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Here is the portion of my "Languedoc itinerary" that covers the region to the north & west of Montpellier:

Montpellier gets my award for probably the most under-rated large city in France. It has lots of history, many winding streets to wander through, and since it’s a University town it’s “alive” most of the time. There are many quiet areas (near Place de la Canourgue) where you can get away from the crowds if you like. It also takes the prize for the most graffiti (the students). I think there are more outdoor café’s in Montpellier than any place I’ve visited (second to Aix, perhaps). The best way to visit this town is to follow the walking itinerary outlined in the Green Guide. There is a very nice walking tour (in English) conducted by the tourist office. See the Michelin Green Guide for days given & times. The last part of the tourist office’s tour may include a visit to one of the Mansions in town. I love going into old houses, but I found this tour very tedious – I would not recommend a visit to the mansion.

We stayed at the Palais hotel, which is in a very nice area of town and close to the Place de la Canourgue. If you arrive by air or train, you will have to take a taxi there. It’s too far from the train station to walk and cars are not allowed on the street where the hotel is located. Taxis know how to get you close to the hotel. The Guilhem hotel is close by, but a little more expensive. The location of these two hotels is perfect. The area around the train station is not as scenic as other parts of town. We dined outside in a lovely garden at the Petit Jardin, which is next to the Guilhem.

Saturday
Have your hotel call for a taxi to take you to the train station to pick up a car. Make sure you ask the hotel where to meet the taxi, since they can’t drive right up to the door of the hotel.

Pick up a car at the train station. The car rental offices are actually slightly southwest of the station next to a large parking lot. If you look at the detailed map of the historic center of Montpellier in the Michelin red guide, the offices are next to the “P” (parking) on the edge of the map southwest of the station. The taxi driver should know this. We have rented cars through AutoEurope for over 20 years (www.autoeurope.com). They are brokers in Portland Maine who have contracts with car rental companies in Europe. They guarantee the best rates. If you have any problem with the rental, it is much easier to deal through AutoEurope when you return to the US, than to have to talk to a French Hertz/Avis company. AutoEurope seems to really try hard to resolve things in your favor – I know this from experience.

Use map # 339

Head out of town (use the red guide) and get on the A9 freeway southwest towards Beziers. Montpellier has done a much better job than most cities in France in marking routes in/out of town.

Take exit 34 off the A9, and drive to Pezenas*+. Saturday is market day in Pezenas. This is a really cute town and worth visiting even if you don’t hit it on market day. Park in the large lot at the Place du 14 Juillet. The market in town is one of the nicest in the Languedoc, and one of the very few I have visited (I’ve seen over 50) that does not detract from your enjoyment of the town. Many markets (Carpentras, Sarlat, St Remy, etc) wander through the narrow streets and actually interfere with you seeing the architecture of the town. Pezenas’ market is primarily in a large “place” (Pl. Gambetta). Take the walking tour of the town outlined in the Green Guide. There are very nice antique shops along Cours Jean Jaures. Remember the lunch closings. The food section of the market closes around 1:00. If you want a “sit down” lunch, there are many nice outdoor spots in town or you can grab a slice of pizza or a sandwich from the vendors in town.

After visiting Pezenas, take the N9 north towards Clermont-l’Herault. Then take the N109 east towards Gignac, where you will take the road north to Aniane and then the D27 towards St Guilhem le Desert & Grotte de Clamouse.

St Guilhem le Desert* and Grotte de Clamouse**
Check your watch. If you are going to hit this area around the lunch closings (12:30 to 2:00 or so) and you want to do a little browsing in the shops in St Guilhem, then see Clamouse first and return to St Guilhem when the shops open. St Guilhem is not a great shopping village, however. The setting and the town’s architecture are the real stars here. My Michelin Green Guide says that Clamouse is open during lunch. (but don’t bet the bank on that).

Take the guided tour of the Grotte de Clamouse** (under “Clamouse” in green guide)

