You really need to have a car to explore the Ariege properly as there are so many little valleys and small villages to see. The place to hire a car is probably when you fly in, either to Toulouse or Carcassonne. Foix does also have rental places though, as does St Girons. There is a very good train service from Toulouse to Ax les Thermes, stopping first at Foix, which does in fact go on to the Spanish border town of Latour de Carol, where you can change trains and continue on into Spain the line goes to Barcelona. Also, there is a possibility if you are in Toulouse to take a day tour that will take you to the most famous sights in the region and that is organised by Ophorus
