Off the beaten path in Languedoc?

[Anne]

I mentioned to my older daughter that I'd asked for off the beaten track/"hidden treasure" suggestions for my Sept trip to Paris with my younger daughter...older daughter said "cool, you should post a thread like that for OUR trip!" I said..."well....I think the entire area is off the beaten track, but I'll ask!" So.....

What are some hidden treasures in Languedoc that might not appear in the guidebooks? We'll be there for close to two weeks in mid April.

Among other things, my daughter's interests include botanical gardens, dinosaurs, castles, art, quaint villages, museums...and just rambling around, checking out whatever catches her attention.

Things already on our radar: Cathar castles, the anatomy museum in Montpellier, the dinosaur museum, Niaux caves, Carcassonne (I know...that one is NOT off the beaten track, but we're still going!) We'll be based in Pezenas for a few days, then Lagrasse for a week, and we'll have a car.

 

[chachalaca]

How cool! It’s great to be Anne's daughters!

A walk along a still-lined-with-trees section of the Canal du Midi! Pack a picnic or eat at a riverside bar.

The market in Olonzac

Packing a picnic and driving around, eating at an old windmill or...?

Minerve...probably already on the list, and not really of the beaten path

If I think of more, I’ll repost or edit.

Laura

 

[Anne]

It's also good to be Anne's mom's daughter! (My mom's footing much of the bill for the April trip, which is how I can afford the Sept trip! Lol)

Great ideas, thanks! I really like the idea of a riverside stroll. I've read about boating on it, but that's more effort than we want to undertake. And yes, picnics are right up our alley! Didn't know there were old windmills in the area, very cool!

 

[phirhon]

We stayed near Clermont l'Herault in 2014 and some of the places we visited could be done from Pezenas. If you are interested in natural scenery, we enjoyed a walk around the Cirque de Moureze. The autoroute up from Pezenas past Lodeve is quite scenic and takes you up to the stunning Millau Viaduc . It is not really off the beaten track but certainly worth seeing. You could also go to Roquefort sur Saulzon if you are a fan of the cheese.
This is my report on that trip. Scroll through to the l'Herault section.
https://www.sloweurope.com/community/threads/spring-in-country-france-2014.1804/
We are going to be visiting the Minervois region later this year. There looks to be lots to see, We stayed in the Aude [ Couiza was our base ] in 2012 and visited the castles of Peyrepertuse and Queribus.
Have fun.

 

[Anne]

The autoroute up from Pezenas past Lodeve is quite scenic and takes you up to the stunning Millau Viaduc . I

Oh swoon! I love bridges (who knows why!), and have been wanting to see this one since I first saw pics. Had no idea it was in this area. I'm putting it high on my want-to-see list!

Thanks for the link to your trip report. What a fabulous trip you had! Roz wrote one on this area too, I must read it again too. Sounds like there are endless possibilities!

 

[phirhon]

We also love seeing different bridges and will detour to see one. We do have wonderful trips. We have the luxury of time even if we do not have a big budget. We will be heading back in September so are busy doing lots of research.
You will have a lovely trip.

 

[Anne]

I'm fortunate to get 5 weeks vacation leave (plus 3 weeks study leave) annually. I'm also lucky to be able to travel a fair bit with my mother - I do all the planning/booking/guiding and she does the financing, and we both feel like we're getting the better end of the deal!

My own budget is much tighter...in 2016, my husband and I spent 2 weeks in Rome on less than CAD$2000 each (which I think is roughly on par with AUD?), incl flights and accom, and several daytrips! Had an amazing time. Travelling definitely doesn't need to cost a fortune. Love it!

 

[Roz]

You may have already been to the Pont du Gard, which also is not exactly off the beaten track, but I think it's one of those sights not to be missed, especially if you love bridges. One of the all-time highlights of our travels was canoeing under the Pont du Gard.

Or if you don't want to go that far (it's over an hour's drive on the autoroute from Pezenas) you could go to Montpellier via the coastal towns Agde and Sete, which are interesting and shouldn't be too crowded with beach-goers in April.

Our trip to Languedoc that you mention was quite a while ago (when GPS was very new), but we loved the area. On a different trip (for which I didn't write a report) we stayed in the Languedoc seacoast town of Marseillan. This photo album includes a few other places we visited off the beaten track while staying in Marseillan, including an oyster museum, the Noilly Prat museum, the Abbeys of Valmagne and Fontfroide.

 

[chachalaca]

Agreed! Don’t miss Pont du Gard! As a lookie-loo or as a kayaker it is incredible! I think you can book ahead for access to the topmost level...or maybe it’s just open for one hr a day. I’d check it out. If you’re interested in kyaking I can recommend a company (totally unexperienced kayaker here!).

