For more information
Occitanie CRT Business Club
A network of 127 MICE professionals in the Occitanie region to help business meeting organisers.
Internet: www.tourisme-occitanie.com/club-business
Nîmes
Tourist office
6, bd des Arènes. 30 000 Nîmes
Tel.: 04 66 58 38 00
Email : info@ot-nimes.fr
Internet : www.nimes-tourisme.com
Convention Bureau
6, rue Auguste
Email : congres@ot-nimes.fr
Tel.: 04 66 58 38 18
Sète
Tourist office
60, Grand'rue Mario Roustan, 34 200 Sète
Tel.: 04 99 04 71 71
Email : tourisme@ot-sete.fr
Internet : www.tourisme-sete.com
Collioure
Tourist office
Place du 18, juin, 66 190 Collioure
Tel.: 04 68 82 15 47
Email : contact@collioure.com
Internet : www.collioure.com
How to get there
Nîmes
The SNCF offers 12 round trips a day between Paris and Nîmes, with a journey time of 2 hours 55 minutes. Nîmes is also well served by air, with Montpellier airport 30 minutes away by car and Marseille airport 1 hour away by motorway.
Sète
Close to Montpellier airport, Sète is also linked to Paris by five daily TGV trains, taking 3 hours 48 minutes.
Collioure
Just 30 minutes from Collioure, Perpignan airport offers four daily flights from Paris. Perpignan station is served by six TGV trains a day from Paris, and Collioure can be reached in 30 minutes by TER.
Hotels
Nîmes
Appart'city confort Nîmes arènes
Magnificent! This is undoubtedly the most beautiful Appart'City in France. Housed in a former nineteenth-century town house, this apartment-hotel has all the hallmarks of a luxury establishment, at least in its public areas: monumental reception hall, colonnades, grand staircase, glass roof... The 67 suites are not to be outdone, which, despite their contemporary design, all incorporate elements of historic architecture: here a fireplace, there an original fresco. Gigantic photos of bullfighter costume details hang everywhere, reminding us that we are right opposite the bullring. So seven minutes' walk from the station and just three minutes from the historic centre.
1, bd de Bruxelles. 30 000 Nîmes.
Tel.: 04 56 60 26 70
Email : nimes-arenes@appartcity.com
Internet : www.appartcity.com
Novotel Atria Nîmes Centre
If you want to be in the centre, the Novotel Nîmes is in the centre. In fact, it's located just opposite the Appart City, a stone's throw from the TGV station and the historic heart of the city, and also overlooks the arena and the brand new Romanesque Museum. But its real strength is clearly its focus on groups and business tourism: generous public areas, 11 daylight meeting rooms for 20 to 160 people, a very bright workshop atrium (400 m2), a banqueting or gala room and, above all, a 400-seat auditorium. The 116 rooms and suites are comfortable and functional.
Restaurant, bar and lounge.
5, bd de Prague, 30 000 Nîmes.
Tel.: 04 66 76 56 56
Email: h0985@accor.com
Internet: novotel.com and accorhotels.com
Mas-Merlet
This is the story of a farmhouse, a large Languedoc farmhouse, which can be traced back to the 15th century, but which really laid the foundations of its current structure in the 17th century. In 1850, a manor house, an orangery and, above all, a park adorned with oriental species: palm trees, bamboo, magnolias, cedars of Lebanon... At the beginning of this century, the mas laid the foundations for its future destiny by hosting its first events. Until 2013, when Jérôme Gaudry and Stéphanie Ruas took over the premises, rethought and re-equipped all the spaces, created new rooms and opened a gourmet restaurant, Le M, as well as an auditorium. The charm of the property is unparalleled, with reception rooms set in former stables or a barn with a strong character, gala evenings under the large trees and around the swimming pool, a bar in the orangery, and lounges in the manor house. The possibilities are endless, from meeting rooms for 10 people to the courtyard of honour for cocktails for 1,000. In terms of accommodation, Mas Merlet offers three gîtes sleeping up to 19 people.
903, chemin du Mas de Sorbier.
30 000 Nîmes - Tel: 04 66 64 84 89
Email : contact@mas-merlet.com
Internet : www.mas-merlet.com
Sète
Le Grand Hôtel
This is Sète's historic palace, a dignified old lady that has stood at the intersection of the Canal Royal and the Canal De La Peyrade since the days of Louis-Philippe. No gilding, no moulding, no stucco, but English wallpaper on the floors, corridors leading to the rooms and running over three floors above an immense patio topped by a glass roof. The charm is old-fashioned, delicious and instantly effective. All the more so as the restaurant has a chic, trendy air about it, serving tapas and friendly service. 43 rooms and suites, two meeting rooms for 6 to 22 people.
17, quai de Tassigny, 34 200 Sète.
Tel: 04 67 74 71 77
Email : info@grandhotelsete.com
Internet : www.legrandhotelsete.com
The Blue Killer Whale
Outside, it's the quayside, trawls on the moorings, nets to be gutted and the afternoon sun. Inside, it's a cosy establishment housed in an old building and completely renovated. There's nothing pretentious about this modernity, and nothing disembodied either. All the more so as the hotel is covered in figuration libre artworks and photos by JR. This is only natural, as the owner, Laetitia Chicheportiche, is a contemporary art enthusiast. 30 rooms.
