Montpellier Travel Guide, Herault, Occitania, France

Montpellier is a French commune, prefecture of the department of Hérault. Capital of the former administrative region Languedoc-Roussillon, it is the center of a metropolisand a center of balance for the Occitanie region, where plenary meetings take place.

Montpellier is located in the South of France, on a major axis of communication joining Spain in the west and Italy in the east. Close to the Mediterranean Sea (7.1 km), this town has as neighbors Béziers, 69 km to the south-west and Nîmes, 52 km to the north-east. One of the principal attractions of Montpellier is the climate. It has a dry Mediterranean summer and a mild winter. The city isn’t on the beach but it is easily accessible via public transport and there are also several beautiful villages that are accessible via bus as a day trip.

Montpellier is the principal city in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southwest France. It’s been the fastest growing city in France over the past 25 years and, as a result, it has very modern districts on the outskirts that are in stark contrast to the old winding roads of the city centre. The town is home to a lot of students due to the presence of the University of Montpellier which has the oldest medical school in Europe, and, as such, Montpellier has a very young feel to it. Nearly one third of the population are students from three universities and from three higher education institutions that are outside the university framework in the city.

With 55,000 students or more than 20% of its population, and one of the highest growth in the country, Montpellier is a very young city (with 50% of the population under 34) and dynamic in addition to being rich. in history, which makes it one of the most popular cities in France, especially by young people. Its reasonable size, its renowned universities (in particular that of medicine), its efficient public transport system, its proximity to the sea, easy access to culture, its attractive climate and a cost of living still affordable make it a privileged destination for students from all over the world.

In the Middle Ages, the city was an important city on the Mediterranean rim and formed one of the main cities of the Crown of Aragon – where King James I of Aragon was born – then of the kingdom of Mallorca. Above the medieval city, the ancient citadel of Montpellier is a fortress built in the 17th century by Louis XIII. It is located at the foot of the historic center of Montpellier. Joffre became the barracks at the end of the 19th century, and in 1947, the largest high school and college Hérault department.

Since the 1990s, Montpellier has experienced one of the strongest economic and demographic growth in the country. Its urban area has experienced the highest demographic growth in France since the year 2000. Its living environment, its cultural life and finally its Mediterranean climate largely explain this craze for “the Surdouée”.

History
Montpellier, a thousand-year-old city, a wine-growing city, its museums, its fountains, its history, its castles, its heritage. All year round, the tour guides from the Montpellier Tourist Office offer you guided tours of the city and give you privileged access to the most prestigious monuments.

The Montpellier region, like the entire Mediterranean shore between the Alps and the Pyrenees, is a very ancient land of settlement and passage. On the old prehistoric background, Phoenicians, Greeks, Iberians, Ligurians and Celts have left a more or less important imprint. Rome will be the last crucible of these multiple influences. From 123 before our era, Languedoc became a Roman colony. A major player in the conquest, the consul Domitius left his mark on the country by creating the road that bears his name, the Domitian Way. To this day, it is still this east-west axis uniting Italy and Spain that structures the exchanges and the life of the region.

Montpellier was founded in 985, south of this old route and north of the Route du Sel. A strategic situation since the future city settles on the Cami Roumieu or Roman Way which passes between the two roads. The count of Melgueil (Mauguio) gives Guilhem, a lord installed in the middle valley of the Hérault opposite the viscount of Béziers, a manse (agricultural domain) on the Mons Pestelarium. The donation text even lets us know the name of the serf who exploits it: Amalbert. On the other hand, the etymology of the place remains mysterious. Many hypotheses have been put forward – including a poetic, but improbable Mont des jeunes filles-. Montpellier, on this point, keeps its mystery, even if the most serious hypothesis evokes the strategic position of the hill: the mount of the lock.

Medieval period
In the Early Middle Ages, the nearby episcopal town of Maguelone was the major settlement in the area, but raids by pirates encouraged settlement a little further inland. Montpellier, first mentioned in a document of 985, was founded under a local feudal dynasty, the Guilhem, who combined two hamlets and built a castle and walls around the united settlement. The name is from medieval Latin mons pislerius, referring to the woad used for dyeing locally. The two surviving towers of the city walls, the Tour des Pins and the Tour de la Babotte, were built later, around the year 1200.

