The vintners in Occitanie produce an astonishing 33% of all French wines. In the region, you'll find 24,000 wine farms and 380 cooperatives, which cover some 263,000 hectares of land. So, in the wine arena, you're genuinely spoiled with choice. Though we're sure each vineyard is worth a visit, you can make your winery experience here unique by paying particular attention to the region's organic vineyards. Stop at Château de Chambert, a biodynamic vineyard in the town of Cahors, home to 45 hectares of vines all surrounding its stunning château. The vineyard specializes in Malbec, Merlot, and Chardonnay. Guests can visit the vineyard for tastings, guided tours, and workshops. Visitors are also invited to hike the property to see if they can spot the vineyard's adorable (and rather fluffy) highland cows. Other spectacular organic vineyards to try include Château de Mayragues in Tarn, which has more than 20 years of biodynamic winemaking experience and two small guest rooms on-site for visitors to spend an evening or two. For a more extensive organic wine experience, head to Maison Cazes in Roussillon, home to 220 hectares of biodynamic vines.

Occitanie is France's first designated thermal region thanks to its plentiful hot springs that bubble up warm, healing waters from deep within the earth, with some of the springs dating back thousands of years. Luckily for travelers, many of these springs are readily accessible, so everyone can take a dip. This includes The Balnéa, a spa located on the banks of Génos-Loudenvielle Lake in the Hautes Pyrénées. At the spa, visitors can spend time in the stone Roman baths, book a body treatment including massages and facials, or just soak in the outdoor baths and take in the gorgeous mountain view. Other options include the more intimate Les Bains de Llo in the village of Llo, which comes with a quaint outdoor thermal bath at the foot of a mountain, or the massive, amphitheater-style Les Bains de Saint-Thomas, which sits 3,773 feet above sea level in the Pyrénées Orientales that comes with plentiful space in its outdoor baths, three steam rooms, two hot tubs, and treatment rooms for those looking to indulge.

Occitanie really flexes as a place for all kinds of travel interests. Not only are there a plethora of winery options for oenophiles and a number of stellar spas for wellness seekers, but there's also plenty of fun to be had for history buffs as well. That's thanks to the region's several UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The sites include The Pont du Gard, an aqueduct built in the 1st century AD, located about 90 minutes outside of Nîmes. What makes the site so worthy of the trek is that it's the highest Roman bridge aqueduct in the world. There's also Albi in Tarn, an entire pink city known for its pedestrian-friendly historic center. There, visitors can see the Sainte-Cécile cathedral, the Palais de la Berbie, and the Lapérouse museum, which honors the French navigator Jean-François Galaup de Lapérouse.

A large swath of Occitanie's border sits along the tranquil Mediterranean Sea. The beaches here are known for their lively summers when locals and tourists alike flock to the ocean for a refreshing dip. It's also a place where visitors can watch a few adrenaline junkies take to the waves, with kitesurfing and windsurfing as the main attraction. This is thanks to the shoreline's unique positioning between the mountains and the sea. Between Banyuls-sur-Mer and Narbonne-Plage, winds regularly gust over 100 km/h (62/mph). If you're less of a watcher and more of a doer, you can get in on the action by taking a kitesurfing, stand-up paddle, or surfing lesson almost anywhere along the coast.

After experiencing a bit of countryside living, you may be craving a little bit of the glitz and glamour that only a city getaway can provide. Occitanie can provide that too, thanks to Toulouse. As the fourth largest city in France, Toulouse is the place to be for a bit of city culture, including a lively Capitole Square, the UNESCO-listed Saint-Sernin Basilica, and for something more future-forward, the space-themed Cité de l'Espace, a science discovery center dedicated to space travel.