Elsien's Traveblogue

The little church of Saint Laurent, Lattes

A lovely walk along the river Lez to Port Ariane, the marina of Lattes, a small town near Montpellier. Lattes is now mainly known for this marina and a giant Retail Park, with a Castorama and a Conforama and a But and a Carrefour Géant, but was once an important Etruscan / Gaul settlement, even before the Romans and Greeks moved in on the act as well. We went to the little, but impressive museum that tells all about the story of Lattara, found by accident in 1965 by some students who stumbled upon some potshards in a newly ploughed field which they took to their headteacher who happened to be an archeologist. He realised the importance and digging started in the field. It is unbelievable how much was found; they are still working on the place. This is the link: http://www.lattara.culture.fr/

The Archeological Museum in Lattes

 Port Ariane was originally the Mediterranean port; geological accidents like silting up of the river and changing of the basins behind the sea meant the end of the port; the Roman town of Nimes grew in importance, the bishops moved to nearby Maguelone and that was the end of Lattara.

What's left of Lattara - the dig

Lattes itself now is almost nothing: there is still a 12^th century church, an empty town square with a large médiathèque and a huge Post Office. There was also a Tabac / Bar / Brasserie, which had built a plastic extension at the back, and turned that into a dining room where we had a delicious, and very reasonably priced, endives salad followed by yummy Couscous Royale. I could have had apple tart as well, included in the price, but I was full, so I stuck to a little coffee.
The tram from Montpellier stops at Lattes-Centre, so we could ride back home: it stops more or less next door.

For the local products: olive oil and wine, of course

How about that then? Evening sky above the dig