Heading north from Clermont to LODÈVE, 19km away, the swift A75 autoroute brings heavy traffic down from Clermont-Ferrand. It passes through countryside further scarred by uranium mining – the area around the village of St-Martin-du-Bosc has some of the highest soil concentration of radioactivity in the world.Lodève, entirely enclosed by vine-terraced hills at the confluence of the Lergues and Soulondres rivers, is almost in the shadow of the Causse de Larzac. There are no real sights here, but it's a pleasant, old-fashioned place to pause on your way up to Le Caylar or La Couvertoirade on the causse. The cathedral – a stop on the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela – is worth a look, as is the unusual World War I Monument aux Morts, in the adjacent park, by local sculptor Paul Dardé; more of his work is on display at the town museum in the Hôtel Fleury (Tues–Sun 9.30am–12.30pm & 2–6pm; €3.10–6) and the Halle Dardé (daily 9am–6pm; free) in the place du Marché. With a bit of organizing it's also possible to visit the Annexe de la Savonnerie (by appointment only Tues–Thurs 2–5pm; tel 04.67.96.40.40; €3.50), on the outskirts of Lodève, where priceless Gobelins tapestries are woven. The tourist office is at 7 place de la République (July & Aug Mon–Fri 9am–noon & 2–6pm, Sat 9am–5pm, Sun 9.30am–1.30pm; Sept–June closed Sun; tel 04.67.88.86.44, www.lodeve.com), next door to the gare routière, where you can catch buses to Montpellier, Béziers, Millau, Rodez and St-Afrique. The best place to stay in town is the Hôtel du Nord (tel & fax 04.67.44.10.08, www.hotellodeve.com; €30–40) at 18 bd de la Liberté, or the family-run Hôtel de la Paix (tel 04.67.44.07.46, [email protected]; €40–55; closed Jan & Feb) on 11 bd Montalangue. There's a big market on Saturdays, and three times weekly in summer local farmers bring in their produce.
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