My bruises have bruises. I'm blaming the cheerleading. Review writing is a whole lot less dangerous....
My bruises have bruises. I'm blaming the cheerleading. Review writing is a whole lot less dangerous.
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If you want to bemuse a foreigner, send them to the bit of France from which I've just returned. Not satisfied with the usual 'one name per place' rule, you'll find references to the areas of Vias, Vias Plage and Vias sur Mer (on post cards, in brochures, on the internet) but, confusingly, only 2 different parts of town, the touristy end and the old French bit.
****** Travel
We drove Manchester to Liverpool, flew Liverpool to Nimes, taxied to Nimes town centre, caught a train to Agde and then taxied to Vias Plage. Travelling days were long - in excess of 8 hours - but if you live in other parts of the UK, or are happy to pay a little more for your flights you can reduce the trip quite significantly by flying to Montpellier and then grabbing a cab from there. We chose the fun long way round instead, and paid £100 each for return flights (in August), about £20 return per person on trains and around £50 in total on all the taxis.
Vias itself is quite isolated. The old town part has a station but is served by only local trains and not very frequent ones at that. Busses link the tourist areas with larger towns nearby like Beziers, but these are equally infrequent - in the height of summer there are just 3 per day, between 7.30am and 11am so if you want to travel on one you need to get up and go. Taxis have to be called from the nearby town of Agde and can take over half an hour to arrive. Vias is, therefore, best suited to people wiling
to take or hire a car and as most of the accommodation is camping, this is what visitors tend to do.
****** The beach - putting the Plage in Vias
The Beach in Vias is gorgeous. Lots of long, sandy stretches split into numerous bays by jutting out rocks. Lots of these had life guards on duty which is rare for the bits of the Med I'm used to. The water was ideal for swimming with no fish or rocky parts and just a few crashing waves on the more windy days. The beaches were popular without being too crowded - there was always room to lay out a towel or five. Some of the areas were commercialised with a bar and a sunbed / umbrella / pedalo peddling man and some were empty of the above, populated only by usually French children playing bat and ball. The beach was bordered by some camp sites but the shopping stretch pulled down from it at a right angle so you couldn't wander along the beach looking for somewhere to lunch or to shop, you had to actually leave it.
****** The Shops + Eateries
At first glance Vias was like a small Vegas or at least Blackpool - lots of throbbing lights, cheap and tacky eateries and shops selling things you never knew you wanted. However as you walk along the main road to the sea (aptly called 'Avenuede la Mer') there are some little gems tucked away. La Tratorria Restaurant was a pleasure to dine in - real wooden tables and chairs (not the plastic tat most of the places boasted), a pleasantly decorated dining area, delicious food and 'real restaurant' touches - like water and bread being brought to your table automatically. At under €20 for 2 it was also a bargain.
For snacks the range was vast along the strip, from crepes to waffles to ice cream, with some savoury stuff scattered in. For ice cream by far the best places were the two Artisan Glaciers on either side of the street. The two outlets were of a company that have won numerous awards for their icy creations, and it's easy to see why. We tried everything from Profiterole to Kinder Egg to Watermelon to Cookies and still went back for more.
There was not one place anywhere that was advertising a full English fry up which was a lovely change from most tourist places, and showed the clientele they expect, and aspire, to attract - French holidaymakers from the north and middle of the country rather than an who's who of international trash. That's not to say the place was all French - Brits, Germans and the Dutch were all in attendance - but they were there in a much smaller quantity than in other places.
Most people in the town are there on a self catering basis but there was a distinct lack of supermarkets. On the main road there were just 2 - a tiny spar and the Huit a Huit which is like a 7/11 but open, as the name would suggest, 8 til 8. Aside from these you were restricted to the shop on your complex or a neighbouring one. Luckily these were well-stocked and delightfully French with fresh bread and cake and meat counters.
Shopping in the tourist bit is limited to souvenirs (mainly pottery items) or 'high fashion' pieces that you know are so because it tells you on the label. They weren't all as bad as you might imagine, though, and I picked up some jewellery and a skirt for work without handing over too much money.
****** The Old Town
There are 2 main areas here, separated by a large interchange that is hard to cross unless you know the hidden route. If you do you can make your way to the old bit of Vias which is much more the sort of thing you'd imagine if thinking of a French town. There's not a lot here - a church, some squares and a lot of old buildings to look at - but it's worth a visit. We took a break in a café in the main square and were entertained by a young man in a wet suit and flippers who chose to jump into the very small fountain and thrash about a bit while cheered on by his mates. It's charming things like that you only get in real France.
****** Attractions
Vias is a strange one for attractions. Between the two parts, and opposite the tourist office, there is a reasonably large theme park that looks a bit bare and dated to me, but then I grew up in Blackpool. It's the type where you pay for rides, not on the gate so could be worth a visit just to see if it's as bad as I believed. In addition, there are numerous mini-golf places and most of the camp sites are well equipped with trampolines and pools and sporting activities.
If you have a car there are all sorts of things nearby to entertain yourself with, from caves to museums to the Perrier factory, their equivalent of Atlanta's fab World of Coca Cola.
Walking locally there is the Canal du Midi which is slightly famous (it was in an issue of Women's Own recently for example) and has nice walks along side it though there's not much to do when you get wherever but turn round and come back.
****** Accommodation
Though there are hotels and apartments in the town, the vast majority of beds are of the tent or mobile home variety. Several British tour operators have sites there and most have walk-in rates too if you're in the area and feel like stopping. In general prices are reasonable - from £20 per unit per night in mid summer.
****** Overall
Vias was a strange little place, but quite pleasant for a week's rest. It wasn't as overtly down market as some of the costas and canaries, with no raucous drinkers spilling out of bars at all hours after catching the latest sports game, or children running havoc on the streets as parents enjoy that 8th beer while admiring their new shade of lobster pink. It wasn't the quiet sleepy village the brochures might have you believe, but this was a good thing as there were places to go to eat or shop within walking distance. As a break from somewhere Spanish or Greek it's worth a look for the lovely beach if nothing else.
Ah .. La Belle France .. my other home . There is no commercialisation near us either .. we are up in the Western Brittany countryside with the farmers and the wildlife . We are so rural that our Huit a Huit often closes at 5 !! Lol Jane xx
kollarosie 20.08.2005 11:18
Great review. I've only ever visited Paris and Lille. Shameful really when there's so much more in France only a short distance away :)
TheDuke 19.08.2005 22:39
Spotted a typo: "if you're in the area and fell like stopping". Pedant? Moi? Good to see you posting again.
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