The village of St Guilhem* is one of the “Most Beautiful Villages of France” (a book – I will abbreviate this classification as TMBVoF from here on). Take plenty of film with you – it’s quite scenic. The village stretches west of the D27 main road. When you approach the village on the D27 (the village will be on your left), turn left on a smaller road – you will see a parking lot sign. The best way to access the town is from the very large parking lot at the west end of the village, at the end of this road. There are WC facilities there too. You will get a great view of the village as you drive along this road to the parking lot. Pick up a ticket from the automatic gate entrance to the lot & park the car, taking the ticket with you so you can pay at the machine next to the WCs when you leave. Cars are not allowed on any roads in the “old” section of town (there is no “new” section). Walk into town and you will be in a large “place” with a church and some arcades. There are some shops in this “place”, but they amount to about 80% of the shops in St Guilhem. This “place” is a nice spot to relax on a bench, have a drink at a café, or even lunch. To explore the town, take a street to the left of the arcaded area & just follow your nose & proceed west (left – towards the mountains). You will eventually find yourself running out of town. Retrace your steps and walk east, taking a different street if you can. Keep going east & you will eventually find the only road in village that runs east. This is the main cobbled road through town & will eventually end at the larger D27 road. Take lots of pictures along this road & explore some of the side streets - especially by the abbey church. Walk over the stream on a stone pathway, and then return. Keep going east until you hit the D27. Don’t return to your car by walking back along the same cobbled street. Instead, walk along the road you drove on to get to the parking lot and take some pictures along the way.
Leave St Guilhem or Clamouse (whichever you visited last) north on the D4 towards Ganges and the Grotte de Demoiselles.

You probably won’t have time to visit the Grotte des Demoiselles*** now, unless you skipped Pezenas, Clamouse, or St Guilhem.

We rented a Gite in this area for a week in ’02. Continue through Ganges and then take the D999 to Le Rey. This is a pretty drive. Le Rey is not really a town – it’s a castle that you can stay in. We dined at the castle & it seemed like it would be a good place to stay for a few days. It has towers, turrets, and a pool. They have nice outside dining. The Chateau du Rey is in the Michelin Red Guide, listed under the town of Vignan. Rooms in my ’04 Red Guide range from 63 to 97 E, with ½ pension (dinner included) available at 65 to 82E per person. Stay at the chateau for three nights to explore the area. If you want to bathe yourself in a little more luxury, then stay at the Chateau de Madiers in Madiers, which is southwest of Ganges on the D25. We stayed there several years ago on one of our jaunts from Provence to the Dordogne. It’s one of our favorites. It’s an old chateau too, but not with turrets & towers. It also has a pool. The rooms are fabulous. The only drawback is that it’s a little remote & you might have to do a little more driving to see the sights in this area. The rooms are 135 to 233 E. Dinner is served in a neat old section of the chateau. We dined there again in ’02 – which might be a good way to see the chateau if you don’t stay there.

Our favorite restaurant in this area is Les Muscardins in St Martin de Londres – south of Ganges on the D987. We had an excellent meal there. It's an easy drive from Le Rey, but I would not recommend driving there from Madiers.

Sunday
Ah – Sundays in France. These are becoming our favorite days. We don’t do much on Sundays – it’s fun to just kinda do the French thing of maybe a drive in the countryside, relax at the Gite or hotel, perhaps a snooze by the pool etc. However, most people on a 2 to 3 week vacation usually want to tour on Sundays – too bad. Maybe that’s why we like staying 2 weeks in one place, which gives us time to do nothing for an entire day.

Anyway, visit the Grotte des Demoiselles***. This is one of the best caves in France. Read about it in the Michelin guide. It’s quite spectacular. We’ve visited it twice. The concretions on the tour start modestly, but then get much better as the tour progresses. My Green Guide says its opens at 9:00, so get there at that time. It has a lunch closing, and the last tour departs 45 mins before this closing.

After visiting Demoiselles, take a drive down the beautiful Gorge de la Vis** (GG under “Vis”). Take the D25 southwest of Ganges. Try to do this in the AM so the sun won’t be in your face. You will drive past Madiers, although I think the Chateau is actually a little north on the D48 (look for a sign & visit the Chateau if you’re not staying or dining there). The Tour de France took this route (in the opposite direction) in ’02. The stage ended at Mt Ventoux. Do you know how far away Mt Ventoux is, and have you ever driven up Mt Ventoux !!!! Gads!!!!!

Just past Madiers, take a right turn on the D130 and visit the Cirque de Navacelles***- (in the GG under “N”).

After the Cirque, continue north on the D713 (only road through the Cirque) to Blandas. Take the D158 north to connect with the D999. Head west on the D999 until you intersect the D55, and then head south on the D55 to La Couvertoirade.

Visit La Couvertoirade*. This is a “curious fortified town” (from Green Guide), and classified as one of TMBVoF. It’s somewhat unspoiled by tourism. There are a few artisan shops in town (my wife bought something there). Take a walk along the ramparts, which have a lunch closing, except for July & Aug. You have to pay to walk the ramparts, but we found them interesting.

Stu Dudley