Combined optical and photoemission experiments on the quasi-one dimensional Bechgaard salts reveal the non-Fermi liquid character of these prototype quasi-one dimensional interacting electron systems. We show that various aspects of the exotic normal state properties along the chains are consistent with the predictions of the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid theory. We also discuss the effect of interchain coupling on the insulator-metal transition, associated with the electron confinement-deconfinement crossover.