© Lonely Planet Publications 97 Montpellier Area Be it the palm trees in terracotta pots, the orgy of beachwear boutiques or the mythical central square that gets a tonne of sand dumped on it each summer for beach-volley cham- pionships, Montpellier – regional capital and Languedoc-Roussillon’s only real city – screams MONTPELLIER AREA the hot south. From the dusty old-town warren awash with secret squares, footstep-polished alleys and shaded church steps to the profusion of 18th-century hôtels particuliers (private mansions), caramel- and honey-hued facades washed out by the fierce sun, there is no mistaking where this sultry city is: spitting distance from the sparkling-blue Mediterranean, split from the sea by a few soggy lagoons, which flamingos love. Exploring the short Montpellier coastline is a joy. It is built-up and busy – no resort is more in your face than La Grande Motte with its purpose-built 1960s architecture abutting La Petite Camargue ( p81 ) on its eastern fringe. But there’s ample tradition left: take the nautical jousters in Palavas-les-Flots and Sète, 6th-century Cathédrale de Maguelone, the fishing boats that dock each day beneath clouds of screeching seagulls… Inland is a green world much loved by canoeists and vino buffs. The velvety, emerald River Hérault, after which this Hérault département is named, slices deftly through rock past the dramatic Gorges de l’Hérault and caves of gigantic proportions. To the east rises the Pic St-Loup, a lumpy mountain range spotted with tiny rural villages below and a sensual patchwork of plump green vines and rosemary-scented garrigue (scrub). For aficionados of raw natural landscape, the Cirque de Navacelles is a hop north from here. HIGHLIGHTS Soak up sun-baked ambience and hidden Cirque de squares in old-town Montpellier ( p102 ) Navacelles Bike it to the sea and have a stab at water- jousting ( p107 ) in Palavas-les-Flots or Sète Gorges de Join flocks of seagulls around Sète fisher- l'Herault men as they dock; follow them into the criée (market) on a guided tour ( p108 ) Montpellier Palavas-les-Flots Find serenity along the sand in 6th-century Cathédrale de Maguelone Cathédrale de Maguelone ( p106 ), Villeveyrac marooned on an island amid salt marshes Sète Paddle along green water in a canoe through the dramatic Gorges de l’Herault ( p111 ) Stroll medieval gardens and taste wine at 12th-century Abbaye de Valmagne ( p110 ), in Villeveyrac Drop into the deep bowl of the Cirque de Navacelles ( p112 ) 98 MONTPELLIER TO SÈTE •• Montpellier lonelyplanet.com 0 20 km MONTPELLIER AREA 0 10 miles Canaules-et- Moulès`- La Cadière- D999 Argentières et-Cambo Ganges et-Baucels Savignargues D713 Laroque Montoulieu Grotte des D6110 Cirque D48 Demoiselles de Navacelles St-Bauzille D108 Brissac de Putois St-André de Buèges D999 St-Jean de Buèges D986 D6110 D25 Frouzet St-Martin D17 Causse de Londres St-Bauzille de la Selle D122 de Montmel Sommières Les Lavagnes Pic Mas de St-Loup Buzignargues Junas Londres Cazevieille St-Mathieu Galargues de Tréviers V Aubais D32 id Gorges ou St-Guilhem- rle Hérault le-Désert de l'Hérault Grotte de N110 Clamouse Les Matelles St-Vincent de D610 To Lodève Montpeyroux St-Jean de Fos Barbeyrargues A9 (30km) D27 Castries MONTPELLIER AREA Aniane Assas N113 St-Félix Jonquières St-Brès Lunel de Lodez le Crès Lac de Ceyras Salagou Vendargues A750 Gignac N113 D65 A750 D613 Clermont-l'Hérault E11 N109 Juvignac D908 St-Georges- Mauguio d'Orques Montpellier D132 Airport e D66 l r Pignan Étang de Mauguio u St-Jean- o ou de l'Or d de-Védas i D2 Lattes V A75 Pérols D21 D62 La Grande E11 D986 Étang de Motte Pérols Carnon Plage Le Grau Villeneuve- D59 du Roi lès-Maguelone Palavas-les-Flots Port Camargue Cathédrale Abbaye de de Maguelone Valmagne Étang de Étang D2 l'Arnel du Prévost D5 Villeveyrac N112 A9 D13 N113 G o l f e d u L i o n Pézenas D613 Bouzigues Balaruc- Frontignan N9 les-Bains Frontignan t l Mèze Plage u a Le Bassin r é D51 de Thau H Sète to go to Paris to see the Arc de Triomphe. Two MONTPELLIER TO SÈTE wheels are the à la mode way to get around, tram lines spin a kaleidoscope of flowers and This buzzing stretch ensnares the regional swallows on the streets, and works by the re- capital and its dynamic coastal quarters, gion’s best contemporary artists fill old-town wedged between La Petite Carmague ( p81 ) art galleries. to the north and the beaches of Le Cap d’Agde ‘I find it much better to go twise (sic) to and Narbonne in central Languedoc ( p114 ) Montpellier than once to the other world’, to the south. wrote 17th-century philosopher John Locke. MONTPELLIER Paradise, no, but an enchanting place to play pop 244,300 Eve for a few days (seaside frolic included), As France’s eighth-largest city, Languedoc’s yes indeed! largest urban centre and the hub of regional government, Montpellier is naturally self- History confident. Its soul is a student (60,000 study Montpellier, one of southern France’s few here), its spirit is innovative and its inhabit- cities without a Roman heritage, started late. ants (43% of which are under 30) don’t need Founded by the Counts of Toulouse, it was .