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When traveling North, it is recommended to wait by the traffic lights on [http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=42.700037,2.886615&spn=0.011591,0.022509&t=h&z=16&om=1&msid=107047389499788319963.0004367e4251f21521864 Cours Lazare Escarguel] where traffic occasionally stops. It is possible to get a lift from here to the autoroute ramp further up.
You might as well try walking to the autoroute which is a very long but nonetheless very nice morning activity (for some). Just follow the signs for Barcelona. You'll probably walk for hours through many [[roundabout]]s, and at one point you even have to go on a sort of nature walk (hitchhiker [[User:Zac Stewart|Zac]] can't remember what prompted this but there was an obvious reason and a clearly cut trail through the woods that passed under a bridge), and eventually you'll get to a long, lonely but beautiful road with viniards on either side. Keep going, and eventually you'll get to the autoroute onramp situated on a bridge over the [[A9 (France)|A9]]. You can stop here if you want to try your luck, or you can go to the [[péage]] which is visible from the bridge. Just follow the road down there and cut into the woods to get around and come out on the south side of the péage. From there you can thumb a ride, and there's even a parking area big enough for a lorry to stop for you. Note: getting to the other side of the péage involves crossing a creek and jumping one or more fences! Attempt at your own peril (or pleasure!).
Another good spot to wait is a small roundabout 10 minutes north of the river on foot. Walk North on Cours Lazare Escarguel, cross the river, where CLE changes its name to Pont Arago. Just before the sidewalk ends, take the stairs (on the right) down to the street below. Continue walking north, parallel to Pont Arago for 5 - 10 minutes. The road will veer to the right and you will be able to see another roundabout. Cars going both North (Toulouse, Montpellier) and South (Barcelona) frequently pass by here. I've successfully hitched from here twice.
If you go to [[Toulouse]], it is best to use a sign and accept only lifts going there because 60 km North in [[Narbonne]] the motorway splits. Equally, if you want to go to [[Montpellier]], don't accept lifts that don't bring you directly to your destination.
If you're going to Spain and your driver is only driving to [[Le Boulou]] (which is the last exit before Spain) avoid getting out on the last [[petrol station hitchhiking|petrol station]] called ''Village Catalan''; on the map it looks like the last best place to hitchhike but no one going to Spain stops here because petrol is cheaper on the other side of the border (as of 2008). Instead, go to Le Boulou but ask your driver to drop you off at the final ''barrières de péage'' where all the traffic will have to stop (not to mix it with a small toll barrier on the sliproad which is used only by locals to exit and leave the motorway).
Another handy thing to remember is that buses within the province only cost 1 euro no matter how far you go! That way you can get almost to [[Andorra]]'s border for only 1 euro.
