On this, the first coastal stage of the Mediterranean Cycle Route, it’s a joy cycling along, taking in the Med on the track running alongside the beaches of Argelès-Plage. Next comes the resort of St-Cyprien, with its commercial port and very popular seafront. Then on to Canet-en-Roussillon and the Agly Greenway, providing a majestic way to Port-Barcarès. At this port, seeing all the fish on sale will help you work up an appetite. The cycle track to Corrège Point offers a splendid view over Port-Leucate. Then enjoy the lovely track through the pines along the isthmus to Le Grau de Leucate. The panoramic cycle path around Leucate Lagoon takes you gently on to Leucate’s suburbs.

Cycle up via a small road to the Leucate Plateau and your reward is a picture-postcard view of olive groves, vineyards and dry-stone walls. The panoramas are magnificent too as you descend to Les Coussolles Beach and La Palme Lagoon. The cycle route then follows the train line to reach Port-la-Nouvelle. This is a lively harbour where you might, for example, witness a freight ship being loaded. It lies at the end of the Canal de la Robine, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. The atmosphere then changes as you cycle along towpaths, past locks marking your progress to the city of Narbonne with its splendid cathedral complex and covered market.

The Moulin du Gua with its brasserie restaurant marks the end of the Narbonne city section. At Le Somail, the Mediterranean Cycle Route and Canal des 2 Mers à Vélo cycle routes meet. The Tunnel du Malpas was a major piece of civil engineering to carry the canal under Ensérune’ s hill. It’s worth cycling up to the Oppidum d’Ensérune, a significant pre-Roman settlement with views down on the extraordinary dried-out Montaldy Lake. The sites get even more remarkable along this stretch, with Fonseranes’s unique nine locks and the splendid canal-bridge over the Orb, a breath-taking engineering feat, offering views onto the city of Béziers.

It is advisable to request written authorization to cycle across these parts from VNF, the managing authority, in accordance with Article R4241-68 of the French Code des Transports.