If you`re from a left-lane country like the U.K or Australia... BE VERY CAREFUL.
On the way out of the airport in the hire car I remember which lane I should go to (the right lane), but I forgot to look at the left lane where oncoming traffic is...I was bloody lucky no one was coming when I pulled out. So don`t be as stupid as me. And make sure you look and give way to the left at roundabouts. It`ll take a couple of hours to get used to the gearstick being on the right as well.
Stick to the lane near the curb if you`re slower than anyone else, it`s the slow lane, and the other is the overtaking lane.
If you go on the motorway, you have to pick up a ticket on entry and pay a toll wherever you exit. It cost us eight Euro`s to get from Carcassonne to Perpignan (about an hour`s drive). Yikes.
We hired our car through Auto-Europe, which cost £64 for three days hire of a small car. As our flight was leaving at 4:50pm on the Thursday, I booked the car from 2:30pm Monday to 2:30pm Thursday. If it had been over 2:30 they would have charged for an extra day, which isn`t worth it for an extra hour or so.
When you pick up your car, they take your card to prepare a deposit in case you trash the car. It shows up as hundreds of Euro`s on the receipt, but don`t worry... they don`t take it out of your account if the car is ok.
Take some tapes to listen to if you don`t like the French radio. You won`t be able to hear much of the radio when driving though the Pyrenees end of Languedoc anyway.
Going up the mountains you won`t need to get out of second and third gears... the lanes are narrow and the French have a bad habit of cutting corners on the bends approaching you.
You won`t need anything but the car in second gear and your feet on the clutch and brake on the way down the mountains... ALOT of brake!