Travel in the south of France (Toulouse, Cahors)

hello !
(i just stumbled upon TT after using Google to find bits of info on southern France.)

my wife and i are leaving March 7th on a postponed honeymoon
and we are staying for 10 days near Cahors in a tiny village called Ensalets (near Lherm).
Though I cannot find much information on Lherm, there is a wealth of information on
Toulouse which has prompted me to ask other travelers about any outstanding information
i should be aware of when traveling anywhere in France.
we are spending the night of our arrival in Toulouse, and one more night there before
we catch our plane the next morning.

we have our plane tickets, auto rental, and place of stay already coordinated.

what must we see ?? we want to experience France as closely as the French do !

P.S.
this is the first time i'll be traveling to Europe, but my wife spent 17 days in Italy last
Sept/Oct. she speaks a tiny bit of German, i am working on becoming fluent in French.
thank you for your time !

andrew

I heard that people dont speak any English in France (Havent been there yet, but I can atleast say that its much less when compared to Germany). So, be prepared for that. Also, I can suggest some other places like Barcelona, The French Riviera part (Cannes, etc), Monte Carlo, etc. It all depends on how much time you have and what all you can afford.

Don't leave anything visible in the interior of your car - even if you know it to be worthless - the young arab on the scooter doesn't he will smash your car window or do your lock to break in and you may have to pay some excess on the insurance.
You might want to check out the Bordeaux wine region. Also maybe stay at some chateaux hotels - I think they have a web site you can google for this.
When driving always look out for give way on the right - not all intersections are clear and that what you may think is a joining side road actually has the right of way.
Roundabouts are confusing as some old ones one must give way on the right (traffic joining the roundabout) whereas the newer ones the drivers actually on the roundabout have the right of way like normal.

If you have time go to the Riviera! Cannes, Menton, St. Tropez, Monaco...it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been! (And the only one where I cried when I had to leave!)

Go to the parfumeries in Grasse! Stock up on the fabulous soaps!

If you speak a bit of French you will be fine, most people in the touristy areas do know a bit of english. Good luck!

its a bit hard for me to believe that few people speak English in France, but if you mean
there are less English speakers in that specific region i understand. my French shouldn't
be a problem as far as getting us what we need & following directions, etc.

in addition i think the arab-on-a-scooter comment was completely unwarranted, but we
do have every intention of keeping our stuff with us and traveling lightly.
(we are definitely thinking about a visit to Bordeaux)

has anyone stayed overnight in Toulouse before?

andrew

The town of Carcassonne is well worth a visit. One of the most preserved medieval places in Europe.

there is a thread on this somewhere..try doing a search. I know this, because I went there last year (yes, I stayed in Toulouse but I wouldn't recommend my hotel) and got several helpful tips through this site then.

There are loadsof things to do in Toulouse and I think they are mentioned on the thread), like for example a river boat trip, biking on the Canal du Midi, wandering around the old town, a couple of good art galleries, day-trips to Carcassonne and Albi... Toulouse doesn't have as much stunningly interesting stuff as some other French cities though. And yes, you will strike many people throughout France who either can't or won't speak much English. However, if you are working on fluent French, that shouldn't be a problem.

If you want to see it the way the French do, and you only have a day, you will have to concentrate on going to a good restaurant.

Voilà: South of France - tips on where to visit, what to see and do.

ah, thank you so much everyone !

actually, no, this is the one which was specificlly about Toulouse:

Travel tips for Toulouse and surrounding area

I'll have to complain to EB then, for some reason I got no direct results for "Toulouse". Zut alors!

Too bad you won't be there earlier. The Fete du Citron (Lemon Festival) in Menton is wonderful!
See: http://www.menton.com/uk/lemons/index.html

My daughter (age 12) & I were there last year & loved it! Huge (2-3 stories tall) sculptures made of lemons & oranges, plus a great Mardi-Gras-like parade. We stayed in Menton at the youth hostel on the hill with a great view of the town & harbor. From downtown, we took a city bus (EUR 2.20 / 20 mins) to Monte Carlo, Monaco. There, we walked around the old town, enjoying the gardens & being amazed by the huge yachts in the harbor.

We are going again in two weeks. This time we'll also go to St. Paul des Vences (sp?), which is an artists colony.

The people there were very friendly & their French was easy to understand (even though it's been many years since I had French in school).

As far as crime, Menton was very safe, but I was told that Nice was a different story.

Have fun!

Here is another website for the Fete du Citron with pictures:

http://www.feteducitron.com/menton-french-...tival-uk.html#3

It runs from Feb 17 to March 5 this year.