Traditional sports
The life of Languedoc is punctuated by the practice of several traditional games, visible during championships or big events. Among the most emblematic activities, there is the Languedoc jousting. For centuries, sailors and fishermen have had their rules of chivalry and their tournament, the jousts. All along the Gard and Hérault coastline, in Grau-du-Roi, Agde, Balaruc, Frontignan, Mèze, Marseillan, Palavas, Sète and even Béziers, on the Canal du Midi, two teams, the blue and the red, compete. The rules are simple: two boats and their strong rowers are used as steeds by the "lancers". Camped as solidly as possible on the "tintaine", a high platform at the front of the boat (8 m long, of the "mourre de porc" type, with 10 oarsmen), the players are armed with a wooden spear (2.70 m) and a shield on which the opponent's spear will strike. Regulated by oboes and drums, the joust begins, the spears are lowered and hit the opponent who, unbalanced, ends up in the water. The most famous tournament takes place every year in Sète, in August, for the Saint-Louis.
We can also mention the bouvine in the Hérault and the ferias. Probably because Spain is not far away, more surely because the Camargue is the land of the black bulls, the bouvine gathers these sports and traditions which inflame the "aficionados". First and foremost, the Camargue races: a local specificity that will be seen throughout the summer, in a vast area that stretches from the Rhone to the eastern suburbs of Montpellier, where the arenas of all the small villages resound with the cries of the fans. These races are the codified confrontation between man and bull, a contest of speed and agility. Organized by the manadiers (breeders of Camargue bulls), these races are often accompanied by "abrivados" (release of the animals in the streets), ferrades (marking of the young bulls), as well as games of guardians in summary arenas set up in the meadows. More tragic, the bullfights are extremely widespread in the region. They are part of the "ferias", popular festivals that last for several days with their colorful stalls, their music (flamenco is very present) and their "bodegas" where everyone comes to quench their thirsts by rehashing the world in general and the bullfighting show of the day in particular. One of the most famous is that of Pentecost in Nîmes (which organizes two others during the year), but that of Béziers is growing in power. In Languedoc, they also have their place in Céret, Alès, Carcassonne, Arles...
Third of the Languedoc sports, the tambourine is an ancestral ball game. Today codified, practiced at the international level and recognized, this discipline is spectacular and deserves a summer visit. It is enough to take place along the court where two teams of five players (two at the back, two at the rope and one in the center) confront each other, each one equipped with a tambourine, a circle of 28 cm in diameter covered with synthetic skin and equipped with a handle (like the musical instrument, but much more resistant); to engage, the drummer uses a beater, a smaller tambourine mounted on a long handle. The returns are made like in tennis (on the fly or after a rebound) and the points are counted in the same way. To be seen and tried in the villages, notably in Cournonterral, Saint-Martin-de-Londres, Saint-Georges d'Orques, Gignac and Castelnau-de-Guers which have good teams.
Hikes and discovery outings
For those who like quiet walks, many communes have organised discovery tours of the fauna and flora of the ponds, former saltworks or nature reserves, particularly in the areas acquired by the Conservatoire du littoral. Near 7 000 km marked trails, including 10 GR, are available to hikers. The most popular are of course the GR6 which crosses the Causses and Aubrac, the GR7 which, coming from the Massif Central, leads to the Pyrenees via Mount Aigoual, the Causse du Larzac and the Haut-Languedoc; and finally the famous GR10 which links the Atlantic to the Mediterranean through the Pyrenean massif...
Those who do not wish to use their feet can also enjoy horse or donkey trekking, a growing activity. In recent years, the departmental tourism managers, who have become aware of the extent of the phenomenon, have been helping to create equestrian relays or gîtes. This is the case, for example, in Lozère, which has well structured its offer, or in Hérault and Aude, which have set up itineraries and reception facilities.
In the Languedoc relief, climbing enthusiasts will also find their happiness, particularly in the Tarn gorges, the Pic Saint-Loup or the Héric gorges, in the Caroux massif.
