Download the Tourist Guide in PDF

100 Pages·2016·15.89 MB·English

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Montpellier makes you feel at home!
Philippe Welcome to Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole!
Whether you are looking for an urban escapade, a
Saurel
reconnection with nature, a bold experience or simply
Mayor of Montpellier good times together, let the Mediterranean ambiance
President of Montpellier
and the 1,001 jewels of Montpellier surprise and delight
Méditerranée Métropole
you. Place de la Comédie, the Faculty of Medicine, the
courtyards of private mansions, the city’s contemporary
heritage and the Musée Fabre: Montpellier Méditerranée
has all this to offer and much, much more! A free zoo, the
sea that you can ride along on a bike trail, and vineyards
as far as the eye can see, not to mention the villages
of Languedoc with their singular charm. Peruse these
pages and let the Tourist Office & Council of Montpellier
Méditerranée Métropole invite you on a discovery of a
varied and unique land, giving you a foretaste of the
lifestyle that is so dear to us. Have a great visit! ”
This practical guide presents Montpellier and the
Experience, surrounding region: the main sites and museums to
visit, the parks and gardens, a selection of hotels,
share serviced holiday residences, bed and breakfasts, villas
and apartments, a selection of restaurants to indulge
#MONTPELLIERNOW in fine Mediterranean food, tea rooms, wine bars,
private beaches, open air and covered markets, great
shopping spots, locations for sports, leisure, relaxation
and well-being, suggestions for outings in and around
Montpellier…
© C. Gauthier
Summary
04 I CITY MAP
© Marc Ginot 0161 II MPRUASCTT SICEAEL P ILNAFCOERSMATION
12 Good deals
13 How to get to Montpellier
14 Transports in Montpellier
16 I DISCOVER THE DIFFERENT
DISTRICTS STEP BY STEP
© M. Hess 1285 CPaitryk asn adn hdi sgtaorrdice ncse nintr Meontpellier
34 Shopping in Montpellier
35 Covered and open markets
36 Port Marianne & Odysseum
42 Other districts (Hôpitaux Facultés,
© Ville de Montpellier CCréoviexn dn’eAsrg eetn Mt,o Psrséosn d)’Arènes,
48 I MONTPELLIER MÉDITERRANÉE
MÉTROPOLE AND SURROUNDINGS
50 At the seaside
57 In the countryside
68 I WINES, REGIONAL PRODUCTS
& GASTRONOMY
76 I SPORTS & LEISURES
86 I RELAXATION & WELL-BEING
88 I LEARNING FRENCH
92 I WHAT’S ON & CULTURAL SITES
98 I USEFUL CONTACTS
99 I KEY
City & historic centre P18
Other districts P42
At the seaside P50
CITY MAP I 5
KEY
Tourist Office
Green area
Pedestrian area
Pedestrian path
Bicycle path
Saint James’Way

Train station - SNCF
Airport
Tramway L1
Port Marianne & Odysseum P36 Tramway L2
Tramway L3
Tramway L4
L4 - Opening 02/07/2016
©Steven Morlier
© Montpellier Agglomération
MONTPELLIER

