Page 39 - ExploreFrance

Montpellier From studs to plate
Camp Base
for Samoa

Montpellier, artistic city, buzzing with cultural activities, Narbonne houses one of the most beautiful covered markets in France : les Halles de
Narbonne. With its colours, aromas and fizzing vitality, this market reflects the spirit of the
welcomes the Samoa team for its training! city and its inhabitants. Gilles Belzon’s restaurant Chez Bébelle, which you’ll find here, is a
Discover Montpellier local institution that’s well worth going out of your way to find. The Belzon family, which
features three generations of rugby players, has opened a bar and grill where you can
Perpignan dive headlong into a culinary game of rugby, with ‘Bébelle’ announcing the orders using
Camp Base a megaphone and catching beautifully packed cuts of meat in mid-flight, like a back-row
forward. Looking for something more traditional? Head to La Maison Bébelle, located in a
for Portugal former convent opposite Les Halles. More info
Perpignan, a sunny city close to the Mediterranean,
is known for its good life and conviviality.
The Portuguese team will be well received!
Discover Perpignan

A wonderful journey by train

A great way to visit the region is on one of the trains that cut across it : you’ll travel from Toulouse to Col-
lioure, via the Vermeille coast. For those with less time to spare, the train that goes to Narbonne and then
on to Collioure is the best option. A highlight is when you change trains at Latour-de-Carol, because this
is where you take the Canari, a yellow train specific to this region, which has been circling the mountain
peaks for over a hundred years and affords unbeatable views. No words can convey the excitement of this
adventure and the beautiful encounters provided by these three hours spent up among the peaks, where
the train often passes close to the precipice...
More info

An archipelago in the heart of the Pyrenees

The National Nature Reserve of Néouvielle can be accessed via a winding road ; note the
startling contrast between the sharp, granite peaks and the gentleness of a bucolic lands-
cape dotted with pines and punctuated by 70 lakes. Visitors immerse themselves in the sub-
tle shades of green and turquoise-blue while strolling amongst mountain pines that grow at
altitudes of up to 2600 metres (the highest ones in Europe!). The local fauna is remarkable too :
there’s the Pyrenean Brook Salamander, a large newt that was around at the time of the
dinosaurs can be seen alongside solitary foxes, marmots, and many other species. As you move from one
valley to the next, taking the alpine passes, the trail takes you from one refuge to the next as you attempt
to conquer the Tour du Néouvielle. A total of 5 guarded refuges thus enable you to walk without heavy
equipment for several days, so that you can complete a loop all the way round the Reserve.
More info
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