Editing Languedoc (section)

===Services and tourism===
Services are the largest sector of the economy in the region. In particular, government services employ a significant part of the workforce, especially in small towns. Key administrations have been relocated to the region, such as France's National Meteorology Office ([[Météo-France]]) relocated from Paris to [[Toulouse]] in 1982.

The area is also a major tourist destination. There exists three types of tourism. First, a massive summer tourism industry on the coast, with huge sea resorts such as [[Cap d'Agde]], [[Palavas-les-Flots]], or [[Le Grau-du-Roi]], built in the 1970s.

Tourism related to history and art is also strong, as the region contains the historic cities of [[Carcassonne]], Toulouse, [[Montpellier]], countless Roman monuments (such as the Roman arenas in [[Nîmes]]), medieval abbeys, [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] churches, and old castles (such as the ruined [[Cathar castles]] in the mountains of [[Corbières, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence|Corbières]], testimony of the bloody [[Albigensian Crusade]]).

More recently, "green" and sports tourism is on the rise, with the gorges of the [[Tarn (river)|Tarn]], the [[Ardèche Gorges]], as well as the vast preserved expanses of [[Cévennes]], Ardèche, [[Lauragais]], and other sites.

Tourism on the [[Canal du Midi]] combines history (for example viewing the nine locks of Fonseranes near [[Béziers]]) with activities such as boating on the Canal, and walking or cycling on the towpaths.

Toulouse and Montpellier are also common places for business congresses and conventions.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

In April 2019, The [[The Guardian|Guardian]]'s travel section included two Languedoc locations in its list of ''20 of the most beautiful villages in France''. The two were Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert with "one of the finest examples of Romanesque architecture in the region" and Estaing, whose "narrow streets have hardly changed over the centuries".<ref>{{cite news|title=20 of the most beautiful villages in France|date=13 April 2019|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2019/apr/13/20-most-beautiful-historic-villages-france-loire-provence|work=The Guardian|access-date=13 April 2019|quote=From a fairytale fortress in the Loire to a clifftop stronghold in Provence, these charming, historic villages make perfect bases for exploring rural France}}</ref>