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Our second trip to France, to find the region, town or village that would best suit us in retirement, we did by train.
It was on our return journey, while sitting in the train’s upper deck, that excellent views of the passing landscape and beautiful scenery made us aware of the vastness of France. It beckoned verdant and scenic through flat planes of vineyards, poppy fields, farmland, little villages; changing to undulating hills and forests, through tunnels and under bridges or with rugged mountain ranges in the distance.
This second trip was to re-evaluate in more depth the impressions, likes and dislikes, pros and cons of the towns and districts we had already seen and visited, and to discover others. We spent our first night in Montpellier, a busy, in places very modern university town, alive with students and tourists. The city continues to charm and fascinate. It is well laid out, clean and easy to navigate. Centre town is really only accessible on foot, by tram or bus. Its modern structures blend in well with the typically French architecture of yester-year; the main boulevards and the small side streets are full of lovely boutiques and clothing shops.
Montpellier has been a university town since the 13th century when teachers of medicine formed a Universitas Medicorum, attracting students from all over Europe. It was supplemented in 1250 by a Stadium of law, both of which were given a seal of approval in 1289 by the Pope Nicholas IV. Its central and main square, Place de la Comédie hosts cafés, restaurants and bistros, which can also be found in the smaller squares situated around the city. The “terrace” culture continues to thrive in the French way of life!
After a good night’s rest we picked up our rental car and drove off to Clermont l’Herault. Like a lot of small French towns, Clermont l’Herault offers a central ‘place’ with café terraces, and along its main street are well-stocked clothing shops, pharmacies, boutiques, a few boulangers (bakers) and pattisiers, and of course the bouchers (butchers). We decided to visit an estate agent who informed us that since the markets have become more volatile, house prices in France have fallen since the beginning of the year, and in her opinion are expected to stabilize at the present level for the next year or two. 
Housing is surprisingly affordable in this region, for example a reasonably sized plot of land surrounding a house of 2 – 3 – 4 bedrooms can have a starting price of Euro 250,000. Clermont l’Herault’s larger supermarkets (Géant, Auchan), DIY and other big stores are situated on its outskirts. The estate agent mentioned, however, that with Montpellier ever expanding, Clermont l’Herault was fast attracting those who do not wish to live in a busy city. It provides an easy commute; cp Pézenas to the south (of which more later).
An underlying factor of our trip was also the region’s climate, an aspect we are taking into account more seriously with a view to our increasing age, ie since we are not getting younger, would we find summer temperatures of 26°C + too warm, unbearable even? Indeed, we are seeking more sunshine and definitely a more temperate climate in winter (preferably not penetratingly damp and grey), but how hot is too hot in summer?
Thus we were determined to trek more inland and discover the possibilities this held.
We drove up into the hills to visit Lodève. It was “in the clouds”, which the sun that day had not succeeded in dissipating. The town itself we found limited (ie butcher, baker – no “candlestick maker” – as the rhyme goes) and singularly uninviting. We continued on to Bédarieux. As with our first trip, and despite a very hospitable restaurant staff who served us an excellent salad lunch, we found it void of atmosphere.
Thus we turned towards the Mediterranean and on to Narbonne, where we stopped in the same Ibis hotel as two years ago. Different staff, but always predictable: clean, and friendly, competent service. Narbonne hails as a symbol for the eclipse of the Midi and its culture. Languedoc’s capital and metropolis since Roman times, its own particular symbol is the majestic, unfinished cathedral, Cathédral St. Just. Although its economy is mainly fuelled by wine – from nearby Corbières and other vineyards – the city has slowly become an industrial center and its outskirts have developed accordingly.
Cathédral St. Just was first a basilica from the reign of Emperor Constantine. It then had a Carolingian rebuilding in AD 890. The present church was begun in 1272, its cornerstone sent by Pope Clement IV, a former Archbishop of Narbonne. To extend the new cathedral to its planned length, however, it would have been necessary to rebuild a section of the city wall and in 1340 a lawsuit over this broke out between the city and the Church, which put an end to construction forever. Nevertheless, this one-third of a cathedral is by any measure the finest in the Midi.
In contrast to our first visit we found Narbonne to have lost some of its vitality. Since both our visits were in the month of May we did not think it was due to the time of year, although it could be put down to a later budding of the usual warm climate – or was it more due to our own awareness of the present-day lacklustre economy? Needless to say its renowned covered market, the splendour of its Palais des Archevêques, and the charming, albeit expensive boutiques just off the canal that runs through the city, remain the same.
