Languedoc - top tips please

[franch]

House is booked, just need tips for things to do with 3yo and 5yo, plus places to eat etc for me and DH (we're taking relatives so will have babysitters )

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We stayed in the middle of nowhere near Uzes last year. It was fab.
Our dc's a re slightly older - but they loved the tiny steam train from Anduze to St Jean du Gard.
There are some beautiful deserted rivers to swim in there too, with wide flat rocks and clear water; being in the hills it's cooler too.
It rained one day and we went to the Haribo Museum; it was horrendous - the children loved it, and ate e numbers for free.
There are few of those children's animal parks, with ponies, goats guineapigs etc. They never seem that crowded and always go down well with ours.
The Carmargue is worth going to; there are flamingoes and the wild horses can be spotted in the distance. the beach there is nice.

For our second week we stayed nearer the coast near Pezenas. We found some lovely nearly empty beaches.
[http://www.creme-de-languedoc.com/Languedoc/beaches/index.php This is a great site]]
Marseillan port is gorgeous- tiny quiet village and lovely to eat in the evening.
Marseillan Plage is horrendous tacky seaside!

Agde is a nice town, but we could give Sete a miss.

Inland towns, markets and villages are lovely, just sitting in a square while the children run about.

Hope you have a lovely time! It's gorgeous.

A great site for Languedoc

Meant to say that Pezenas and Uzes were our two favourite places to eat; not too crowded/huge and lovely alley ways, squares and shops.
Marseillan for seafood.

Whereabouts in Languedoc are you heading? How are you getting there?

Fantastic - thanks so much NR39.

Driving, OP8 - hiring a villa near the village of Magalas, just North of Beziers.

Lovely around there - beware of huge queues on beach roads though in July/August....we used to go the place just before cap d'Agde - can't remember name- - for the beach - find if you can leave the house at 10am ; any later you get stuck in huge traffic jams. Ditto trying to go out into Agde in the evening...Pezenas is lovely and there's lots of lovely villages inland too - would give Valras Plage a miss unless you like super-tacky and overcrowded beach!! The canal du midi is tunning especially around Beziers, though Beziers does get very busy for the week in August when the bull-fighting festival is on (don't get me started on my animal rights crusade......)

sorry typos - meant beach road finE and that can du midi is Stunning!

Thanks 30sthg - very good tips. Bullfighting festival - eek

Its a fabulous area and we go there often as my parents have a villa not too far from Magalas.

There is a fab game reserve between Narbonne and Perpignan - its the largest game reserve outside of Africa and well worth a visit if you like animals etc.

Roquebrun is beautiful and is a steep hillside town on the river Orb. Brill place for picnics.

Depends what type of beaches/resorts you like - if you like the touristy types then head for Vias, Marseillan and Cap d'adge. If you prefer quieter, more typically French "rural" resorts, then head St Pierre sur Mer, Narbonne Plage etc.

If your kids like dinosaurs, let me know as I can direct you to a great dinosaur parkmas the area is very rich in dinosaurs. YOu can look at my parents website for more info about the area if that helps here

We know the area really well, so ask away

Oh that's great aznerak thanks. We're definitely more into quiet beaches. And very into dinosaurs so more info appreciated. Game reserve sounds great.

All food/eating recommendations also gratefully received

The Gorges d'Heric is accessible through the village of Mons la Trivalle, on the road between Bedarieaux and St Pons. It gets busy in the summer but has lots of pools you can dip into - we just take a packed lunch and laze there all day. Olargues is a pretty medieval village on the same road. The road runs along a pretty valley, it's on the edge of a national park, green hills and vineyards.

Thanks OP8, sounds lovely

We're planning on doing exactly the same and staying near Beziers so I would also love to hear from anyone who can give ideas on quieter not so resorty beaches in the area!

When are you off rachel?

A quieter beach near Beziers is Vendres Plage Ouest - just down the coast from Valras but fairly quiet with just a small restaurant (which completely disappears in the winter!). Friends of ours prefer the beach at Les Cabanes-de-Fleury which is even less developed.

There's loads to do in the area. If you're unlucky enough to get a wet day there's a huge new soft play area called Captain Frimousse on the D609 near Colombiers (west of Beziers).

There's a fantastic market at Clermont L'Herault on a Wednesday which is worth visiting.

I can't recommend any restaurants north of Beziers (we stay to the south west) but Beziers itself has plenty of good places to eat; both in the centre and around the outskirts.

Thanks Badpups - quiet beach tips particularly useful and really looking forward to the markets

we went to the safari place aswell with our kids and it was fantastic !!