10, quai Aspirant Herber. 34 200 Sète.
Tel: 04 67 74 72 13
Email : lorque-bleue@wanadoo.fr
Internet : www.hotel-orquebleue-sete.com
Collioure
Le Relais des Trois Mas
It's exactly the kind of hotel where you'd like to write a few chapters of a book, or simply contemplate the passing of time in a hammock stretched out under the umbrella pines. As you will have gathered, the peace and quiet of the Relais des Trois Mas is best suited to exclusive groups. Pale ochre detached buildings, green shutters on terraces tumbling down to the beach, private gardens in front of stylish rooms, discreet but attentive service and a panoramic view of the Bay of Collioure. What could be better? 23 rooms and suites.
Route de Port-Vendres. 66 190 Collioure.
Tel.: 04 68 82 05 07
Email : contact@relaisdes3mas.com
Internet: www.relaisdestroismas.com
Restaurants
Nîmes
Wine bar le Cheval Blanc
This is a Nîmes institution. Two large, warm rooms under vaulted ceilings, a bar cluttered with exuberant decor, posters, a wooden horse, bullfighters, souvenirs everywhere and a generous brasserie-style cuisine. But above all, a breathtaking 300-strong wine list. A third 60-seat private dining room has been added to the ensemble.
1, place des Arènes. 30 000 Nîmes.
Tel.: 04 66 76 19 59
Email : winebar@wanadoo.fr
Internet: www.winebar-lechevalblanc.com
Sète
Chez François
The restaurants on this quay in the town centre leading directly to the port are neck and neck. But Chez François stands out for its seafood platters that attract the whole of Sete and, very often, visiting artists too. Two small rooms with no particular décor and a marquee set up on the quay, on the other side of the pavement, where a very skilful scaler officiates.
8, quai du Général Durand. 34 200 Sète.
Tel.: 04 67 74 59 69
Collioure
The Templars
A large, open room, red moleskin benches lining the walls, a bar in the shape of a boat, paintings up to the ceiling and, as far as contemporary art is concerned, a wall painted by Viallat. All the painters, the Fauves and others, passed through the Templiers at the beginning of the twentieth century.e Picasso, Derain, Matisse, Dali, Braque, Dufy... Their souls are still with us. Private room on the first floor for 55 seated guests.
12, quai de l'Amirauté. 66 190 Collioure.
Tel.: 04 68 98 31 10
Email: contact@hotel-templiers.com
Internet : www.hotel-templiers.com
La Balette
Local seasonal produce, regional wines, exceptionally inventive Mediterranean cuisine and a Michelin star since 2009. Frédéric Bacquié's cuisine, a talented blend of flavours and textures, can be enjoyed in the sublime setting of the Relais des trois mas, preferably on the terrace. The backdrop is the bay, the village bell tower and the Château Royal. Relais des Trois Mas.
Route de Port-Vendres. 66 190 Collioure.
Tel.: 04 68 82 05 07
Email : contact@relaisdestroismas.com
Internet: www.relaisdestroismas.com
Specific features of business tourism
Nîmes
Private arena with olympiads and gladiator workshop, treasure hunt in the old town on Segway.
Mobilboard. 55, route de Beaucaire.
Email: nimes@mobilboard.com
Internet : www.mobilboard.com
Golf with rackets
R GOLF. Tel: 06 37 58 47 04
Email: r-golf@outlook.com
internet: www.r-golf.net
Cod brandade tasting
La Nîmoise. 9, rue de l'Horloge
internet : www.lanimoise.fr
And also: cookery and wine workshops, motor racing circuit, Pont du Gard bridge 30 minutes away, Camargue outings, safaris and horse riding, paint ball, escape games, sea outings and fishing at Grau du Roi, go-karting, canoeing on the Gard...
Sète
Cooking workshops in the covered market.
Joe Le Cooker.
Tel.: 06 12 17 54 04
Internet: www.joelecooker.com
Languedoc wine tour
Halles and picnics.
Tel: 06 12 17 54 04
internet: www.hallesetpiqueniquer.com
Visit to a historic traditional canning factory.
Azaïs-Polito.
Parc Aquatechnique. 34 200 Sète
Tel.: 04 67 51 89 89
internet : www.azais-polito.fr
Visit an authentic Sétois trawler, the Louis Nocca, with the option of a private cocktail reception.
Sète fishing port.
Tel: 06 10 69 21 36
Collioure
Visit the cellar and taste Collioure and Banyuls PDO wines.
Dominican cellar. Place Orphila,
Port d'Avall
Tel: 04 68 82 05 63.
Email : contact@dominicains.com
Internet : www.cellierdominicain.com
Visit to an anchovy canning factory.
Anchovy Roque. Workshop and shop.
17, route d'Argelès - Tel: 04 68 82 04 99
internet : www.anchois-roque.com
Les chemins du fauvisme: a tour of the town punctuated by nine reproductions of works by Matisse and Derain.
Maison du Fauvisme. 10, rue de la Prud'homie
Tel.: 04 68 82 15 47
Email : lefauvisme@collioure.com
Practical guides
Languedoc Roussillon: Routard, Lonely Planet, Geo Guides. Petit Fûté : Hérault, Nîmes-Gard and Pyrénées Orientales.
Also in this dossier: Occitanie: a cultural melting pot
