Agde holiday house: Agde

All we wanted was some late sun somewhere authentic and accessible and...... we found it!
Gatwick to Montpellier, bus from the airport to the city (15 mins), then train direct to Agde and a 10 minute walk to the Rue Litre.
We loved the charm of the narrow streets of one of the oldest towns in France. The people were friendly and very patient when we tried to speak French; and the market days were wonderful.
The property was very clean and fresh, well equipped and simply, but tastefully furnished (we wanted to steal the IKEA pillows!). It does have wi-fi, but that's what we were trying to escape from and so never used it!
Both showers at the house were unusual and eye-catching with plenty of storage space - though admittedly the whole house was too big for just the two of us... but we loved it! To the extent that we were always glad to return every evening from our day trips for a few glasses of wine before going out to a different restaurant and trying the local sea food.
In the mornings we took our breakfast tray up to the roof terrace (the spiral staircase was another little surprise) and it was a fantastic (and very lazy) way to start the day; with Agde catherdral tower dominating the view over the rooftops.
We were pleasently surprised that the TGV stops at Agde and even goes direct to Paris, but we were more than content with trips to the likes of Bezier (15 mins), Perpignan (approx' one hour) and Sete (20 mins) on the very efficient French railway system. All three places were wonderful and had their own distinct charm.
On one of the days we hired bikes from a local shop and went off to Marseillan (amazing lunch on the quayside); and next time we go we intend to bring our own cycles, as there's plenty of space indoors for storage and the Tour goes through or near Agde most years.
OK, parking is not easy, as the 'Rue' is only about 5ft wide and surrounded by very narrow streets! - but its as authentic a place as you're ever going to get and you just need to be a little realistic and do some research (Google Earth will help).
For us, it was perfect for what we wanted and we'd certainly recommend it for cyclists.
For those who still feel the need to shop big, there's a big Hyper-U just over half an hour's walk - with a big cafe to make the trip worthwhile - where you can stock up on loads of seafood and other delicacies.
Our only disappointement was that we didn't spend enough time in Montpellier; that only inspires us to go back!