Montpellier came to prominence in the 12th century—as a trading centre, with trading links across the Mediterranean world, and a rich Jewish cultural life that flourished within traditions of tolerance of Muslims, Jews and Cathars—and later of its Protestants. William VIII of Montpellier gave freedom for all to teach medicine in Montpellier in 1180. The city’s faculties of law and medicine were established in 1220 by Cardinal Conrad of Urach, legate of Pope Honorius III; the medicine faculty has, over the centuries, been one of the major centres for the teaching of medicine in Europe. This era marked the high point of Montpellier’s prominence. The city became a possession of the Kings of Aragon in 1204 by the marriage of Peter II of Aragon with Marie of Montpellier, who was given the city and its dependencies as part of her dowry.

Montpellier gained a charter in 1204 when Peter and Marie confirmed the city’s traditional freedoms and granted the city the right to choose twelve governing consuls annually. Under the Kings of Aragon, Montpellier became a very important city, a major economic centre and the primary centre for the spice trade in the Kingdom of France. It was the second or third most important city of France at that time, with some 40,000 inhabitants before the Black Death. Montpellier remained a possession of the crown of Aragon until it passed to James III of Majorca, who sold the city to the French king Philip VI in 1349, to raise funds for his ongoing struggle with Peter IV of Aragon.

In the 14th century, Pope Urban VIII gave Montpellier a new monastery dedicated to Saint Peter, noteworthy for the very unusual porch of its chapel, supported by two high, somewhat rocket-like towers. With its importance steadily increasing, the city finally gained a bishop, who moved from Maguelone in 1536, and the huge monastery chapel became a cathedral. In 1432, Jacques Cœur established himself in the city and it became an important economic centre, until 1481 when Marseilles overshadowed it in this role.

From the middle of the 14th century until the French Revolution (1789), Montpellier was part of the province of Languedoc.

After the Reformation
At the time of the Reformation in the 16th century, many of the inhabitants of Montpellier became Protestants (or Huguenots as they were known in France) and the city became a stronghold of Protestant resistance to the Catholic French crown. In 1622, King Louis XIII besieged the city which surrendered after a two-month siege (Siege of Montpellier), afterwards building the Citadel of Montpellier to secure it. Louis XIV made Montpellier capital of Bas Languedoc, and the town started to embellish itself, by building the Promenade du Peyrou, the Esplanade and a large number of houses in the historic centre. After the French Revolution, the city became the capital of the much smaller Hérault.

Modern history
During the 19th century the city thrived on the wine culture that it was able to produce due to the abundance of sun throughout the year. The wine consumption in France allowed Montpellier’s citizens to become very wealthy until in the 1890s a fungal disease had spread amongst the vineyards and the people were no longer able to grow the grapes needed for wine. After this the city had grown because it welcomed immigrants from Algeria and other parts of northern Africa after Algeria’s independence from France. In the 21st century Montpellier is between France’s number 7th and 8th largest city. The city had another influx in population more recently, largely due to the student population, who make up about one-third of Montpellier’s population. The school of medicine kickstarted the city’s thriving university culture, though many other universities have been well established there. The coastal city also has such developments as the Corum and the Antigone that have attracted an increasing number of students.

19th century
The development of viticulture in the 19th century promotes the creation of wealth and resulting in considerable urban metamorphosis.

Sensitivity to cultural development also follows with the creation of the Fabre museum, Montpellier’s main art museum, opened in 1828, the construction of the courthouse and the prefecture along the opening of rue Foch, the Sainte Eglise -Anne (whose spire of the neo-Romanesque bell tower reaches 69 meters and allows, even today, to locate the city from afar) and Saint-Roch, from the station, the reconstruction of the theater after the fire of 1881 by Cassien Bernard, a student of Charles Garnier, and the total redevelopment of the Place de la Comédie at the same time, lined with buildings and large Haussmannian stores are perfect examples.

Inspired by the work of Baron Haussmann in Paris, work was carried out under the leadership of the mayor, Jules Pagézy, to create wide avenues within the Escutcheon and provide the city with new administrative buildings, sometimes monumental (for example the courthouse and prefecture). If the work is unfinished, we owe them in spite of everything the rue Foch (former “Imperial way” connecting the prefecture to the promenade of Peyrou via the Arc de Triomphe), the rue de la Loge bordered by the metal halls Castellane of the Baltard type (inaugurated in 1855) which leads to the famous Place de la Comédie, where the current Grand Theater, with its very “Second Empire” architecture and decor, was inaugurated in 1888 to replace the old 18th century theater by Jacques Philippe Mareschal burnt down in 1881 (see, in particular, the rich foyer and the Italian-style performance hall; this interior, very representative of the decorative arts of the 1880s and remarkable by quality, however deserves a major restoration).

Let us also mention the rue de la République and the rue Maguelone which give access to the station and its colonnade (1844) overlooking the Planchon square dominated by the large Protestant temple. The city then extends towards its suburbs (Courreau, Saunerie, Figuerolles, Boutonnet, Saint-Jaumes) and around the station (rue de la Méditerranée, boulevard de Strasbourg).

