Narbonne is a city listed Unesco world heritage site since 1996 which is located in a natural park in the Aude department (Occitanie area) at 15km to the sea. The city was established in 118 BC by the Romans who left a beautiful architecture. Narbonne is nestled is an exceptional environment with scrubland, vineyards and Bages-Sigean ponds (with the Sainte Lucie island). Moreover, Narbonne enjoys a 5km fine sand beach and more than 300 sunny days per year.
Access
Narbonne is located 26km to Beziers, 74km to Argeles sur Mer, 80km to Sete, 95 km to Montpellier and 255km to Barcelona. The nearest airports are Carcasonne (65km), Perpignan (75km) and Beziers (all with direct lines from UK). You can also reach Narbonne by TGV.
Activities
Narbonne is a historical city with an important Antique and Medieval heritage. You could be in awe of the Dominitienne lane, vestige of a Roman road built in 120 BC, the Horrea (1st century tunnel) and a part of the Archeveque Palace which is nowadays the Narbonne town hall and 2 museums (the other part has a gothic architecture). The St Paul Basilica is one of the first Gothic churches in France from the Middle-Age. The Pont des Marchands is an exceptional bridge with 7 arches. There is also the Saint Just and Saint Paul Cathedral which construction had been started in 1272 but was never finished. Narbonne is famous for its flourish environment (2 flower decoration from the French flourish city classification). It’s also an environmental city with 375 acres of green space (Revolution gardens, Archeveches gardens, banks of Robine canal, etc). Lots of sighting tours are organised to discover the history of Narbonne (Prehistory, Roman, Christian origins, Medieval and Renaissance), the art (museums, Gothic and Neo-Classic) and the famous singer: Charles Trenet. You can also book a global visit of the town for one, 2 or 3 hours, visit the chocolate factory with a free taste, the De Geyssiere oil mill and also the famous wine cellars.
The Narbonne beach (located at 15km from the city centre) has a good water quality with its blue flag and provides all beache activities like a boat club, a 600 place port, sea and recreational fishing, scuba-diving, jet-ski, basket ball, horse riding and pony, quad bike, scenic railway, mini-park and night clubs.
The city organises sport animations and several festivals throughout the year: the welcome meeting for new Narbonne residents (January), the carnival with floats and parades (February), the French music festival (the 21 June), the St Jean festival (June), the National festival of amateur drama (July), the Bavarian week (gastronomy and folklore), the jazz festival and the wine and commerce fair (August), the Festa Latina in Narbonne (from 1 July to 31 August), the nautique festival (October) and the feeries de Noel (Christmas market). There are also numerous local markets in the city.
Narbonne has facilities: the Espace Liberte (with an Olympic swimming pool, an ice-rink and a bowling), a theatre, a covered central food market, a cinema, a sports centre, golf and lots of universities.
Food and drinks
In Narbonne there are many gastronomy specialities such as the Castelnaudary cassoulet (meat and bean stew), the Fricasse de Limoux (pork), the lamb, the foie gras and the Alleluias (cake). The Languedoc-Roussillon is especially famous for its red, rose and white wines.
Restaurants
- Meli Melo, 24 quai Commandant Reveille, +33 (0)4 67 94 43 09
- Le 26, 8 bd Docteur Lacroix, +33 (0)4 68 41 46 69, from €25
Our team of sale consultants at Sextant Properties will be happy to help you to find a property in Narbonne. All of our agenst In Occitanie are registered French estate agents and speak both French and English. Whatever kind of property you are looking for: flat, gite, B&B, villa, castle or mansion, we will do our best to find a property in Narbonne matching your requirements.