Languedoc-Roussillon

Founded in 1825 by painter François-Xavier Fabre, this exceptional museum houses one of France’s richest collections of European art. The galleries collectively showcase the last 600 years of artistic activity in Europe; most of the big names are represented here. Recent renovations have transformed the museum into a light, airy and engaging space.

Nîmes’ twin-tiered amphitheatre is the best preserved in France. Built around 100 BC, the arena once seated 24,000 spectators and staged gladiatorial contests and public executions; it's still an impressive venue for gigs and events. An audio guide provides context as you explore the arena, seating areas, stairwells and corridors (known to Romans as vomitoria), and afterwards you can view replicas of gladiatorial armour and original bullfighters’ costumes in the museum.

The extraordinary three-tiered Pont du Gard was once part of a 50km-long system of channels built around 19 BC to transport water from Uzès to Nîmes. The scale is huge: the bridge is 48.8m high, 275m long and graced with 52 precision-built arches. It was the highest in the Roman Empire. At the visitors centre on the left, northern bank, there's an impressive, high-tech museum featuring the bridge, the aqueduct and the role of water in Roman society.

Famously, the writer Robert Louis Stevenson trekked across the Cévennes in 1878 with his donkey Modestine, a journey recounted in his classic travelogue, Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes.

His route now provides the backbone of the GR70 long-distance trail, which runs for 272km from Le Puy-en-Velay to Alès (slightly longer than Stevenson’s original route). It’s the Cévennes’ most famous walk, and one of the best long-distance routes in France, travelling from the forests of the Cévennes across the Mont Lozère massif into the farmland and valleys of Gévaudan and Velay.

The useful Chemin Stevenson (www.chemin-stevenson.org) and GR70 Stevenson (www.gr70-stevenson.com) websites provide planning information. Free pamphlets and trail maps are widely available once you arrive, or you can rely on the excellent The Robert Louis Stevenson Trail guidebook, written by Alan Castle and published by Cicerone.

You don’t even need a donkey to carry your baggage these days, as La Malle Postale provides luggage-transfer services.

Oyster and mussel beds occupy the waters of the shimmering Étang de Thau lagoon, which surrounds this little village 15km northwest of Sète, while vineyards criss-cross the hillsides above town. Although wine has been produced here since the 6th century, shellfish farming only started in 1925, but it now anchors Bouzigues' economy. It's a wonderful place to soak up the coastal atmosphere, and there are a few great museums in the area.

Peyrepertuse is the largest of the Cathar castles, teetering on a sheer spur of rock with a drop of 800m on either side. Several of the original towers and many sections of ramparts are still standing. In early August, the castle holds falconry displays and a two-day medieval festival, complete with knights in armour. It's 51km northwest of Perpignan via the D117.

Built on a steep spur of rock, Carcassonne’s rampart-ringed fortress dates back more than two millennia. The fortified town is encircled by two sets of battlements and 52 stone towers, topped by distinctive ‘witch’s hat’ roofs (added by architect Viollet-le-Duc during 19th-century restorations). Note that to actually walk on the ramparts, you have to pay to enter the Château et Remparts.

Within the cavern of Aven Armand is the world’s greatest concentration of stalagmites, including a gallery of stone columns known as the Forêt Vierge (Virgin Forest). Colourful illuminations create an eerie atmosphere. The cave is accessed via a funicular that drops 60m into the gloom. Guided visits last about one hour. Combination tickets with the Chaos de Montpellier-le-Vieux canyons at Causse Noir are available.

One of southern France's most inspiring natural sites, the plunging canyons of the Gorges du Tarn wind for some 50km through the high limestone plateaux west from Florac. Steep cliffs carve through sparkling blue-green waters and limestone escarpments. En route are two villages: medieval Ste-Énimie (a good base for canoeing and walking along the gorges) and La Malène, smaller but equally attractive and with the same opportunities for outdoor fun.

The most spectacular section of the gorges starts at Ste-Énimie, and then winds westwards to Le Rozier, where the River Jonte flows into the Tarn. Motorists and cyclists can take in staggering panoramas from the narrow and twisting cliffside road (expect traffic jams in summer), but piloting your own kayak or canoe is the best way to experience the amazing scenery.