In 1880, the growing city opened a public network of horse-drawn trams. In 1897, the first electrified tram line was opened. They will multiply and form the first tram network of Montpellier, strong of 5 lines, which will be closed in 1949, because of the lack of maintenance during the Second World War and the advent of the automobile, after the war..

The phylloxera first, and then wine overproduction, provide for some decades a halt to the expansion of Montpellier. In the course of the construction of the new theater, the city launched, however, in the total and sumptuary urban redevelopment of the whole of the Place de la Comédie between 1885 and 1900, with the typically Parisian architecture of the Second Empire (Haussmannian) and the Third Republic (use of slate and zinc for roofs). A note, for visitors, sometimes surprising, not to say “exotic” in a southern city like the surprising and original twin “built in 1898.

20th century
During the Second World War, the city was part of the free zone. The city has always been an important center of resistance. As evidenced by the activity of Jean Moulin, a famous French resistance fighter established in Montpellier during a significant part of the war and whose most famous photographic portrait was taken in front of a pillar of the Arceaux aqueduct.

In 1949, the former network age trams, functional during the first half of the 20th century is dismantled to make way for car traffic increasingly intense. In 1956, the first traffic light was installed in Montpellier, on the Place de la Comédie, which was then very popular with vehicles.

From 1960-1980, the city experienced strong demographic growth, with the arrival of many Pieds-Noirs and then immigrants from all the Arab countries around the Mediterranean. There was an impressive peak of development from 1962 to 1972 with an annual population growth rate of over 5%.

In 1988, the 23 andNovember 24, the second Franco-Spanish summit is held in Montpellier, in the presence of François Mitterrand, Prime Minister Michel Rocard and the head of the Spanish government Felipe González.

21th century
In 2000, the new tram network was launched as part of the development of alternative transport (the old network was closed in 1949, with the advent of the automobile). In 2009, the city signed the pact of mayors of Energie-Cités.

In 2011, the new town hall was inaugurated. In 2012, the tram network now has 4 lines, one of which includes a partially completed route (line 4) to be finalized in 2016.

Tourism
The Association of French Cities welcomes new arrivals, you can view the interactive brochure. Get the Citycard which combines free admissions and discounts to several cultural and tourist sites.

On the shores of the Mediterranean, Montpellier, the 8th largest city in France, seduces with its sweetness, its thirst for culture and its sense of celebration… A thousand-year-old city (it is home to the oldest medical university in Europe still in operation), Montpellier, has, over the years, acquired achievements on the scale of the largest international metropolises. The greatest architects have left their mark on the city, such as Ricardo Bofill to whom Montpellier owes its neoclassical Antigone district or Jean Nouvelwho built the new town hall.

It must be said that the city has something to seduce… A leading urban and cultural destination, Montpellier has been able to combine the facilities of a large city with the sweetness of Mediterranean living; vast pedestrianized and wooded spaces, medieval streets, mansions from the 17th and 18th centuries, perfumed markets without forgetting the multitude of lively terraces, the Fabre museum, the explosive district of Odysseum, the Amazonian greenhouse in the zoo of Montpellier… in short, a modern city with the flavor of yesteryear, the charm of a city on a human scale.

University tradition obliges, Montpellier also counts on its territory nearly 70,000 students. Cause or consequence of this youth: festivals galore, cafes by the hundreds, meetings just waiting to happen. Montpellier, a city that moves, that vibrates.

Historical heritage

Monuments and tourist places
Montpellier has 106 buildings classified or registered as a historic monument, i.e. 19% of the department’s historic monuments, the main ones being:

Place de la Comédie and its monuments
The Place de la Comédie, dating from 1755 and completely redesigned after the theater fire of 1881, is the central location of the city. It takes its name from the municipal theater, whose monumental facade adorns the southwest of the square, and is decorated with the Three Graces fountain, listed. It should be noted that the Place de la Comédie obtained, several years ago, a prize rewarding the quality and enhancement of its architecture by the nocturnal lighting of its facades and of the theater. This square is also nicknamed “place of the egg” because of the pattern drawn on the ground, in front of the Opéra de la Comédie.

Les Arceaux
The aqueduct of the Arches, whose real name the Saint-Clément aqueduct, built in the 18th century by the engineer Henri Pitot Launay, is one of the most beautiful monuments of the city. This building, largely inspired by the Pont du Gard, allowed the arrival of drinking water from the source of Boulidou, then later that of Lez, located in Saint-Clément-de-Rivière. When it was built, it brought 25 liters of water per second to the city of Montpellier. It was destroyed almost in its entirety at the end of the 20th century, following the installation of an underground factory producing all year 2000 liters of water per second.

