The best traffic-free bike rides around Saint-Pons-De-Mauchiens

The oyster farming in the Étang de Thau is world-renowned for the crisp "Huîtres de Bouzigues". Since there are no tides in the lagoon, the oysters grow hanging from ropes on fixed wooden racks in the water.

Montagnac is distinguished by the presence of numerous remarkable buildings from the golden age of wine in the late 19th century: functional houses known as "vigneronnes", manor houses, urban estates, and wine-growing districts. Furthermore, its status as a city of royal fairs from the 12th century to the Revolution allowed it to endow its historic center with magnificent private mansions such as the Hôtel de Paul de Brignac, the king's representative, which houses a magnificent French painted ceiling.

This small village has assets to showcase. Do not hesitate to linger to visit its church, its old collegiate chapel converted into a media library, its well or its presbytery.

This medieval village, which appeared in the 11th century, had a strategic position, perched above the Hérault valley. Even today, its castle, fortifications, and towers give it a military appearance.

The causse de Nizas offers a beautiful perspective on the basalt plateau called planèze. This environment is crossed by herds, the few limestone springs have been developed by lime kilns.

Built between 1887 and 1892, the Saint-Aubin church is the most recent chapter in a religious history spanning over eight centuries. It succeeds a first medieval church, mentioned as early as 1220, and then the former castle chapel which served as the parish church from 1749. Its elegant neo-Gothic architecture, its original high altar, and its stained-glass windows donated by village families bear witness to the prosperity of Aumes at the end of the 19th century. Fragilized by significant structural cracks, the church has been temporarily closed to the public since November 22, 2024, to ensure visitor safety, pending the necessary work for its reopening. Just a short walk away, the former chapel is still visible and today houses an archaeological museum, recalling that the village has been occupied since the Iron Age. This succession of places of worship makes Saint-Aubin a remarkable testament to the evolution of Aumes through the centuries.

The historic center of Nizas is discovered around the place du Griffe, where a castle, church, and fountain form a remarkable heritage ensemble. Mentioned as early as the 9th century, the village developed around a medieval castrum before being enriched with a Renaissance castle and an elegant republican fountain. The Château de Nizas, built at the end of the 16th century by the Carrion de Nizas family, is recognizable by its U-shaped plan, its corner towers, and its monumental portal. It is listed as a historical monument. Facing it stands the church of Sainte-Félicité-Sainte-Perpétue, rebuilt between 1705 and 1708 on the foundations of an older building. It is dedicated to two young martyrs of Carthage from the 3rd century and preserves the relics of Saint Perpetua. In the center of the square, the Fountain of the Republic, inaugurated in 1887, is topped by a statue of Diana the Huntress. Its marble basin is adorned with four dolphins, whose jets feed the basin, making this fountain one of the most emblematic symbols of Nizas.

After leaving Caux, this long straight line reveals one of the most beautiful viewpoints in the area over the hamlet of Sallèles. Situated on a slight promontory, it hides an ancient history: the site was already occupied in the Gallo-Roman era before experiencing a new life in the Middle Ages.