Check out the usual booking sites such as www.booking.com or www.venere.com we stayed at the Royal Hotel, Rue Maguelune, www.royalhotelmontpellier.com very handy for the station, which is in the centre of the city and a short walk from the heart of the old town. It is very reasonably priced with helpful staff.

Restaurants

Les Caves Jean Jaures, 3 Rue Collot, is a great restaurant with a wine selection from a whole wall of wines, a wine lover’s paradise. The set three course dinner is incredible value, the food is outstanding, the service excellent and there is even a coffee menu, booking is advisable.

La Girafe, 14 Rue de Palais, is in a lovely old building but with a modern style menu, really enjoyed the dishes we chose and the service was good, it is popular therefore booking is recommended.

Le Prince de Minorque, 1 Rue des Teissiers, is one of a number of restaurants in this street, it does a very reasonably priced lunch menu.

Le Bouchon St Roch ,15 Rue Du Plan D’Agde, does a wonderful value set lunch and set dinner, particularly great in warm weather when you can sit outside as the inside is not so appealing.

Mi Barrio, 11 Rue Du Plan d’Agde, just by St Roch Church, this wine bar is run by Claude and has a great reasonably priced selection of wines with special tastings and live music on some nights plus cold dishes such as a selection of cheeses.

At the bottom of the above street is a small local bar with some great outdoor tables.

Times Café, Rue des Tessiers, is a small wine bar doing cold meats and cheeses.

In this part of South Eastern France there are so many places that can be visited, see some suggestions below.

Carcassonne

Everyone goes there to visit the old walled city and there is shuttle bus from the new town to the old part but is doesn’t run at lunchtimes and it’s not easy to find the stops therefore ask at the tourist office. Inside the old city there are numerous places to eat, some are very touristy. One to try is restaurant Le St Jean, 1 Place St Jean, it is in a lovely setting with a variety of menus including one where you can have the famous Cassoulet.

Sete

This is a lovely town on the coast with lots of canals and beaches. Quai General Durand, which is on one side of the main canal, is full of fish restaurants from very up market to more basic.

Nimes

A short journey from Montpellier and great for a day trip, the Amphitheatre is amazing and there is no shortage of places to eat. For a drink go to the Café on the roof of the new Carre Modern Art Museum called Le Ciel de Nimes, a wonderful setting and the food looked good.

Perpignan

Lots to see strolling round the old town, it has more of an edge than Montpellier and it is easy in the old part to wander into areas that need a bit of caution.

Check out the usual web sites, we stayed at the Hotel de La Loge, Rue Fabriques d’en Nabot, www.hoteldelaloge.fr, it is a reasonably priced hotel in the heart of the old town, it is very old fashioned but well appointed for the price.

Casa Sansa, Rue Fabrique Couverte, is a great Catalan restaurant with a huge menu, good service and a lovely feel to the place.

Le Divil, 9 Rue Fabrique d’en Nabot, is a restaurant specialising in grilled meats, also with a good wine list, definitely worth trying.

Café de La Maree, 7 Rue Paratilla, is a wonderful, friendly, local bar with great wines and cold dishes such as pate, cheese and cold meats, also has great music.

Le Grand Café Del La Poste, Place de Verdun, one of the better cafes to sit outside with good service.

You are in the Languedoc Roussillon wine growing region, the single biggest wine producing area in the world, which in the main produces red table wine. However the quality of the wines is improving in the face of competition from other countries. Some of the more common grape types are carignan, grenache and syrah and the wines tends to be blends and full bodied.

Picpoul de Pinet is a white wine produced from one part of the region and is increasingly being found on restaurant wine lists in the UK. It is a floral, citrusy wine that goes well with seafood.