Montpellier
The capital of the Languedoc-Roussillon region, Montpellier is an attractive and lively southern city, and the perfect base for touring this area. The main sights here inlcude the Promenade de Peyrou, a grand 18th century square dominated by the Chateau d’Eau; old town lined with 17th century mansions including the Hotel des Tresoriers de la Bourse; 12th century Towers de la Babote and Des Pins, and Musée Fabre that houses an excellent collection of French paintings. Eating out here is an affordable delight with plenty of restaurants catering to most tastes and budgets. Montpellier also has an excellent Christmas market "Les Hivernales".
Millau Viaduct
The newly opened 1.5 mile Millau Viaduct has been hailed as one of the engineering wonders of the 21st century and it is certainly a spectacular sight. Standing 1,125 feet tall it is the highest bridge in the world, taller than the Eiffel Tower and more than 100 metres taller than Canary Wharf. The huge bulk of 242,000 tonne structure, designed by British architect Lord Foster, is belied by its elegant lines, described by its creator as a "sculpture in the landscape".
St-Guilhem-le-Desert
Remotely situated in the Herault Valley, the stunningly picturesque 9th century village of St-Guilhem-le-Desert grew up around the abbey founded by William of Aquitaine. It is dominated by the strikingly simple Romanesque Abbey church, famed for its possession of a fragment of the True Cross.
Pézenas and Sète
The charming and compact town of Pézenas is easily appreciated in a gentle stroll that takes in most of its (well-indicated) sights, such as the Hotel des Barons de Lacoste, Maison des Pauvres and Porte Faugères. The fishing port of Sète is very much a working town as well as a tourist destination, and its quayside restaurants selling fish straight off the boat are as likely to be frequented by sailors as visitors. Sights here include the Grand Canal lined with Italianate houses decorated in pastel colours and seafood restaurants and the Marin Cemetery above the town, where poet Paul Valéry is buried.
Carcassonne
The citadel of Carcassonne is a perfectly restored medieval town. Crowning a steep bank overlooking the River Aude, it offers a fairytale skyline of turrets and ramparts. Dating back in parts to the 5th century, highlights of the fortified old town include the Chateau Comtal and the Basilica of St-Nazaire which houses the famous Siege Stone, Musée Lapidaire and Porte Narbonnaise, the gateway to the old city, which is almost like stepping back in time.
Narbonne
The charming town of Narbonne is bisected by the 17th century Canal du Midi, with the restored medieval quarter to the north, where most of the sights are to be found. These include the 13th century Cathédrale St-Just et St-Pasteur, Archbishops' Palace and “horreum,” an intriguing underground warren of granaries and grain chutes dating from the 1st century BC when Narbonne was the capital of the largest Roman province in Gaul.
Nimes, Aigues-Mortes & the Camargue
The perfectly preserved walled town of Aigues-Mortes (“Place of Dead Waters”) is approached across the salt marshes of the Petit Camargue just to the east of Montpellier. Now marooned 3 miles from the sea the fortified town was established by Louis XI in the 13th century to consolidate his power on the Mediterranean and was built to a strict grid pattern. The Camargue region is a protected area of outstanding natural beauty and numbers wild horses and migrant flamingoes amongst the wildlife it accommodates.