Camping Les Erables

Huge and high up though it is, the viaduct can barely compete with the fine landscape in these parts: 25 minutes’ drive away, the Chaos of Montpellier-le-Vieux is a dolomite rock field of arches, pinnacles, spires and towers above the gorges of the Dourbies, best explored by walking trails and zipwires. If you’re up for shooting through the Tarn gorges at speed, Le Rozier (half an hour away) is the departure point for canoeing and rafting trips, and those more into depths than heights can descend into the geological mysteries of Dargilan and Aven Armand caves (40 and 55 minutes). For a cave experience of a more culinary kind, make the half-hour trip to Roquefort-sur-Soulzon where tours of the cheese-filled labyrinths end in tastings, purchases… and perhaps a picnic lunch. History buffs trek over to L’Hospitalet-du-Larzac (half an hour) to learn about the Knights Templar in the museum, and then make the pilgrimage to medieval La Couvertoirade, a fortified village where the persecuted sect took refuge amid the grand gorges (40 minutes). Going from the grand to the minuscule… everything that creeps, crawls, scuttles and slithers can be seen at Micropolis, City of Insects and at the Larzac Reptilarium; both are 25 minutes away.