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The region is made up of the following historical provinces:
The luscious Languedoc-Rousillon region of France, hovering near Spain and dotted by the Pyrenees Mountains, is sun-kissed and delightful. It features great beaches, quaint Medieval villages, outdoor recreation and the world's most popular nudist town.

68.7% of Languedoc-Roussillon is the province of Languedoc: departments of Hérault, Gard, Aude, extreme south and extreme east of Lozère, and extreme north of Pyrénées-Orientales. The former province of Languedoc also extends over the Midi-Pyrénées region, including the old capital of Languedoc Toulouse.

17.9% of Languedoc-Roussillon is the province of Gévaudan: Lozère department. A small part of Gévaudan is also inside the Auvergne region. Gévaudan is often considered to be a sub-province inside the province of Languedoc, in which case Languedoc accounts for 86.6% of Languedoc-Roussillon.

13.4% of Languedoc-Roussillon is a collection of five culturally Catalan pays: Roussillon, Vallespir, Conflent, Capcir, and Cerdagne, all of which located from east to west inside the Pyrénées-Orientales département. All of these pays (in Catalonia, on the other side of the border, a pays is known as a comarca) were part of the Ancient Regime province of Roussillon, owning its name to the largest and most populous of the five pays, Roussillon. "Province of Roussillon and adjacent lands of Cerdagne" was indeed the name that was officially used after the area became French in 1659, based on the historical division of the five pays between the county of Roussillon (Roussillon and Vallespir) and the county of Cerdagne (Cerdagne, Capcir, and Conflent).

Catalan nationalists prefer to use the name "Northern Catalonia" (Catalan: Catalunya Nord). This name has no official recognition in France, but is regularly used in many media of the "Catalan Countries". An alternative name is "French Catalonia" (Catalan: Catalunya francesa).

Finally, it should be noted that Roussillon, Vallespir, Conflent, and Capcir lie entirely inside the Languedoc-Roussillon région, but that only the northern half of Cerdagne is inside the région. The southern half of Cerdagne is on Spanish territory, since the Treaty of the Pyrenees of 1659 divided Cerdanya between France and Spain. People in Catalonia refer to the French part of Cerdagne as "High Cerdanya" (Alta Cerdanya), but this name has no recognition in France.