What coastal villages near Narbonne are recommended

We stayed in Narbonne for a week and took a day trip to Perpignan. Lovely city to just walk around and visit the beautiful Hôtel Pams, the home of Pierre Bardou, one of the founders of the JOB cigarette papers. On the way to Perpignan, you pass the wetlands where, depending on the season, you can see Flamingos, tons of Flamingos. Montpelier is about an hour away and NImes and hour and half, we visited each (separately) for the day, and loved them both. We were there in the winter so no beach trips. Each of these places were worth a day's visit. Very easy train ride to each.

My wife and I spent a month in Narbonne in 2022. We didn't have a car but the train connectivity is great and we did a lot of day trips.

Perpignan - Really enjoyed the energy of this town. People seem to enjoy life here.
Sete - Fun port town, beautiful walks along the canals. Enjoyed seafood at a local festival.
Beziers - The canal locks are worth a visit, the town is fun to wander.
Collioure - Beautiful small coastal town towards the Spanish border.

Of course you have Carcassonne to visit. We did an overnight visit to Albi and loved it (beautiful town, incredible cathedral, and the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum).

We also rented bikes in Narbonne center and rode to the beaches. Beautiful bike rides, low key beach areas. We took the bus to Narbonne Plage for a beach day. We biked portions of the Canal-du-Midi several times from central Narbonne.

We didn't visit Montpelier since we felt it was a little far for a day trip, but we recently stayed there for 3 nights. I loved the old town and found the locals generally very friendly.

What worries me most is that "near Narbonne."

What does "near" actually mean? It can imply a location with little or no access to public transport.

And since you won't have a car...

You should specify where this "near Narbonne" location is if you want reliable information on how to get around and where you can go. Also, you can't get itinerary ideas if you don't at least specify your starting point.

Just to clarify a couple of earlier posts. The posters probably didn’t go to Montpelier because it’s in Vermont. It’s more likely they were in Montpellier in France. Everybody mixes these two up at first, even newbies moving to Montpellier and English language computer autocorrect.

Are you looking for villages truly on the coast or inland? The ones are on the coast near Narbonne are not charming, and sometimes lined with concrete block apartments and underwhelming restaurants, ice cream shops and and souvenir/beach shops (albeit there are some nice, wide, if a bit windy, beaches). On nearby exception for villages is Gruissan, with a chateau on a small hill in the center. Further afield, as mentioned above, are other choices.

There are some beautiful villages inland, like Minerve (very quiet, not a touristic place despite its cliffside position) or further up the Pyrenees like Villefrance-du-Conflent (which is where you can take le train jaune, the little yellow train, up the mountains into Spain)