Montpellier

From the airport

Bus: take the shuttle bus to Place de l'Europe, from there you can take a tram into the town. The tram runs every few minutes.

Shop

Perlolita is a haven for busy-fingered beady-eyed creative squirrels. Choose your beads and make your own bijoux in the chatty workshop.

Weekly rag La Gazette Montpellier (on sale in news kiosks every Friday) costs  1 euro and contains gossip, news, sports and complte listings for all kinds of events throughout the city. It is a great way to get some local knowledge.

Villeneuve-les-Maguelone beach is a short bus ride from the centre and offers nine kilometres of unspoilt sand and clean water. Closer to the village, the Fete de la Mer offers fun and sporting activities on the sands all month of August.

Day trip

Beziers. This is normally a bustling market town, about 40 minutes away from Montpellier, but from 14-17 of August, the world-famous feria arrives in town. More than a million visitors are expected to throng the town for Spanish music, food and wine.