Creme de Languedoc

This is Part III of our guide to the varying terrain of Languedoc. Hopefully, our guide should ensure you don't end up wasting time searching for property in an area that doesn't suit your needs by helping you to appreciate the marked variations between the four areas.



There are 4 main terrain types in the Languedoc region:

1: Mountains
2: Foothills
3: Coastal Plain
4: Farmland



3: Coastal Plain

The coastline of Languedoc is a little disappointing. The Gulf of Lion is fairly straight with few in-lets and hence lacks the coves and islands that make Provence's coastline so much more interesting. However this stretch of coast has another advantage over it's eastern neighbour - the beaches are almost all sandy. Lovely fine sand often stretching as far as the eye can see. In fact Espiguette is France's longest sand beach. However this area is flat and stretches inland for about 20minutes by car, before it starts to turn into the foothills described in our previous post.

The coastal plain offers fewer beautiful views and less interesting walks, and the predominance of vines can make the terrain seem a little monotonous. These areas are also more built-up - they're home to Montpellier, Perpignan, Narbonne and Beziers and their suburbs of industrial and retail developments. The up-side of course is that you'll be closer to shops and the region's main roads. It has to be said though that these road can become very crowded in the peak summer months.

Again, vines mean that properties with large gardens can be scarce. If you're thinking of buying a property on the coast itself - read our guide to Languedoc's beaches to find out which parts of the coast are nicest.

Tune in tomorrow for the final part in our Terrain Type series.