What to do when the sun's not out in Languedoc

CAVES:

What better way to spend a wet day than 100 meters underground…...discover a world of fossilised halls with fine sparkling white crystallations of calcite and aragonite.

Grotte de Clamouse - in the heart of the Gorges de l’Hérault
Site: www.clamouse.com 
Tel: 04 67 57 71 05
Timings: From February to November (check website for times)
Prices: Adults €8.70, Children 4 - 14 years €5.50, Under-4’s free
Other: Snacks available

Grotte de Demoiselles - situated in La Haute vallée de l’Hérault
Site: www.demoiselles.com
Tel: 04 67 73 70 02
Timings: Open all year (check website for times)
Prices: Adults 8.90€, Children 12 - 17 € 6.60; 6 - 11 €5; 3 - 5 €1; Under- 3’s free
Other: Brasserie - Bar

Grotte de Trabuc - in the heart of the Cévennes
Site: www.grottes-de-france.com
Tel: 04 66 85 03 28
Timings: Open February to November (check website for times)
Prices: Adults €8.40, Children €5.30

Grotte Cocalière - in the Cévennes mountains
Site: www.grotte-cocaliere.com
Tel: 04 66 24 34 74
Timings: March to September (check website for times)
Prices: Adults €8.00, Children 6-12 years €8.00
Other: snack bar

Grotte de Labeil - caves just north of Lodève
Site: www.grotte-de-labeil.com
Tel: 04 67 96 49 47
Timings: open March to October (check website for times)
Pricing: Adults €7.60, Children 5 - 12 € 3.80
Other: Restaurant

Grotte de l'Aven Armand - in the Lozère
Site: www.aven-armand.com
Tel: 04 66 45 61 31
Timings: March to November (check website for times)
Pricing: Adults €8.80; Children 5 - 15 €6.00; 15 - 20 €7.20
Other: Snack bar, equiped for handicapped people

AQUARIUMS & ZOOs:

Why not spend half a day visiting either one of these aquariums, with 100’s of different species of fish to dazzel you plus 25 different types of sharks. At the same time you can educate the kids with lots of interactive exhibits.

Mare Nostrum Aquarium, Montpellier
The biggest and best in the south of France - a real treat for the whole family.
Site: www.ot-montpellier.fr/mare-nostrum
Tel: 04 67 13 05 50
Timings: May to Sept (check websites for times)
Prices: Adults €12.50, Children 3 - 12 €9; under 3’s free ; 2 adults + 2 children 36€

Seaquarium, Le Grau du Roi
Site: www.seaquarium.fr
Tel: 04 66 51 57 57
Timings: Open all year ( check website for times)
Pricing: Adults €11.30; 5 - 15 € 8.30; under 5’s free; 2 adults + 2 children €35

'Serre Amaxzonienne' - Amazonian Rainforest at Montpellier Zoo
Site: www.ot-montpellier.fr/serre-amazonienne/en
Tel: 04 67 54 45 23
Timings: Open Tuesday to Sunday 10am - 7pm
Pricing: Adults €6; 6 - 12 € 2.50; 12 - 25 €3

Musée Fabre, Montpellier
Site: www.ot-montpellier.fr/musee-fabre
Tel: 04 67 14 83 00
Timings: open Tuesday - Sunday check website for times
Pricing: Full rate €6; under 6’s free; family rate 2 adults+ 2 children €12

The Fabre museum is located right in downtown Montpellier, just a few minutes' walk from the Place de la Comédie and convenient tramway stops. The museum exhibits a large collection of paintings and sculpture from the 15th to the 18th centuries - including works by Brueghel, Rubens, Courbet, Dufy - and a whole gallery devoted to the local artist Pierre Soulages.

Ceret Museum of Modern Art - in Ceret, near the Spanish border
Site: www.musee-ceret.com
Tel: 04 68 87 27 76
Timings: see website for opening times varies throughout the year
Pricing: Adults €8; under 12’s free

A small but popular museum that showcases works by Picasso (including his famous 'bowl' series), Chagall, Matiss and some impressionists.

The Dali Museum - (Teatre-Museu Dali) just south of the border in Figures, Spain
Site: www.salvador-dali.org/museus/figueres/en_index.html
Tel: +34 972 677 500
Timings: open every day (check website for times and bank holidays)
Pricing: Adults and children over 9 €11; under 9’s free; see website for further reductions

Once a theatre in Dali's home town of Figures, it was re-built after being bombed in the Spanish civil war by Dali to house the largest and most diverse collection of his works in the world. The museum itself is as much a work of art as its contents - crowned with giant eggs, and filled with odd mechanical devises, strange furniture and 3-D collages.

The Haribo Museum of Sweets - Uzès, Gard
Site: www.haribo.com/planet/uk/startseite.php
Timings: open Feb - Dec except Mondays
Prices: Adults 6€ children 5 to 15 €3; under 5's free

Definately one for the children, however parents don’t dispair there are some lovely cultural things to see whilst you are in this area!

