Discover Local Hérault: What to Do Around Mercure Hérault

At Mercure, we believe you shouldn't need a guidebook to feel like you belong somewhere. That's the idea behind Discover Local: since 1973, every Mercure hotel has been built around its neighbourhood, not just dropped into it — from the décor on the walls to the flavours on the menu. Step into any Mercure and our teams are on hand with the kind of tips you won't find in a guidebook: the market stall locals queue for, the bar where nobody speaks English, the walk that skips the crowds. They live here. They know. Discover Local isn't a generic city guide — it's a short, honest list of the restaurants, markets and neighbourhoods our own hotel teams actually recommend to guests, updated as the city changes around us. Below, you'll find our picks for Hérault, an interactive map to help you find your way, and answers to the questions travellers ask us most. So — where will Discover Local take you?

Hérault in 5 picks

Montpellier

A university city with a genuinely old centre — the Écusson — alongside the neoclassical grandeur of the Antigone district. Easy to reach, easy to walk, and never far from a market square.

Sète

A working fishing port built on canals, sometimes called the 'Venice of Languedoc.' Come in summer for the joutes nautiques — water jousting matches on the canals, a local tradition worth timing your visit around.

Béziers

The Fonséranes locks here — nine locks stepping the Canal du Midi down a hillside — are part of the UNESCO-listed canal. Walk the towpath at your own pace; boats still queue to pass through.

Pézenas

Molière lived and performed here before Paris made him famous, and the old town's antique shops and craft workshops still carry that theatrical, slightly eccentric charm.

Bouzigues

The village that gave its name to the region's oysters, farmed in suspension on the Étang de Thau since there's no tide to help them along naturally. Pull up a stool at one of the waterside tasting huts and order a dozen.

Where to eat
Bouzigues oysters, straight from the Étang de Thau, are the thing to order here — briny, small, and best with a glass of Picpoul de Pinet, the crisp local white made just up the road. In Sète, try the tielle, a spiced octopus and tomato pie invented in the 1930s by an Italian cook who settled in the port. Pézenas has its own oddity: petits pâtés de Pézenas, a sweet-savoury lamb pastry.
Where to wander
Sète's canals are best explored on foot, following the fishing boats in and out of the port. In Béziers, the Fonséranes locks and Canal du Midi towpath make for an easy, shaded walk regardless of the season.
Getting around
Montpellier is the region's main hub, with quick train connections to Sète and Béziers — both under half an hour. Bouzigues and the Étang de Thau are easiest by car. Wherever you're staying at one of our Mercure hotels across Hérault, ask which oyster hut or market is worth timing your day around.
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FAQ

Both — the department stretches from Montpellier's historic centre to the Étang de Thau's oyster villages and the coast around Sète and Cap d'Agde.

Oysters are farmed and available year-round on the Étang de Thau, though the tasting huts are liveliest and easiest to enjoy outdoors from spring through autumn.

Yes — its train links to Sète and Béziers make it a practical hub for day trips across the department.

Where to sleep

See our Mercure hotels across Hérault, ideally placed to explore these picks.

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Where to sleep

See our Mercure hotels across Hérault, ideally placed to explore these picks

View hotels