My husband and I would like to add our opinion to those expressed in this thread. We love St. Chinian and the surrounding area. We have rented several houses there over the years and became so fond of the area that we bought a village house there in 2000 and spend five months a year there. We are experienced travellers and lived in Europe for a ten year period at one time.

We greatly enjoy this part of Herault in the Languedoc. Beauty is subjective, is it not? It isn’t the Dordogne (which we also love) nor Provence (where we have rented frequently in the past and also enjoyed); it is an area of spectacular beauty of another sort. Rugged and varied. Some areas dry and arid, some lush as on the plateaus of the Montagne Noire. When we return to St. Chinian from direction Beziers, the view that suddenly opens up when rounding and descending Col Fontjun never fails to thrill us as the valley below is revealed. The town of St. Chinian itself is very much alive all the year round but especially in the summer months. It’s a thriving small town with a twice-weekly market, Thursdays and Sundays. People descend on the town on Sundays from all the neighbouring villages to enjoy the lively atmosphere and all the goods and foods that one hopes to find at a rural French market. It’s a true gathering place and half the fun is people-watching from the tables of the Cafe Balcon.

One thing that we particularly enjoy is its location, equi-distant from the Haute Languedoc National Parc and the Mediterranean. If you are looking for a holiday in a region where God has indeed tumbled out his castles, then Perigord is for you but here you can also explore to your heart’s content and enjoy fabulous canoeing through gorges in the beautiful Orb Valley, fêtes in every village in the summer, wonderful hiking, the Canal du Midi, the beaches of the Mediterranean 35 minutes away by car; the fishing villages, the Gorges of Herault, attractive villages such as Bize-Minervois. (A little aside, Grace-Joan, when you are at the lovely Bastide de Cabazac with its excellent restaurant, you will be virtually around the corner from Bize. I would like to encourage you to take a Sunday drive up past Bize to St. Chinian to enjoy the scenery en route and the Sunday market, but don’t neglect to go into Bize itself.)

We love the mountains and we love the sea and we have both within a half hour’s drive or so. Many lovely towns and cities are not far away by car, e.g. Pezenas 30 mins, Montpellier 1¼ hours, Narbonne 35 mins, Carcassonne 55 mins. Further afield is Collioure to the south. We often enjoy outings into the Corbieres to the fantastic perched Cathar castles and further into the Pyrenees to the Prades area; not on our doorstep but within striking distance for a pleasant day’s outing and picnic.

Yes, we are biased, but visitors return time and again to this region as they fall under its spell. Perhaps it wears its jewels more modestly than other areas. Even after many years of exploring, we are still uncovering its pearls.

Collette,
I certainly will be in your area in Sept. I will drive to Bize and to St. Chinian along with my other sight seeing in the area.

I appreciated your post about the area.

Eveyone has their own special place. There is so much to see in all the areas.

Joan