St. Chinian
If you approach St Chinian from Béziers via Cébazan, you'll be treated to a splendid trip over the hills and a breathtaking view of the upper Orb valley. From there, descend the long hill into the town, passing an excellent shop-cum-cave, 'L'Espace du Vin', on your left near the bottom. There are several bars, restaurants and cafés along the main street heading to a little bridge over the Vernazobre where, if you peer over the parapet, you can see brown trout lazily heading upstream.
St Chinian hosts an excellent market on Sunday mornings and an even better one at Christmas. Take a leisurely stroll around the stalls and admire the fresh produce that lies alongside locally produced metalware and African handbags. Follow up the market with a leisurely lunch in one of the restaurants and take the opportunity to sample at least one of the local AOC wines produced only a couple of miles from where you are sitting.
If it's really warm, take the short trip to Roquebrun to cool off at the river beach, or to the Gorge d'Heric to find a quiet rockpool to sit in or beside.
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