The gare routière and the gare SNCF are next door to each other on avenue Carnot on the northwest side of town. The tourist office is on place Salengro, next to the cathedral (June to mid-Sept Mon–Sat 8am–7pm, Sun 9.30am–12.30pm; mid-Sept to May Mon–Sat 8.30am–noon & 2–6pm; tel 04.68.65.15.60).The best budget accommodation is the modern and friendly MJC Centre International de Séjour, in place Salengro (tel 04.68.32.01.00, fax 04.68.65.80.20; under €30). A couple of reasonable hotels are Will's Hotel, 23 av Pierre-Sémard (tel 04.68.90.44.50, fax 04.68.32.26.28; €40–55), a homely backpackers' favourite near the station, and the spruce Hôtel de France, 6 rue Rossini (tel 04.68.32.09.75, [email protected]; under €55), beside the attractive market hall. A fancier option is the plush La Résidence, 6 rue du 1er-Mai (tel 04.68.32.19.41, fax 04.68.65.18.48; €55–70), in a nineteenth-century renovated house, but the best is the magnificent La Dorade, 44 rue Jean-Jaurès, (tel 04.68.32.65.95, fax 04.68.65.81.62; €55–70), facing the canal and set in a spectacular building built in 1648. The nearest campsite is Les Roches Grises, on the route de Perpignan to the southwest of town; take bus #2 from the Hôtel-de-Ville. As for food, the best choice in Narbonne is L'Alsace, at 2 av Pierre-Sémard (tel 04.68.65.10.24; closed Tues; menus from €15.24), with great decor and mammoth servings of good, simple terroir and northeastern French dishes. Alternatively you'll find a string of alfresco snack bars and brasseries along the terraces bordering the Canal de la Robine in the town centre, while L'Estagnol (tel 04.68.65.09.27; closed Sun & Mon eve; menus around €15.24), across the canal on Cours Mirabeau, attracts the crowds with its good-value, simple fare. For something a little fancier, try Aux Trois Caves, at 4 rue Benjamin-Crémieux (menus €18.30–36.30), with terroir dining in a medieval cellar, or the elegant La Petite Cour, north of the canal at 22 bd Gambetta (tel 04.68.90.48.03), in a high-ceilinged room decked with seascape murals; seafood is the order of the day, with a good choice of menus around €12 at lunchtime, and €20 in the evening.
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