Discovering Montpellier, the region’s capital city

Take a guided tour of the historic centre
Anyone spending a holiday in this part of the south of France will invariably spend at least one day discovering Montpellier, the region’s capital city. This is a beautiful city, full of charm, history and life. There is an historic part of the city, where you can find places such the Faculté de Médecine, built at the end of the 12th century, and the oldest medical school in the world, or Saint-Pierre Cathedral, formerly a Benedictine chapel built in 1364. There are guided tours of the historic centre with a small tourist train, departing from La Place de La Comedie and lasting around 40 minutes. The historic quarters of the city blend very easily with the modern side of the city built along the River Lez.

It’s here that many of the university residences can be found, as can Port Marianne, a modern district worth exploring whether on foot or by tram. Many tourists take time to walk through the striking Antigone district. The principal architect, Ricardo Bofill, endeavoured to create a new style of architecture – ‘Ancient Rome style’ that is at ease in both a modern and historic setting. The Regional Parliament, framed by the many new buildings that arch over the roadways as visitors travel through the length of the Antigone, is situated on the banks of the river. The area is full of bars, cafes and restaurants making this a wonderful place to sit and watch the world go by.

Montpellier’s central square, La Place de Comédie, also known as l’OEuf (the Egg) because of its original oval shape, is one of the largest pedestrian areas in Europe. Standing proud in the middle is the statue of the Three Graces, Montpellier’s emblematic goddesses (shown in the photo). All around you’ll see street artists, people on the move, and others taking a leisurely break at one of the many outside cafés.

The good news is that the city is so easy to get to, by train or car. There is plenty of car parking in the centre, but better still are the two Park & Ride tramway systems. One, The Odyseum, is located in an out of town shopping centre with cinemas, skating rink, aquarium, planetarium, bars and cafes, the other, within 200 metres of the A9 Péage at St. Jean de Vedas. Simply park the car and hop onto one of the trams that take you to the heart of the city.

Even better news, plans have now been given the go ahead for a third tramway system. This is a huge project, which will take three years to complete at a cost of over 500 million euros. All this to ensure the city remains as free of cars as possible, making life better for inhabitants and visitors alike.