Herault invites you to taste the Mediterranean in its wonderful seafood; huge mussels and oysters from farms on the salty lagoon of Thau; garlic monkfish, and turbot cooked in a salt crust.

The port of Sete specializes in spiced cuttlefish - rouille at la Setoise - and a takeaway fish pie great for picnics know as tiele.

Seafood restaurants abound in resorts such as coastal Marseillan which is also home to the vermouth cellars of famous Noilly Prat.

Choose from Herault’s many good wines to accompany your meal, like Clairette du Langedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc or Picpoul de Pinet, Pezenas ou Grez de Montpellier. From beginnings as table wines, many now have a quality earning them AOC status.

Estates and caves offer tours and tastings. The Minervois vineyards wind along routes dotted with Romanesque churches. Visit Chateau Plo du Roy at Villeneuve-Minervois or make for idyllic Roquebrun in the Orb valley where vines producing red, white and rose wines of the Saint Chinian appellation do well in its micro-climate.

Herault’s roast lamb will make your mouth water as will the charcuterie of La Savetat and truffles. Try novelty cotton reel-shaped mince pies - le petit pate de Pezenas - said to have been introduced by Clive of India’s cooks and eaten hot either as an hors d’oeuvre or a dessert.

Luscious figs, apricots, grapes and cherries from Olargues ripened under the strong Mediterranean sun are a healthy dessert option though children may prefer the striped fruit or chocolate flavoured boiled sweets made in Pezenas known as berlingots.