Beyond such sensuous pleasures are many layers of history.
This stretch of coastline was the first place in Gaul to be settled
by the Romans, their enduring legacy evident in the great
amphitheatre at Nimes and the magnificent engineering of the Pont
du Gard.
In parts, the region remains wild and untamed, but it also has the
most youthful and progressive cities: Montpellier, the ancient
university city and capital of the region, and Nimes with its
exuberant feria and bullfights.
The whole area is typified by an insouciance mixture of ancient
and modern, from Roman temples and post-modern architecture in its cities, to solar power and ancient
abbeys in the mountains.
