help me select a languedoc beach town

hi all,

we go to france every summer to watch a stage or two of the tour de france, either in the pyrenees or the alps. after the tour stage, we like to stay a week at a beach if possible.

so far,we have been to collioure and st-jean de luz. we loved both towns, but would like to keep trying new places. since we%26#39;ll be coming from alpe d%26#39;huez this year, and i%26#39;d like to fly out of either toulouse or barcelona, i would like to ask for opinions on other languedoc beaches.

i was thinking about something close to narbonne or beziers, because we would like to re-visit st-chinian and roquebrun, where we%26#39;ve been before.

we are a family with a 16-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl. our daughter likes to snorkel and explore and find sea creatures, and play in the waves. she also likes horse-back riding. our son%26#39;s interests are the same, except for the horses.

we would prefer a place similar to collioure with respect to %26quot;authenticity%26quot;, and by that i mean not a tacky tourist town... we can get *that* anywhere in the states :)

thanks in advance for your advice!

-eric zwicky

|||

%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;i was thinking about something close to narbonne or beziers, because we would like to re-visit st-chinian and roquebrun%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;

Narbonne Plage will meet your requirements.

%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;we would prefer a place similar to collioure with respect to %26quot;authenticity%26quot;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;

As one travels east from Collioure, the next town offering scenic views and similar charm is Cassis, east of Marseille. Only Stes Maries de la Mer comes close but overall it does not compare with the other two in my opinion. I shouldn%26#39;t call either of these locations %26quot;tacky tourist towns%26quot; but there are plenty of tourists none the less. I venture very little is %26quot;waiting to be discovered%26quot; in France, a country that has been overrun by tourists for decades and mounting real estate prices are a testament.

My tips for worthy locations yet undiscovered by hordes of tourists:

town - Cordes sur Ciel

region - Auvergne

|||

May I add something that might appeal to your family, particularly your children:

(caution, approach these with an open mind)

www.ane-et-rando.com/Sommaire/Summary.html

http://hiddentrails.com/europe/france/

http://www.rideworldwide.co.uk/france.html

|||

sarastro,

thanks for the links and the advice. it looks like valras plage and gruissan plage are also in a good area for getting up the orb valley. do you have any opinion on those two beaches?

and thanks for the equitation links!

-eric

|||

Most of the beach locations along the Golfe du Lion are summer resort areas, empty in winter. They really are all very similar, crowed in summer with a lot of beach activity.

All of those which you have selected should serve well.

|||

Hi

much of the Languedoc coastline has beaches backed by sand dunes. So, not very interesting for snorkelling.

The only rock outcrops are Pyrenees, Cap d%26#39;Agde and Sete.

What may also be of interest is, say, Bouzigues or one of the other fishing villages on Etang de Thau. They are inside a tidal lagoon, and have more marine life. Only small waves, though !

Town website : http://www.bouzigues.fr

Photos of the area :

the-languedoc-page.com/photos/languedoc-phot…

Peter

|||

-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-

This topic was inactive for 6 months and has been closed to new posts. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.

To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html

We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.

Removed on: 2:20 am, September 19, 2009