Montpellier Off The Beaten Path

The town of Sete, near Montpellier, is well worth a visit. We spent most of an afternoon here wandering round and getting lost looking for the beach. The beach was about 10-15 minutes walk outside the town and by the time we got back we were too tired to do any more exploring in Sete. It's a nice, quiet town and didn't have too many tourists.

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The city of Nîmes was situated on the Via Domitia, a Roman road constructed in 118 BC, connecting Italy to Spain.
Just a few kms from the village of St Christol, (about 20 kms from Montpellier) our hosts took us to see an archaeological site of the Via Domitia (site of the Ambrussum).
Part of the area is still fenced off and under excavation, but a good portion of it is open to the public, with several interpretive sign boards in French. You can even walk on the old roman road yourself (it's the pathway through the site) and see the old wheel ruts.
One of the best things about this site was that it was almost completely deserted, and at least during the week, few people visit it.
A pleasant, leisurely walk and visit, quite unspoiled and natural. I highly recommend it (if you can find it, that is - I don't think we'd ever have come to this place if not for our friends showing it to us).

The Pont du Gard is just a short train ride from Montpellier and a great day trip. Take your swimmers with you as the river is great. The locals use it as a swimming hole as well. Entrance to the site is free.

After Gellone, the abbey in the sun, you must visit the Clamouse cave, the cathedral in the night. Clamouse cave is a must. It was discovered in the late 40s and open for visit in the early 60s. That means that it has never been visited with oil lamp and has not been spoiled by the deposit of charcoal from these lamps, as many ''old'' caves (i.e. visited since the turn of last century : grotte des Demoiselles near Montpellier, grotte de Han in Belgium, etc...). Its the most ''decorated'' cave I know : it is full of concretions of all kind, of all color and of all size. The visit is really a must. It's the kingdom of night !

Only cheese that has been matured in a well defined area, about 1500m long and 400m wide can bear the name of Roquefort. The milk must come from a larger, but neighboring and equally well-defined area, from ewe of the local breed. You can visit the caves and see the cheese maturing.
There are several legends that explain why people had at one time the strange idea to inoculate the curd with moulds.

Nant is a nice and quiet little town, not far from the ''chaos'' of Montpellier le Vieux, of Roquefort, of Millau, la Cavalerie, etc... It is a good stop for an evening and night.

25 km away from Millau, Montpellier-le-Vieux is an out of the beaten track place that is really worth a visit (5 euros). On the whole surface of the site, dolomitic rocks have been carved by water and wind to make the figure of a ruined city. It is called a ''mega lapiaz''.

See also Aveyron and the famous cave Aven-Armandl

There are several reasons for visiting Millau. This is the town where José Bové and his friends dismantled in 2002 a Mac Do that was to open a few days later and this is the town that has given its name to the ''Viaduc de Millau'' (Millau's viaduct) finished in May 28th 2004.

In the old city of Millau, weekly city market plays a main part in the city life.