Worth getting out of bed for...

Viewpoint

Gaze on the green Cévennes mountains from the Parc du Duché gardens in Uzès, which lies in the foothills, technically.

Arts and culture

The Jardins de la Fontaine in Nîmes were once hailed as the grandest in Europe. In Uzès, the gardens of the Parc du Duché are comparably beautiful; or there’s a small cave, La Grotte de la Baume, half an hour’s walk away, towards Pont Saint-Nicolas.

Something for nothing

In the west of the region, the ramparts and turrets of the fairy-tale mediaeval city at Carcassonne are a tourist magnet for good reason. On the Unesco World Heritage list, the old city is open free to visitors, who swarm to see its three kilometres of battlements, double-walled construction and dozens of towers. Strip away the souvenir shops, packed cafés and crowds, and it lives up to the step-back-in-time cliché.

Shopping

Pick up local produce on market days. Uzès has a busy Saturday market selling home-made goodies, from honey to linen quilts; bric-à-brac and antiques can be found around Place aux Herbes. Rue de la Madeleine in Nîmes is great for window-shopping. For labels, head to Rue Saint-Firmin and marble-paved Rue de l’Ancien-Courrier in Montpellier; other upmarket boutiques can be found among the high-street names around Rue de la Loge and Place de la Comédie. Montpellier’s Polygone centre houses Zara, Sephora and a few fashion brands, plus a supermarket. Regional edible treats can be found on Rue de l’Argenterie (we like the sweets at Pinto, number 14), and at Les Arceaux market. For second-hand French literature, try the Rue de l’Université.

Daytripper

Pont du Gard (www.pontdugard.fr), the famed triple-decker aqueduct built by the Romans to deliver drinking water from Uzès through the hills of the Uzège to Nîmes is a feat of engineering to be marvelled at. There’s an excellent visitor centre, and plenty of hiking trails. Bring some change to pay for parking.

Best beach

One of Languedoc-Roussillon’s best beaches is just south of Montpellier at La Grande Motte, though the city’s summer playground of Palavas-les-Flots is another option, with good bus links. Great day trips include flamingo-watching in the Camargue, where gypsies and cowboys congregate at Sainte-Marie-de-la-Mer; and ramparts make for great photos at the walled town of Aigues-Mortes. A hidden treasure of a beach, Beauduc is near Porte de St Louis du Rome in the Camargue: if you can find the right path, a 20-minute walk will take you to a beach you’re likely to have all to yourself.

Perfect picnic

Green year-round, the Jardins de la Fontaine in Nîmes were once hailed as the grandest in Europe. In Uzès, the gardens of the Parc du Duché are comparably beautiful. For something a little further away, there’s a small cave (La Grotte de la Baume) half an hour’s walk away, towards Pont St Nicholas.

Children

See the sea-life at the Aquarium Mare Nostrum in Montpellier (+33 (0)4 67 13 05 50; www.aquariummarenostrum.fr).

Activities

Go hot-air ballooning with Les Montgolfières du Sud (+33 (0)4 66 37 28 02; www.sudmontgolfiere. com). Paragliding is offered at the nearby village of Seynes (+33 (0)4 86 87 0440; www.parapentesud.com). Canoe along the jaw-dropping Gardon from Collias to the Pont du Gard with Kayak Vert (+33 (0)4 66 22 80 76; www.canoe-france.com/gardon; March to October). Sample fine vintages at Mas de Daumac Gassac vineyard outside Aniane, where tours and tastings take place 10am–12pm, then 2pm–6pm, and all day in July and August (+33 (0)4 67 57 88 45; www.daumas-gassac.com).

And

Purveyors of pocket-money treats Haribo are based in Nîmes. And they have a museum dedicated to sweeties, the Musée du Bonbon, on Pont des Charettes (+33 (0)4 66 22 74 39; www.haribo.com).