[Travel] South-West France

The Maharajah of Sydney

Well-known member

Jul 7, 2003

1,366

Sydney .

• Jan 29, 2018

• #1

Best villages / towns to visit or stay between Bordeaux and Montpelier ?
Have got 5 days / 4 nights from Monday, 30th July.
Any helpful tips would be most appreciated, thank you.

 

O

ofco8

Well-known member

May 18, 2007

2,387

Brighton

• Jan 29, 2018

• #2

Always liked Biarritz and St. Jean de Luis (maybe wrong spelling) but it is next to Biarritz..

 

Goldstone1976

We Got Calde in!!

Helpful Moderator

NSC Patron

Apr 30, 2013

13,781

Herts

• Jan 29, 2018

• #3

Carcassonne, Pau, Lourdes, & Biscarrosse all worth visiting.

 

Titanic

Super Moderator

Helpful Moderator

Jul 5, 2003

39,055

West Sussex

• Jan 29, 2018

• #4

Goldstone1976 said:

Carcassonne, Pau, Lourdes, & Biscarrosse all worth visiting.

Click to expand...

all of these... and a walk along the Canal du Midi... bars/restaurants at most locks.

 

B

Blue&WhiteSea

Well-known member

Jul 5, 2003

809

Sutton

• Jan 29, 2018

• #5

Depends what you're after, my in-laws live in duras which is pretty small but has some nice restaurants and a fair amount of stuff going on nearby. It's not very englishy compared to nearby places like eymet.

 

alfredmizen

Banned

Mar 11, 2015

6,342

• Jan 29, 2018

• #6

The Maharajah of Sydney said:

Best villages / towns to visit or stay between Bordeaux and Montpelier ?
Have got 5 days / 4 nights from Monday, 30th July.
Any helpful tips would be most appreciated, thank you.

Click to expand...

Bordeaux itself is a gorgeous place , absolutely wonderful , just saying !

 

Titanic

Super Moderator

Helpful Moderator

Jul 5, 2003

39,055

West Sussex

• Jan 29, 2018

• #7

If you like lake beaches/swimming/watersports then the Lac de Leon is excellent.

 

Cowfold Seagull

Fan of the 17 bus

Apr 22, 2009

21,610

Cowfold

• Jan 29, 2018

• #8

alfredmizen said:

Bordeaux itself is a gorgeous place , absolutely wonderful , just saying !

Click to expand...

Give Gus my best wishes if you go please.

 

Boys 9d

Well-known member

Jan 3, 2012

1,793

Lancing

• Jan 29, 2018

• #9

If you are interested in the history of the region, the village of Minerve with it Cathar siege links and its natural tunnels for the river which should be dried up at that time of the year. Rennes le Chateau which is very atmospheric has links with Dan Brown's book The Da Vinci Code. If you can manage the climb, the Castle of Montsegeur is where the Cathars made their last stand.
If you like seafood visit the fishing port of Sete. Montpellier, Beziers, Narbonne and Toulouse among the larger towns and cities are worth a visit. These are in addition to the places mentioned above by other posters. if you want further information PM me as I lived in the area for 14 years.

 

T

The Hon Sec

New member

Feb 23, 2009

421

Deep up County

• Jan 29, 2018

• #10

Depends what you want. Hundreds of historic towns, villages and castles throughout the area.
Mirepoix is a lovely town with large medieval square and busy Monday market

 

Buzzer

Languidly Clinical

Oct 1, 2006

26,121

• Jan 29, 2018

• #11

Carcassone is very nice, home of the cassoulet and French Foreign Legion. It's definitely an old southern French town that feels like it still belongs in the past. I got a taste for the local Limoux wine in a big way when there. A word of warning, it does get very hot in the summer. We had a lovely time and you can do all sorts, cycling along the canals and enjoying the slower pace of life.

If you like historical mysteries/conspiracies then have a little read up of Rennes-Le-Chateau and see if that piques your interest. It's a strange little village and the church at the heart of the story is extremely odd.

 

Buzzer

Languidly Clinical

Oct 1, 2006

26,121

• Jan 29, 2018

• #12

Boys 9d said:

If you are interested in the history of the region, the village of Minerve with it Cathar siege links and its natural tunnels for the river which should be dried up at that time of the year. Rennes le Chateau which is very atmospheric has links with Dan Brown's book The Da Vinci Code.

Click to expand...

Beat me to it but personally I'd avoid anything Dan Brown wrote and instead go for Holy Blood and Holy Grail, the book that Dan Brown plagiarised wholesale for his novels.

 

Fignon's Ponytail

Well-known member

Jun 29, 2012

4,113

On the Beach

• Jan 29, 2018

• #13

If you want some beach activity, then Cap d'Agde is popular I hear.

 

alfredmizen

Banned

Mar 11, 2015

6,342

• Jan 29, 2018

• #14

Cowfold Seagull said:

Give Gus my best wishes if you go please.

Click to expand...

went in october , 25 degrees , did the wine tour on the medoc side , just beautiful there .

 

Two Professors

Two Mad Professors

Jul 13, 2009

7,617

Multicultural Brum

• Jan 29, 2018

• #15

Look out for posters advertising maritime jousting,the 'knights' are on boats instead of horses,it's hysterically funny.Think you will be there at the start of the season.

 

HantsSeagull

Well-known member

Aug 17, 2011

4,017

Caught in a Riptide

• Jan 29, 2018

• #16

monpazier
monflanquin

 

Titanic

Super Moderator

Helpful Moderator

Jul 5, 2003

39,055

West Sussex

• Jan 29, 2018

• #17

Buzzer said:

Carcassone is very nice, home of the cassoulet and French Foreign Legion...

Click to expand...

Much disputed... Castelnaudary would stake a serious claim to that honour!

 

Buzzer

Languidly Clinical

Oct 1, 2006

26,121

• Jan 29, 2018

• #18

Titanic said:

Much disputed... Castelnaudary would stake a serious claim to that honour!

Click to expand...

Damn! I meant Castelnaudary. Not Carcassone.

Carcassone, castle apart, is over-rated IMO but Castelnaudary is beautiful and has a FFL HQ. Those Legionnaires are scary too. When we were there a lot of them were veterans of the Balkan wars. God knows what skeletons they had hidden in their closet.

 

H

Hastings gull

Well-known member

Nov 23, 2013

4,635

• Jan 29, 2018

• #19

The Maharajah of Sydney said:

Best villages / towns to visit or stay between Bordeaux and Montpelier ?
Have got 5 days / 4 nights from Monday, 30th July.
Any helpful tips would be most appreciated, thank you.

Click to expand...

getting towards Montpelier, then visit Pezenas if you like olde worlde places.

 

indy3050

Well-known member

Jun 22, 2011

1,301

• Jan 29, 2018

• #20

Fignon's Ponytail said:

If you want some beach activity, then Cap d'Agde is popular I hear.

Click to expand...

Been going there for over 30 years. Depends what you are after, there is a marina with boat trips, shopping and restaurants, water park, casinos, Luna park (amusement park) and has a very popular nudist beach. Agde itself is an old town with lots of history involving Greece. Wine and cheese to die for (it’s why I keep going back)