Weekend road trip in the south of France

Wine region, pretty French villages, vineyard stay, new articles on Détours and content plan

Hello you!

After much ado and a lot of humming and hawing, we are finally here: my very first newsletter! Let me briefly tell you how it’s going to work.

Each week you will receive one newsletter every Wednesday. On the first and third Wednesdays of the month, you will receive updates on the latest publications on Détours, life updates, books and links recommendations, and basically anything interesting I find.

On the second and last Wednesdays of the month, you will receive longer essays where I dive deep into a variety of topics. For instance, some of the letters you will be receiving in the coming week would be about leaving Paris, the struggles of learning French, coping with summer in the south of France, and how I got started with photography in Paris.

Okay, having explained the content plan briefly, let me dive straight into my road-trip from last weekend.

Road-trip from Toulouse to Jonquiéres , via Béziers

This was an unplanned weekend away. My husband and I needed a break. Not a city break, but timeout in nature. Although we would have loved to drive to Provence since its peak lavender season, we realised we just did not have enough time to do the region justice.

So we decided to stick to exploring parts of Occitanie that we were unfamiliar with, and landed on the region around Hérault department. It’s just 2 hours away from Toulouse where we live, and packed with a whole lot of splendid things to see on the way.

I have two resources that I absolutely always refer to before any road-trip: Patrick Baud’s France secrète - Merveilles insolites, which lists out amazing cultural and natural lesser-known gems in France, and Petit Futé’s Les plus beaux Jardins de France, which lists out the gardens officially listed by France’s cultural ministry as the most remarkable in the country.

Yes, the best part of any road-trip are these stop-overs and détours. What’s better than taking a dirt-road to see an amazingly old tree or finding a field of lavender in the middle of Occitanie, or even better, stepping into a ‘remarkable garden’ in the former summer-house and atelier of a great artist! By the way, all of these are things I did this past weekend.

We drove from Toulouse to Béziers, with its Mediterranean coastline. Some highlights from this leg of the trip includes a visit to Villa de Antonin (photo above), which was the summer residence and workshop of the sculptor Jean-Antonin Injalbert. The gorgeous garden is filled with sculptures by the artist, and is considered one of the most ‘remarkable gardens’ of France.

We also made a détour to visit the Mediterranean Garden of Roquebrun, another ‘remarkable garden’ in France. Full of exotic cactus, the garden is situated high up from the city, offering sweeping view of the valleys around.

Then driving through the incredible vineyards of Languedoc-Roussillon, we reached our AirBnB at Jonquières. Having drank a few too many glasses of Languedoc wine in my lifetime, it was nice to finally see the region and explore its vineyards.

For accommodation, we were just looking for something basic with the hope that we would be spending a lot of our time outdoors. But far from basic, we found an AirBnB in a vineyard! Called Le Mas de l’Ecriture (photo above: view from the bedroom), it’s a stylish loft with modern fixtures and furnishing right hosted by a family-owned vineyard and winery. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a quiet place to unwind or anyone who loves wine. On the other hand, you do need a car to get anywhere, including to restaurants and cafés.

Making this our base, we explored the Hérault region. The diversity and grandeur of its incredible natural sites offers an array of activities for those who want to be immersed in nature. Its many caves, lakes, ravines, gorges and picturesque villages means there’s always too much to see and do.

From a lake surrounded by red hills (that looks like something from Mars), to a village dedicated to pottery, to some of the most gorgeous stalactite-covered caves in France, Hérault region was a treat to explore.

Some of the highlights of my trip include visiting UNESCO world heritage site, Le Pont du Diable, or bridge of the devil. It’s a medieval bridge that overlooks a rocky passage in the mountain through which the river Hérault flows. Surreal views! I also loved my visit to Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert (photo below), officially titled as ‘one of the most beautiful villages of France.’

Another unexpected surprise was finding a field of blooming lavender right here in Occitanie. We ended up at Mas de Villatelle quite by accident, while scouring Google Maps. It is an organic farm that cultivates a variety of lavenders. With a view on the mountains, its lavender field was just the perfect cherry to top this amazing road-trip that was. I can’t wait to come back to this part of France for a longer stay.

Of course, I will be writing in details about all my discoveries on Détours. If you want to see photos and videos of all these places, visit my Instagram.

New publications on Détours

Here are some new articles that have been up on Détours in the last week.

I try to understand why I love cafés in museums. Seriously, I cannot get enough of them, especially if they come in a cute courtyard with a garden.
The allure of Parisian museum cafés: My 5 favourites not to miss

Chateau de Versailles’ epic ‘Night Fountain Shows’ are back again. I write about my experience there, and what to expect plus what to keep in mind if you go.
A night to remember at the Château de Versailles: Night Fountains Show

If you are travelling to Paris this summer, mind your Paris manner and read this article first: Parisian etiquette: What is considered rude in Paris? 

Also, speaking of road-trips, read this motorbike trip account by Caroline.
Cruising through Vietnam on a motorbike: During a heatwave! 

Feeling like you need some good luck? Here’s a fun one for you.
Rubbing these Paris statues apparently brings you good luck!

I hope you enjoyed reading the very first instalment of Letters from France. Do let me know if you have any suggestions, or advice for how to make it better. I hope you have a wonderful week ahead. And I will see you next Wednesday with a longer read.

Pronoti