (“Place of Dead Waters”) is approached across the salt marshes of the Petit Camargue just to the east of Montpellier. Now marooned 3 miles from the sea the fortified town was established by Louis XI in the 13th century to consolidate his power on the Mediterranean and was built to a strict grid pattern. The Camargue region is a protected area of outstanding natural beauty and numbers wild horses and migrant flamingoes amongst the wildlife it accommodates.

More Info

PASSPORTS
Valid passport required by all, except:

(a) EU nationals holding valid national identification cards;

(b) Holders of national identification cards issued to nationals of Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino and Switzerland.

VISAS
Are not required by EU citizens. All other nationalities should enquire at the French consulate (PO Box 57, 6A Cromwell Place, London SW7 2EW

Tel: (020) 7838 2000/1. Information Service: Tel: (0891) 887 733. Fax: (020) 7838 2046. Opening hours: 0900-1130 (and 1600-1630 for visa collection only) Monday to Friday (except French and British national holidays).

TRAIN
As with most trains, passengers are responsible for carrying baggage onto and off the train. Baggage can be stored on overhead shelves or at the entrance to the carriages. Trollies are available at St Pancras and Lille, but bags do need to be carried on to the platform.  Porters are sometimes but not always available at St Pancras. The Eurostar and French trains are very long (18 carriages in the case of Eurostar and nearly 400 metres long) so there can be quite lengthy walks from the station entrance to your seat. On all legs of the journey you have reserved seat and carriage numbers which are shown clearly on your ticket. 

LUGGAGE TO YOUR HOTEL
Travel Editions recommends a luggage delivery service called thebaggageman, where your suitcase can be picked up from your home before departure and delivered straight to your hotel; therefore removing the worry about carrying your cases onto and off the trains. Please click here for more information and we have arranged a 10% discount exclusive to Travel Editions clients off the thebaggageman service. Tel: 01844 264890

HEALTH & INSURANCE – EHIC CARD
Please note that EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) only allows access to the same state-provided healthcare as a resident of the EU country they are temporarily visiting. It is NOT an alternative to travel insurance and will not provide the same level of cover as a travel insurance policy..
The EHIC will not cover any private medical healthcare or the cost of things such as repatriation to the UK or lost or stolen property. It is also important to note that each country’s healthcare system is slightly different, so the EHIC might not cover everything that would be generally free on the NHS. On the EHIC application website,  there is a section called Access to Healthcare Abroad which clarifies all the conditions and inclusions.  We strongly recommend that you take out an appropriate travel insurance policy when you travel abroad.

Book with Confidence

• Low Deposit

  Travel Editions requires a minimum deposit of 20% or the full booking value, whichever is less, with the final balance not due until 56 days before departure.

• Cancellation Policy

  We don't charge a cancellation fee, here is a summary of travel editions charges.

  Up to 56 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of deposit.

  At 55 days before tour starts: Forfeit 45% of booking price.

  At 28 days before tour starts: Forfeit 60% of booking price.

  At 14 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of booking price.