MÉDITERRANÉE MÉTROPOLE
Must see places
©Ville de Montpellier
Discover the 1001 charms of the city over
a weekend or a week and extend your stay.
There is so much to do and share!
Montpellier, ancient city, creative and
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festivals year-round, and so much more.
MUST SEE PLACES I 7
© Ville de Montpellier
You will love…
© J.P. Degas Getting lost in the charming back streets of
Montpellier’s historic city centre and enjoying
intimate squares and unique shops. The
contemporary sections of the city too!
Setting off to explore a château, a cathedral
surrounded by water or a vineyard, and watching
pink flamingos and white storks as you coast by
on a bicycle.
Taking advantage of the Mediterranean by
discovering the incredible views from Maguelone
Cathedral or doing your favourite water sport:
paddleboarding, ocean kayaking, sailing or
kitesurfing.
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olives, tomatoes, small plates and wines
bursting with sunshine.
Wandering along paths with views of the sea,
ponds, pine trees and garrigues (scrubland),
olive trees, grapevines and mountain peaks.
Experiencing a festival. A great idea!
Must see places
© J.P. Degas
HISTORIC CENTRE CONTEMPORARY MONTPELLIER
You will love… Strolling through the Ecusson You will love… the city’s incredible creativity!
(historic center) with its medieval and pedestrian Designer tramways, trompe l’oeil, the neoclassic
lanes, the emblematic Place de la Comédie, Antigone district designed by the Catalan Ricardo
the Saint-Pierre cathedral, the adjacent medical Bofill, Port Marianne designed by the most famous
college, rue Foch with its view of the Arc de of architects, the Hôtel de Ville (Town hall) by Jean
Triomphe, the Place Royal du Peyrou and the Nouvel and François Fontès, RBC Design Center,
small sunny squares: Canourgue, Saint Anne, Odysseum - an open air leisure and shopping
Saint-Roch, Saint-Côme, and Beaux Arts. centre for your pleasure.
... Join a guided tour for the exclusive chance
Need a guide? Download the “Contemporary
to discover the city’s must see spots: the Opera,
Montpellier” app on your smart phone, free from
Agora, the courtyards of the private mansions that
App Store and Google Play.
are so precious to Montpellier’s architecture,
the Medical school and its conservatory of anatomy,
the workshop of a stringed instrument maker…
Discover the priceless collections of Montpellier’s
Fabre museum, exhibitions in the Panacée,
Pavillon Populaire, Espace Bagouet and Carré
Saint-Anne…
Discover the history of Montpellier in the Musée
Languedocien, the Musée du Vieux Montpellier
or Chapelle de la Miséricorde. Go shopping and
browse in the antique shops, designer stores and
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MUST SEE PLACES I 9
DIFFERENT SITES, SHARED HISTORY
• Archaeological Site Lattara - Henri Prades
Museum (Lattes), Archaeological Museum Paul
Soyris (Murviel-lès-Montpellier), Castries Aqueduct
(Castries), Vignogoul Abbey (Pignan), Château des
Évêques & Museum Hofer-Bury (Lavérune), and
the Resistance and Deportation History Centre
(Castelnau-le-Lez) are some of the nuggets of
that the area offers for you to explore. Plus the
folies, country manors built by rich inhabitants
of Montpellier outside the city, such as the
Flaugergues, Mogère and Engarran Châteaux.
© J.P. Degas
NATURE IN THE CITY CENTRE
You will love… Exploring the oldest botanical
garden in France, created upon the initiative of
Henri IV, the river Lez for a leisurely stroll or cycle
along the banks or even canoeing! Montpellier
zoo, a large green area, free of charge and loved by
all, the Serre Amazonienne, a tropical hothouse
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gardens, full of surprises: the Méric Park, the Lez
nature park, the banks of the Mosson river. And not
to be missed: the Mare Nostrum aquarium! VINEYARDS
You will love…the variety. Wine has been produced
… AROUND THE CITY
all around Montpellier since Antiquity and
• The protected nature reserve of the Méjean and
Languedoc Roussillon is home to a wide variety of
the Maison de la Nature in Lattes, Domaine de
wine-growing soils. Most of the local production is
Restinclière in Prades, Le Crès Lake, the quarries
composed of AOC and Vins de Pays. There are
of Beaulieu, and more: marked trails will lead you
around a dozen outstanding appellations amongst
into the heart of preserved nature and astonishing
the Coteaux du Languedoc: Faugères, Saint-
scenery.
Chinian, Pic Saint-Loup, and also the Mireval,
• Golf courses in Baillargues and Juvignac.
Frontignan and Lunel muscats. Don’t miss the
Grés de Montpellier, grown in Montpellier itself. All
THE SEA
part of the local heritage that you will enjoy tasting in
You will love…the Mediterranean sea just 11km the city’s best restaurants and bars, in the wine
from Montpellier, the bicycle path sets off from shops or directly at the wineries, as well as in the
Montpellier along the river Lez and takes you to the popular wine bars of Montpellier.
coast, beaches such as La Grande Motte, Carnon
Your guide? Montpellier
and Palavas-les-Flots, perfect for the family, the
Méditerranée Métropole publishes
unspoilt beaches of Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone,
a Guide des Vins, a wine guide (in
les Aresquiers (Frontignan) or l’Espiguette (Grau
French), to help you explore this
du Roi). The “plages privées”- seaside
incredibly rich terroir.
restaurants – that liven up the coastline in summer,
water sports all over: sailing, kite surfing, sea
kayaking, etc.
GASTRONOMY
• Fruit and vegetables, sheep and goat cheese,
olives, honey, and much more. Enjoy fine
Mediterranean products in the restaurants, open air
or covered markets of Montpellier and try a cooking
class. Enjoy!
• Gourmet festivals at the heart of Greater
Montpellier: the Truffle Festival in Saint-Géniès de
Mourgue (January), the Tomato Festival in Clapiers
(September), the Olive Festival in Pignan (October),
the Honey Festival in Cournonsec (October) and the CAMARGUE HORSES AND BULLISH TRADITIONS
Wine Festival in Montpellier (November).
• Camargue horse races and encierro and abrivado
bull-running events enliven the villages of the region
CITY, PARTY, FESTIVALS
beginning in springtime. These spectacular events
• The festivals and festivities. Montpellier are worth a look.
Méditerranée Métropole counts some fifteen
• Manades, where horses and bulls are bred, also
international festivals such as FISE, Montpellier
open their doors to the general public, giving you
Danse, le Festival Radio France Montpellier
the perfect opportunity to learn about the daily
Languedoc-Roussillon, Cinemed, le Festival
life of a manadier. Shoeing, herdsmen’s games,
des Architectures Vives, Arabesques, les
demonstrations of horseback cattle sorting
Internationales de la Guitare! Not to mention the
and more await.
Estivales, the festive gourmet summer event held
every Friday evening on the Place de la Comédie,
not to be missed, as well as in Lattes (at Mas de
Saporta)!
© M. Castillo
IN THE REGION,
ENJOY…
• M ontpellier and its region offers a number of
wonderful UNESCO World Heritage sites, all
within a 2 hour drive: the City of Carcassonne,
the Pont du Gard (Roman Aqueduct), the
Canal du Midi and its locks, the Saint
James’ Way to Saintiago de Compostela in
France and the medieval Abbey of Gellone in
Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, the Papal Palace
of Avignon, d’Avignon, the fortifications of
Vauban in the Pyrenees, the Causses and the
Cévennes.
• T here are the historical and picturesque
cities such as Nîmes with its Roman vestiges,
Sète and its water jousting, Aigues-Mortes,
Collioure...
• A nd preserved natural sites such as
© A. Lautier. Camargue.