Getting around in Montpellier area
 

We will be staying in Montpellier for 4 days in early August. Just wondering whether I will need to rent a car in order to get to some of the attractions such as Nimes, Arles, Carcassone, Carmargue, etc? Or are there buses or trains we can catch?

Also, is it worth a day trip to go to Spain and return the same evening to Montpellier? I would love to say I went to Spain as well as France, but don't want to do it if it will be a long one day trip.

Where do you want to go in Spain? Some of the most interesting Spanish sites are not really convenient to the major fast highway, and taking the coastal road or climbing up through the Pyrenees is really a challenge and slow going. Without a car, forget it! Even with a car, for a little bit of bragging rights, you might be just running yourself ragged.

Why not pick a very untouristed destination inside France and take a chance on something new? In early August, when the heat is on, I'd think about finding a nice cool prehistoric cave to crawl into!

A cave sounds great! Is the climate hot and humid in August, or just hot? I am from Virginia in the USA, and we are at about 38 celsius in August with lots of humidity. I envision Montpellier as being similar to the climate of Los Angeles, so not so much humidity.

I would not consider your itinerary without a car, and the driving is easy. I suggest you get onto viamichelin.com and map the driving times. Total “there and back” in one day driving time should not exceed four hours, although personally I exceed that often (mea culpa). There is more than enough to see in the area, so I would rule out Spain on this visit.

Decide if you want to stay in one place for the entire trip or move from place to place every night. On my trip to the region, I decided to stay IN Montpellier, but would probably not recommend that – it is a difficult town to navigate and I lost a lot of time getting to and from my hotel in the town centre.

If you are visiting Carcassonne, then a day driving around the Cathar area is a MUST – incredible. Arles can be combined with the Camargue as one day. Nimes is lovely and deserves at least 4 hours on its own (you can rent an audio guide to walk around the town). Perpignan and Collioure are worth seeing.

Best to start with a base in mind (or multiple bases) and then chart your course.

Here's a website for caves in Languedoc-Roussillion

http://www.languedoc-france.info/list_grottos.htm