The pleasures of water
Every year, hundreds of thousands of visitors come to the Languedoc to enjoy its blue sky, sunshine and naturally warm sea. If they practice contemplating the waves in all seasons, the summer months are the busiest. There is plenty to do with more than 200 km of beaches accessible in their almost totality. Sète, Agde and Leucate are the only rocky spurs that break this continuity in front of the Mediterranean, before a splendid finale where the Pyrenees rush into the waves by the glowing red cliffs of the Côte Vermeille .
Pushed by the winds or pulled by motorized vehicles, sliding sports flourish wonderfully on the Mediterranean Sea. Windsurfing, kitesurfing, wakeboard/wakesurfing, water skiing, stand-up paddle, towed buoys: they take on varied forms, sometimes sporting, always entertaining. Accessible from the seaside resorts, these activities allow to entertain all ages and levels.
Those who want to taste the exhilaration of the depths will be able to practice diving in many clubs. The area of predilection is naturally the Côte Vermeille, but of course outside the Cerbère-Banyuls Marine Nature Reserve. Note the existence at Cap d'Agde and Banyuls of underwater trails where tourists, even novices, can discover the depths.
But it would be wrong to limit aquatic activities to water sports! The Languedoc is also a good ground for river tourism. Moreover, the Canal du Midi, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996, is today one of the waterways most frequented by tourists. To discover, at the slow pace of navigation (6 km per hour), all these wonderful places, boat rentals are possible as well as cruises of more or less long duration.
For rafting, canoeing and white-water sports in general, the Languedoc-Roussillon offers sites of human proportions as a playground: gorges of the Aude, Orb, Hérault, Cèze, Tarn and Lot, Pyrenean torrents, high valley of the Aude, lakes of Naussac, Raviège, Vinca..
Winter sports
From sunny beaches to snowy mountains, there is only one step! The diversity of the Languedoc's landscapes makes it possible to experience summer or winter adventures within a few hours drive, an undeniable asset in attracting vacationers. In the north of the Languedoc, the Lozère, Margeride and Aubrac regions have a gentle relief, with alternating ascents and descents, which is favorable to Nordic skiing. Less present, alpine skiing is concentrated on a few resorts which, it must be admitted, sometimes have difficulty functioning despite the snow cannons: Aubrac in Laguiole and Brameloup in Aveyron, Le Bleymard (Mont-Lozère) and Prat-Peyrot (Aigoual). They mainly attract a local clientele.
On the other hand, in the Pyrenees, everything is in place for snow sports (climate, relief, equipment). All activities are offered: downhill skiing, new glides, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, ski touring, etc. Launched at the beginning of the 20th century, with the creation of the Font-Romeu resort, winter tourism has since developed greatly in the Catalan Pyrenees. Today, the Catalan ski area includes alpine ski resorts and one of the largest Nordic ski areas in the Pyrenees. Font-Romeu-Pyrénées 2000, la Quillanne, les Angles, Formiguères, Porté-Puymorens... so many sweet names that have certainly already touched your ears or your skis.
Wellness and fitness
Due to its geological context, straddling two mountain ranges and crossed by numerous faults, Languedoc-Roussillon is marked by a significant presence of groundwater resurgence. The Romans were not mistaken, and as early as Antiquity, they had already built thermal baths, the birthplace of many modern-day resorts. Today, thirteen resorts are in operation, covering a wide range of ailments: La Chaldette and Bagnols-les-Bains in Lozère, Les Fumades in the Gard, Balaruc-les-Bains, Avène and Lamalou-les-Bains in the Hérault, Alet-les-Bains and Rennes-les-Bains in the Aude, and, in the Pyrénées-Orientales, le Boulou, Amélie-les-Bains, Molitg-les-Bains, La-Preste-les-Bains and Vernet-les-Bains.
In addition to these spas, the Languedoc region is home to thalassotherapy centres from the Camargue to the Catalan coast, notably at Cap d'Agde, Canet-en-Roussillon, Argelès-sur-Mer and Banyuls-sur-Mer. They combine the benefits of the sun with the therapeutic properties of seawater, algae and sea mud. All the centres are perfectly equipped for treatments (seawater swimming pool, whirlpool baths...), but also for quality accommodation and catering.
