Saint-Girons

Introduction

Saint Girons is a commune in the Ariege department in the French region of Midi-Pyrénées and is the principal town of Couserans. Nestled in the foothills of Ariege Pyrenees and just 2 km from the Gallo-Roman ramparts of the ancient town of Saint-Lizier, this beautiful town is the meeting point of two fast flowing rivers. Saint Girons is the centre of the commercial fabric production of the Couserans region and is engaged in local beer production, coffee roasting, cheese dairies, glass and paper making industries.

The strategic location and enjoyable climate of Saint-Girons have made it into an ideal tourist destination. The Pyrenees mountains along with its peaks Mont Valier (2838 metres) and Pic du Crabere appeal to both the adventure sport enthusiasts and the lovers of nature.

In 2009, the stage 8 of the Tour de France finished in Saint-Girons, after starting in Andorra La Vella.
For more information about the town and its surroundings check the official Ville Saint Girons website (French only), where you can find most anything.

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

Events and Festivals

Trade fairs and markets are usually held several times in a month. This attracts an entire community of mountain dwellers and the atmosphere is particularly lively, which is liked and admired by the tourists visiting the region.

Summer festival in Saint-Girons is the Rites festival where folk dance groups from many countries perform.

Weather

Saint-Girons has a fantastic climate with generally warm, sunny and dry weather during the summermonths of June to September. Due to its location it is not as hot though compared to many other places in the Mediterranean area, but temperatures usually vary between 22 and 26 degrees Celcius during the day and around 13 to 15 degrees at night. Winters last from December to March, with generally temperatures well above zero, though occasional frost and snow is not unheard of.

Getting There

By Plane

There is not airport, but the airports near Toulouse and Perpignan are just a few hours away.
Ryanair also has flights to Carcasonne which is even closer by.

By Train

Check the SNCF website for more details about how to get to St Girons from for example Perpignan and Toulouse.

By Car

There are fantastic scenic rides across the Pyrenees Mountain Range, both from other places in Southern France as well as from Andorra and Spain.

By Bus

Buses connect Saint-Girons with dozens of destinations within the Ariege department, as well as a few bigger cities outside the region.

By Boat

Getting Around

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

La Poste in France is also referred to as the PTT (short for postes, télégraphes et téléphones). The mailboxes are painted bright yellow and often there is a slot for local city mail and another slot for "outside mail". Normally there is a queue in the post office, but most of the post offices have the self service machine installed which is quite easy to operate. Nowadays many of the tabac and even some of the souvenir shops also sell postage stamps. Normally an overseas postcard costs almost as much as sending a letter.
Post offices are generally open from 8:00am to 7:00pm Monday through Friday, and 8:00am to noon on Saturdays. Apart from the basic job of mailing letters, most of the post offices do some banking activities also and some even have photocopy machines and cyber cafes for internet access.