The gate and the royal place of Peyrou
The Porte du Peyrou, also called the triumphal arch of Montpellier, was built at the end of the 17th century by Augustin-Charles d’Aviler. It leads to the royal square Peyrou hosting the equestrian statue of Louis XIV and a water tower designed in the 18th century. This large esplanade, which overlooks the city from 50 meters, offers a breathtaking view of the north and west part of the city with, in the background, the first Cévennes reliefs, including the Saint-Loup peak. Elisabeth Coste, French cloth merchant, known for having participated in the so-called “Galettes ” affair, was guillotined there on April 8, 1794,

Other monuments and historic places
The hyper center, called the escutcheon, is generally an emblematic place of the city. Its atypical little alleys, crowded with shops, bars and restaurants, make it the first outing place for its inhabitants and the most lively district of the city;
The Charles-de-Gaulle esplanade (Montpellier), an extension of the Place de la Comédie, is a landscaped place for strolling, particularly appreciated by Montpellier residents;
The so-called “Diver” building was built in 1898. Its nickname is due to its corner rotunda topped with an extravagant slate and zinc dome in the shape of a “bulb”. This element of architecture, to say the least remarkable, has just been completely restored;
The “shell” of the Hôtel de Sarret: “The name” shell “obviously refers to the conchoidal shape of this architectural element. The most famous of these stereotomic “shells” is that of Montpellier. The Companions of yesteryear did not fail to visit it during their Tour de France, because it formed a “remark”, that is to say a remarkable element that the Companion had to memorize in order to prove that ‘he had passed through such or such a city during his journey. ”
The war memorial erected in honor of the soldiers of the First World War located on the Esplanade Charles de Gaulle. The monument built is “a funeral edifice in the shape of a hemicycle, treated in the antique style, in the Corinthian style”. One of its peculiarities is that it has a crypt, in which the names of the deceased soldiers are written. The architect chooses to take up “an old tradition of Christian architecture” by building this crypt. People going to the war memorial can go down there. The crypt as well as the location of the war memorial, which is’ isolated at the bottom of the offer a special connection to commemoration.

Higher Education
Montpellier is 7 th university city in France after Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, Lille, Aix- Marseille and Bordeaux. It is estimated that nearly 70,000 students are present in the two Montpellier universities and higher schools (École supérieure de commerce, École nationale supérieure d’architecture, École nationale supérieure d’agronomie, École nationale supérieure de chimie, schools private…).

Montpellier has two universities:
the University of Montpellier which brings together various disciplines such as law, health, pharmacy, economics, management, dentistry, STAPS, sciences, Polytech’Montpellier, IAE de Montpellier (Institut d ‘ administration of companies), three IUT (University institutes of technology: Béziers, Nîmes, Montpellier) and the faculty of education (former IUFM);
the Université Paul Valéry Montpellier which gathers the literature, languages, arts and humanities and social.

The reputation of Montpellier universities is important, especially in the field of medical and scientific research, and this since the Middle Ages.

The Montpellier Faculty of Medicine is the oldest active medical faculty in the world. Courses of Medicine and began right from the 12th century and the faculty was established in 1220. Since 1340, ahead of the rest of Europe, it created an anatomy course which quickly made him famous, and in 1556, it was the first to have an amphitheater dedicated to the examination of corpses. It was in Montpellier that the first autopsy of study on the human body was carried out, in the secrecy of religion which prohibited any intervention on deceased people. This faculty has counted illustrious students and great practitioners, among whom Arnaud de Villeneuve,Guy de Chauliac (father of medical surgery), Nostradamus, Rabelais (humanist doctor), François Peyronie (surgeon of the king), Paul Joseph Barthez (staff physician Louis XVI and Napoleon I).

University libraries are part of the BIU. The Faculty of Medicine houses a large library of 900 manuscript volumes, including 300 incunabula and 100,000 volumes printed prior to 1800.

Places of worship

Catholicism
The patron saint of Montpellier is the Virgin Mary under the name “Notre-Dame-des-Tables”; it is the emblem of the city (cf. blazon above) and is celebrated onAugust 31. However, the first of the patron saints of the city was Saint Firmin.

Saint Roch, a native of Montpellier, is a very popular saint in the city and a church was dedicated to him 19th century. It is celebrated on August 16 on the occasion of numerous processions given in the city bringing together several thousand people. He is not, however, the patron saint of the city.

