Camping Le Peyrelade

It's a few minutes' drive, half an hour's walk or about 15 minutes by bike from here to the ruins of Château de Peyrelade, the 12th-century castle standing at the entrance to the Tarn gorges. The castle is open to the curious from mid-June to mid-September; if you thirst for more of the same (recommended), de Peyrelade is one of a group of 23 Aveyron castles on the Route des Seigneurs du Rouergue tourist path. A drive of 30 minutes will land you at viaduct of Millau, taller than the USA's Empire State Building at 343 metres high. As you might reckon, this is an excellent photography spot: take the bus from the Milau tourist office in town if you want a good pic guaranteed, or make for the viaduct's north and clamber the steps to the viewing point. You'll be around the Gorges du la Dourbie from here, so take your camera on the road out of town up to the limestone rock formation of Chaos de Montpellier-le-Vieux, above the gorges. If you want to venture further around this (also recommended), five trails lead around the outcrops and there's also a tourist train stopping off at the viewing points. A day out with a difference for your small creepy crawlies is at the 'insect city' of Micropolis, 25 minutes' drive west at Saint-Leons. There are interactive displays and exhibits on all sorts of insects here, from bees and beetles, to ants and centipedes, ladybirds, butterflies and dragonflies.