Bowling, Swimming & Ice skating - in the 'Espace Liberté' in Narbonne
Site: www.espaceliberte.com
Tel: 04 68 42 17 89
Timings: Swimming open every day (check website for opening times); Bowling open every day (check website for times); Ice skating (Patinoire) open every day (check website for times)
Pricing: Swimming: Adults and children over 14 €4.75; 2- 13 €2.80. Bowling: prices from €3.25, hire of shoes €1.50. Ice Skating: adults and children over 14 €4.15; children 3 - 13 €3.40, hire of boots €2.20

All under one roof, what better way than to spend a rainy day and you wont even have to take a pack lunch as there is a café restaurant on site.

BOWLING:

For the more energetic amongst you why not have a go at bowling. Great fun for all ages from children to grand parents and for as long or short a time as you like. In the height of the season or week-ends it might be worth booking a lane before you go to avoid any dissapointment when you get there.

Bowling in Montpellier
Site: www.bowlingdemontpellier.net
Tel: 04 67 65 80 08
Timings: open every day from 2pm (see website for closing times)
Prices: Monday - Friday 2pm - 8pm from €3.50 per person ( see website for other times and prices)

Extreme Bowling, Béziers
Site: www.xtremebowling.fr
Tel: 04 67 39 12 70 Perpignan 0468 67 54 09
Timings: open every day at 2pm
Prices: Hire of shoes obligitory €1.50 (socks needed for hygene reasons); prices start from €4 per person

INDOOR TENNIS (+ Squash & badminton)

A superb tennis centre, with 8 indoor courts and 24 exterior courts (with floodlighting). There are also 2 squash courts and 2 badminton courts. The centre has a snack bar and small pool, and plenty of parking.

Indoor Tennis Centre, Cap d'Agde
Site:
Address: Avenue de la vigne, 34300 CAP D'AGDE
Tel: 04 67 01 03 60
Timings: Open all year round - Monday to Sunday, 9am - 8pm.
Prices: Between €14 and €20 depending on the time of year and the type of court. You can also buy a card for 10 or 20 hours, which brings down the hourly price quite a bit.

Terra Vinea - Underground wine exhibit - a regional centre for the histiory of wine and for Mediterranean culture. Restaurant with choice of menu’s, wine tasting with a difference.
Site: www.terra-vinea.eu
Tel: 04 68 48 64 90
Timings: Open every day except Christmas and New Year’s day
Pricing: Adults €8.50; kids 10 to 14 €3.50; 6 to 9 €1.00

Noilly Prat Factory - Marseillan. Find out how this tipple is made and stored.
Site: www.noillyprat.com
Tel: 04 67 77 20 15
Timings: Guided tours Mar - Nov (check website for times)
Pricing: Adults €3.50; children 12 - 18 €2; under 12’s free; family rate €7

WINE TASTING:

And not forgetting of course there is always wine tasting and if you visit our Languedoc Wine Tasting page it will give you some ideas of places to go. Nearly all wine domains are open for you to go in and have a ‘Degustation’ at any time.

What better way to escape the rain than to watch a good film. Although most English-language films are dubbed into French in Languedoc, some are shown in 'Version Originale - or 'VO'' - with French subtitles. Below is a list of those cinemas in the area that show 'VO' films regularly:

Cinema le Colisee - Carcassonne: Cinema with five screens showing the latest English language film releases. At 10 Boulevard Omer Sarraut in Carcassonne (11).
Tel: 04 68 25 08 09 

Cinema Castillet - Perpignan: At 1 bd Wilson in Perpignan (66).
Site: www.cinemas-castillet.com
Tel: 08 92 89 28 92

Le Moliere - Pézenas:  The cinema offers English speaking movies every month. Impasse Pillement in Pezenas (34).
Site: www.cinemamoliere.com/indexmain.php
Tel: 04 67 90 76 41 

Les Cinemas Luteva - Lodève: On bd Joseph-Maury in Lodève (34).
Site: http://pagesperso-orange.fr/luteva/
Tel: 0892 892 892 

Le Semaphore - Nimes: Cinema with three screens showing recent English language films. At 25 Rue Porte-de-France in Nimes (30).
Site: http://www.semaphore.free.fr/
Tel: 04 66 67 83 11

Cinema Trianon - Mende: On bd Lucien-Arnault in Mende.
Site: www.allocine.fr/seance/salle_gen_csalle=P0788.html
Tel: 0892 892 892

Cinema Celleneuve - Montpellier: Place Pierre Renaude
Site: www.nord-cinema.com/salles/fiche-376.html
Tel: 04 67 75 41 90

Cinema Centre - Montpellier: 5, rue de Verdun
Site: www.cinediagonal.com/
Tel:04 67 58 58 10

Cinema Capitole - Montpellier:  5, rue de Verdun
Site: www.cinediagonal.com/
Tel:04 67 58 58 10

Odysseum, Montpellier: Located just outside the centre of Montpellier, accessible by car or tram, Odysseum combines attractions such as the Mare Nostrum Aquarium (see above), a Planaterium, an ice skating rink, bowling alleys, restaurants and of course an enormous shopping mall - filled with major brands such as H & M, Desidual, Zara Home, Apple and many more.

Polygone Centre, Montpellier: Montpellier's older shopping mall (the Odysseum is brand new) is located right in the centre of the city, just off the Place de Comédie. It combines lots of shops (Habitat, Galleries Lafayette, Gap etc...) with a number of restaurants.