Sights in Montpellier
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
A
Place Royale du Peyrou
Place Royale du Peyrou is a wide, tree-lined esplanade. At the eastern end lies the Arc de Triomphe (1692) and at the western end lies the Château d'Eau. Leading from this hexagonal water tower is the 18th-century Aqueduc de St-Clément, under which there's an organic food and second-hand books market on Saturday and pétanque (a game not unlike lawn bowls played with heavy metal balls on a sandy pitch; also called boules) most afternoons.
reviewed
-
Serre Amazonienne
A 10-minute walk from Agropolis, this is a spectacular appendix to Montpellier's zoo. A humid hothouse replicates the Amazonian rainforest. Piranha and alligators swim in the first two tanks but it gets friendlier as you progress. Stars include a pair of bright-eyed young leopards, a family of Bolivian squirrel monkeys and flitting bats. Afterwards, you can explore the rest of the zoo, France's second-largest, for free.
reviewed
-
Agropolis
Agropolis, 4km north of the centre, is all about food and how people around the world grow it. Historically, it follows our progression from hunter-gatherer to supermarket shopper. Fascinating stuff, it's instructive, enjoyable and pitched at both children and adults. For this and Serre Amazonienne, take tram 1 to the St-Eloi stop, from where a regular shuttle bus does a circular route.
reviewed
-
B
La Grande Motte
Further northwards, about 20km southeast of Montpellier, is La Grande Motte. Purpose-built on the grand scale back in the 1960s to plug the tourist drain southwards into Spain, its architecture, considered revolutionary at the time, now comes over as fairly heavy and leaden, contrasting with the more organic growth of adjacent Grau du Roi, deeper rooted and a still-active fishing port.
reviewed
-
C
Musée Fabre
A delightfully spacious, superbly lit venue with one of France's richest collections of European works from the 16th century onwards, plus seven galleries of bright, dynamic 20th-century art. Its annexe, the recently opened Département des Arts Décoratifs displays in context elegant 18th- and 19th-century furniture, ceramics and jewellery.
reviewed
-
D
Palavas-les-Flots
The closest beaches to Montpellier are at Palavas-les-Flots, 12km south of the city and very much Montpellier-on-Sea in summer. Take TaM bus No 131 from the Port Marianne tram stop. Heading north on the coastal road towards Carnon, you stand a good chance of seeing flamingos hoovering the shallows of the lagoons on either side of the coastal D21.
reviewed
-
E
Cathédrale St-Pierre
To the north of place Royale du Peyrou, off blvd Henri IV, is the Jardin des Plantes (off blvd Henri IV) (1593), France's oldest botanic garden. Opposite the the Jardin des Plantes is Cathédrale St-Pierre with its disproportionately tall 15th-century porch.
reviewed
-
F
Musée de l'Histoire de Montpellier
Down among the remains of the crypt of the church of Notre Dame des Tables, this museum offers a rather plodding 35-minute version of the city's history enlivened by the high-tech presentation.
reviewed
-
G
Jardin des Plantes
North of the esplanade is the Jardin des Plantes, France’s oldest botanical garden, laid out in 1593 and still used as a research resource by the University of Montpellier.
reviewed
-
Aquarium Mare Nostrum
Aquarium Mare Nostrum takes you through 15 different aquatic environments, from polar waters to tropical forests.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
H
Musée Languedocien
Displays the area's rich archaeological finds from its earliest days as well as 16th- to 19th-century objets d'art.
reviewed
-
I
Musée Atger
Within the medical faculty, this museum displays a striking collection of French, Italian and Flemish drawings.
reviewed
-
J
Hôtel de Varennes
Hôtel de Varennes is a harmonious 18th-century makeover of an originally medieval structure.
reviewed
-
K
Hôtel des Trésoriers de France
The 17th-century Hôtel des Trésoriers de France today houses the Musée Languedocien.
reviewed
-
L
Musée du Vieux Montpellier
A storehouse of the city's memorabilia from the Middle Ages to the Revolution.
reviewed
-
M
-
Place Royale du Peyrou & Around
At the eastern end of this wide, tree-lined esplanade is the Arc de Triomphe (1692). From the Château d'Eau, an elaborate hexagonal water tower at its western limit, stretches the Aqueduc de St-Clément, spectacularly illuminated at night. North of the esplanade is the Jardin des Plantes, France's oldest botanical garden, laid out in 1593 and still used as a research resource by the University of Montpellier.
reviewed
-
Odysseum
At the end of tram line 1 and 3.5km east of the centre, this leisure complex has an ice rink, planetarium, multiscreen cinema and, in particular, Aquarium Mare Nostrum , which takes you through 15 different aquatic environments, from polar waters to tropical forests.
reviewed
-
Hôtels Particulier
During the 17th and 18th centuries, Montpellier's wealthier merchants built grand private mansions, often externally quite sober but with resplendent inner courtyards (mostly, alas, closed to the public). Fine examples are Hôtel de Varennes, a harmonious 18th-century makeover of an originally medieval structure, and Hôtel St-Côme, nowadays the city's Chamber of Commerce. The 17th-century Hôtel des Trésoriers de France today houses the Musée Languedocien. Within the old quarter are several other such mansions, each marked by a descriptive plaque in French.
reviewed
