Brijam

I will be staying in La Grande Mott for 5 days and plan to do day trips on my own on the train from Montpellier, I am looking at Carcassone, Sete, Pont du Guard. I love walking,food and wine, shopping and not too keen on seeing too many museums,
Any suggestions. I am in my late 40's.
Travel will commence early June

kerouac

You will have a car at your disposal, I hope.

Brijam

no will that be a problem

Sarastro

Just curious Brijam but have you actually been to La Grande Mott? There is no train service and to reach St Roch, the train station in Montpellier, you'll need to first take the bus then the tramway. Having a car, given your travel objectives, would indeed be a very good idea.

I find La Grande Mott a soulless, impersonal place but it does have a beach. If making day trips is your primary objective and you have no car, staying in Montpellier would better serve your needs.

Brijam

My husband will be at a conference and I was planning to do day tips but it does not sound like it will be an easy option without a car. We plan to hire one after the conference.
Maybe plan B is needed...what are my options staying at LGM without a car...

StCirq

Why La Grande Motte? It's a really dull place with hardly any French "ambience." Your options are pretty much nil without a car. What a shame...though it IS France, so you have that. Maybe there are buses, but they are probably geared toward workers and school kids. Google the official town website.

Brijam

Thank you. Are there places to walk or ride?

StCirq

Of course there are places to walk - there are everywhere on earth. What do you mean by "ride?"

kerouac

Here is the link to the bus company that serves La Grande Motte: http://www.herault-transport.fr/index.php

People constantly criticise La Grande Motte because it was a cheap development that sprang out of nothing in the 1970's so it does not have any character yet. However, most people who say it is appalling have never actually spent any time there. I confess that I have only passed through it, but it always looked like it could be quite pleasant during the tourist season. Winter, when 80% of the apartments are empty, would be another matter -- but that is also true of any resort town, historical or not.

Pvoyageuse

Info on La Grande Motte : http://www.ot-lagrandemotte.fr/

Sarastro

<i> most people who say it is appalling have never actually spent any time there.</i>

While it is true that I am only one of the many who dislike la Grande Mott, I actually spend a great deal of time in this area. Unlike Plavas les Flots, le Grau du Roi, or even Carnon, la Grande Mott does not have a vibrant town center and is virtually vacant in winter (80% of the apartments being empty may be a low estimate). It was a cheap development and the atmosphere there is made all the less appealing by very poor maintenance of the infrastructure; sidewalks broken, buildings needing painting, yards full of weeds. People go there for their annual August vacations because of the beach and marina and that's probably the only draw to this town.

kerouac

However, we are talking about June and your experience apparently is not about La Grande Motte at all, since you were just in the "area" and not there at all.

Sarastro

Is your point only to discredit those who disagree with you kerouac? I have spent more time in la Grande Motte than I care to recount and make every effort to avoid it for the specific reasons I point out which were detailed and to the point. La Grande Motte was built cheaply, its lack of property maintenance preserves the overall feel of cheapness, and even in June, it has all the warmth and personal charm of a ghost town.

If there is a more soulless place in France it might be Albertville, which after the Olympics, has become another heartless and empty place, full of quickly constructed buildings that seem to have no further purpose.

And as I have said, there are much better locations nearby.

kerouac

Sorry to offend you, Sarastro, but the OP is apparently staying in La Grande Motte whether it pleases you or not. Do you think that you are doing her a service by painting the most horrible picture possible? Do you think that La Grande Motte would still exist if everybody found it to be as awful as you claim?

Brijam

Thank you all for your responses, yes I had heard its not a stunning location to stay hence the train trips.
StCirq - in NZ we ride bikes - hence the word ride... so I wanted to know if there were places to cycle, in some towns cycling is not appropriate for various reasons.
Really appreciate teh links to other sites.
Sorry to have caused any problems

StCirq

Brijam, google the website for the town and see if there are bike rental sites listed. I can't imagine bike riding wouldn't be appropriate for any reason - it's a beach area and flat.

Pvoyageuse

There is a bike trail from La Grande Motte to Carnon : http://www.rollerenligne.com/article...-motte-34.html

Brijam

Thank you Pvoyageuse nice to hear from someone wanting to be helpful and thanks again to the other people who provided useful links.
I now need to find a village for 3 days where we can eat at a local village with good wine and ideally a view..any ideas this time we will have a car when we leave La Grande Motte - will be probably heading to Burgundy or Frankfurt after that.

TommieG

Le Grau du Roi (richt next to LGM) is a pleasant enough village to visit and have a bite to eat!
Having spend many summer there, I can say LGM isn't the most charming village, but in summer it isn't too bad either.
And the area is pretty flat, so biking will be possible.

Aigues Mortes is also a very beautiful fotified town. Montpellier is beautiful also.

TommieG

BTW, LGM also has enough restaurants of it's own. So you won't starve out there ;-)