 

[Anne]

Thanks for the link Roz, beautiful photos!

Mom and I visited the Pont du Gard a few years ago, from Vaison-la-Romaine...agree, it's spectacular! We might stop on our way to Pezenas (we fly into Marseille) since we'll have a couple hours to fill before check in. Not sure about kayaking but will definitely give it some thought.

I do want to take a drive along the coast, will keep Agde and Sete in mind for sure. They look to be very close to Pezenas

 

[BryanS]

We've been to the area around Olonzac a couple times. The canal is a good place to stroll and at Homps there are some restaurants and you can do a half day boat ride - very informative. Most places are listed in the books but you can be surprised just driving in the countryside and seeing what some of the small towns have to offer.

 

[Anne]

you can be surprised just driving in the countryside and seeing what some of the small towns have to offer.

This is definitely our style of travel. I adore doing advance research so I can get a feel for the area, and a sense of what our possibilities are, but once there, we often just head out each day and go where the wind blows us!

Love the idea of a half day boat ride on the canal. I'll check into that.

 

[veronicafrance]

The Jardin St Adrien near Pézenas. Full disclosure: I haven't got round to going there yet, but people who have been rave about it.
Uzès if you're going to the Pont du Gard. Not at all off the beaten track but still worth visiting. It's a beautiful town with a fantastic market.
Sète: a very attractive working port.
Marseillan, where Noilly Prat is made (you can visit the winery).
The salt pans at Gruissan (guided tours possible). You may see flamingos on the lagoons.
The modern art museum in Ceret.
The aquarium in Banyuls.

I could go on ...

 

[Anne]

The Jardin St Adrien near Pézenas

Oh thanks, I'm glad you mentioned this - I have it bookmarked already, so am glad to know it gets rave reviews!
I haven't heard of the salt pans before - and flamingos? Very cool! Looks to be less than an hour's drive from Lagrasse. Oh and I see the Fontfroide Abbey is on the way, so we could visit both same day.

I do know we'll never see a fraction of what I bookmark in advance, but I have so much fun checking things out during the planning stage!

 

[veronicafrance]

Peyriac de Mer is nice too. BTW, if you go to the salt pans in Gruissan, I don't particularly recommend the restaurant there -- although it's very popular I find the cuisine slapdash and the prices excessive. If you want to eat by the water, the one in La Nautique is better. There's also a very good restaurant in Bages, Le Portanel, overlooking the lagoon. Fontfroide has quite a nice restaurant too, in a lovely setting ... but again I think the Table du Château in nearby Boutenac is better (can you tell I eat out a lot around here??)

 

[Valerie]

Where are you staying? Lastours is incredible, one of the Cathar strongholds. We loved Peyrpertuse, too though a bit of a drive from the Olonzac area. Limoux is interesting, home to a wonderful sparkling wine, Blanquette di Limoux. Minerve is beautiful, with some really good restaurants and great hiking.

 

[Anne]

@Valerie - we're spending 4 nights in Pezenas, then a week in Lagrasse. No particular reason for those two locations...our approach to visiting an area for the first time is quite like throwing a dart at the map. It's worked for us every trip so far, so we'll try it again. Always fun to explore unknown territory!

Definitely interested in checking out Limoux and its wine.

We're great walkers, but not so much for hiking, as such. (I'm not in the best of shape, for one thing! haha But also my mom's had both knees replaced, so can't do steep hills, or really uneven ground, etc. Walking down Monte Solara to Anacapri is about the extent of our hiking ability.) We are planning to see some of the Cathar strongholds...mom's prepared to wait at the bottom of the ones that sound like a tough climb.

 

[Roz]

@Valerie -
Definitely interested in checking out Limoux and its wine.

Limoux brags that its monks actually invented sparkling wine -- before those in Champagne. Whether or not they were first, the Blanquette and Cremant de Limoux are great. Look for them in the French supermarkets, where they are usually very reasonably priced.

 

[veronicafrance]

Limoux brags that its monks actually invented sparkling wine -- before those in Champagne. Whether or not they were first, the Blanquette and Cremant de Limoux are great. Look for them in the French supermarkets, where they are usually very reasonably priced.

They were first! It's a definite fact. You'll also find excellent non-sparkling white wine from that area.

 

[Valerie]

@Roz, Yes, that's part of what drew us to go visit! Plus, my cousin had a case of the stuff that we were drinking at her house, so thought it would be fun to see the wineries. We did the tour of the monastery, ate on the piazza with a glass of it at lunch and then stopped at a winery to do a tasting and buy some. We really like it.

There are tons of good wineries in the Languedoc. We are always in the Minervois because my cousin has a house there. Last trip was a "chick trip" and we signed up for a winery tour, with lunch along the Canal du Midi, which was a lot of fun.