Our Village is Montblanc, an old winegrowing village which is, not surprisingly, surrounded by vineyards. It is a busy village with a small weekly market and a full range of shops – 2 bakeries, a chemist, small supermarket, excellent butcher who also sells homemade pates, stews etc, Post Office, newsagents with foreign papers, and a bar which serves lunches in the summer months.
We have a good selection of restaurants within easy reach. The closest to us and which luckily happens to be one of our favourites is the newly opened L’Asparagus in Valros. This is only a 5 minute drive away by car. It has great atmosphere with lovely decor, spacious terrace and good service – and the food is pretty good too! Menus start at under 15 euros at lunchtime, there is an excellent wine list and their chocolate pudding is the best ever. Also nearby is La Grange Basse at Bessan, not far from the A9 Pezenas exit, and towards Beziers is the deservedly famous fish restaurant Barba. A 10 minute drive to Pezenas and Beziers gives you a wide choice – just ask us for further mouth-watering choices.
We are 5 minutes from exit 34 of the A9 for Agde and Pezenas. The new A75 from Paris is about the same distance. We are close to Beziers Airport (15 kms), Montpellier Airport (55kms) and Carcassonne Airport (100 kms).
Local Places of Interest
Our house is a good base for exploring with historic sites nearby – Carcassonne, the Cathar castles, Roman cities of Narbonne, Arles and Nimes – and attractive hinterland with vineyards, lakes and rivers.
We are only 25 kms from Cap d Agde with its marina and leisure parks, and there are Mediterranean beaches even closer to us at La Tamarissiere and Valras Plage.
There are weekly markets to visit at Pezenas and Clermont Herault, and oysters and other fresh shellfish to be sampled from the Etang de Thau.
Not forgetting of course the many wineries to be visited here, with many village co-ops and local producers happy to introduce you to their produce.
Pezenas and Beziers are both 15 kms away. We love them both – Pezenas for its wealth of artisan shops and winding 17th century streets, and Beziers for its grandiose cathedral – and also great shops ! Both put on extra attractions in the summer months – late night artisan markets in Pezenas and the famous feria in Beziers when for 4 days in August the whole town centre is given over to music and merrymaking.
The Roman cities of Nimes and Arles are also worth a visit and the Pont du Gard is a definite must. For 9th century history try the Unesco site of St Guilhem le Desert.
Gentle touring around the villages and vineyards of the Herault is very rewarding. The town of Roquebrun on the river Orb has a river to swim in, a hilltop Mediterranean garden to admire and some great wine to taste. Cathar country is also within reach including the splendidly positioned Queribus. The Canal du Midi is on the doorstep.
There is a whole host of cultural and social activities and fetes going on, more especially in the summer months of course , but also in the quieter seasons. We try hard to keep up to date and make sure our guests do as well. This year we have enjoyed modern dance in Montpellier, a classical concert in the Abbaye de Valmagne, brilliant opera in the bullring in Beziers, a Mucha art exhbition in Montpellier and several photographic exhibitions in local wine domaines – with some wine tasting too.