In Montpellier, is the seat of the eponymous archdiocese of which Saint-Pierre cathedral is the mother church; however, it is the Notre-Dame des Tables basilica which remains the mother church of the city. The Saint-Pierre cathedral is also one of the stages of the Via Tolosana of the pilgrimage of Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle.

A long time ago, Montpellier was part of the diocese of Maguelone before seeing its situation evolve over the centuries:

1536: the seat of the bishopric is transferred from Maguelone to Montpellier;
1802: Montpellier becomes suffragan diocese of Toulouse;
1822: Montpellier becomes suffragan diocese of Albi;
1877: addition of the titles of the dioceses of Agde, Béziers, Lodève and Saint-Pons-de-Thomières;
2002: erection of the Church of Montpellier into a metropolitan archbishopric.

Montpellier has, from the Catholic point of view, a rich history which it raises from the past with the foundation of structures such as the order of the Hospitallers of the Holy Spirit (around 1180) or the Confrérie de l’Arche du Saint-Esprit; or, rather, of the present thanks to associations such as the Confrerie des Pénitents blancs in Montpellier. In the 14th century, Montpellier is endowed a convent of Dominicans who later became the René Gosse school. The Maison Notre-Dame-de-la-Merci is what remains of the original implantation (around 1240) of the Order of Notre-Dame-de-la-Merci.

Saint-Pierre cathedral
Saint-Pierre Cathedral is the seat of the Metropolitan Archdiocese on December 8, 2002by decree of the Congregation for Bishops. The Ecclesiastical Province of Montpellier now includes the suffragan dioceses of Mende and Perpignan – Elne (previously suffragan of Albi), of Nîmes (previously suffragan of Avignon) and Carcassonne (previously suffragan of Toulouse).

Some churches and Catholic buildings in Montpellier:
Notre-Dame des Tables basilica (Dom Bedos-Puget organ);
the two Carmels of Montpellier (the Discalced Carmelites and the Carmelites of the Child Jesus);
Saint-Roch church in Montpellier;
Saint-Denis church in Montpellier;
Sainte-Croix de Celleneuve church;
Sainte-Foy chapel in Montpellier, known as the chapel of the White Penitents.

In addition to the ordinary places of worship, masses according to the Tridentine rite are celebrated at the Church of Sainte-Eulalie and at the chapel of the Villa Sainte-Christine by the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest which also administers the “Cours Notre- Lady “. Bringing together around 120 children, this free primary school is a non-contract education.

Protestantism
Protestant worship in Montpellier takes place:

at the main temple, near the Saint-Roch station, rue de Maguelone;
at the La Margelle temple;
at the EREI temple of the Oratory;
at the Saint-Paul temple.

Evangelism
At the evangelical Christian level, there is, for example, the Evangelical Church ADD of Montpellier, affiliated with the Assemblies of God of France. The city has 2 evangelical churches: Assemblé de Dieu and Liberté Eglise Évangélique de Montpellier.

Orthodoxy
The Sainte-Philothée chapel is used by the Orthodox Christian worship of the Greek Orthodox metropolis of France depending on the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Judaism
There are at least two synagogues in Montpellier. One, located on rue Proudhon in the Beaux-Arts district, is consistorial and the other, Kehilat Kedem, is part of the liberal movement and is located on Boulevard Antigone.

Islam
The municipality has several mosques in the city.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The municipality has a parish of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Bagatelle neighborhood.

Cultural heritage
Exhibition spaces, Cinema and Theater, Contemporary Culture Center, find here the program, schedules and contact details of all our cultural venues.

Museums
Montpellier has a diverse museographic heritage, come and discover the Montpellier museums.

The Fabre museum
The Fabre museum is open every day, except Monday. Opening of the permanent collections and temporary exhibitions from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Next to the famous Fabre museum, Montpellier offers the curiosity of passers-by many remarkable museums.

The Montpellier History Museum
Offers an overview of the history of the city. Located under the current place Jean Jaurès, in the foundations of the old church of Notre-Dame des Tables, this museum traces the history of Montpellier (10th-16th centuries) through that of the church using visual animations and sound.

Museum of Old Montpellier
Housed in the Hôtel de Varennes, this museum features c ollections very diverse objects related to the history of Monpellier the Middle Ages to the 20th century. It is located on Place Pétrarque, in an apartment in a former mansion, decorated with 18th century woodwork, French ceilings, plasterwork and floor bars.

The Atger Museum
Remarkable collection of drawings by regional, Flemish masters from the Renaissance to the 19th century. Museum of drawings from the XVI, XVII, XVIIIth century, French, Italian and Nordic schools. It is made up of a very rich collection of drawings from Flemish, Italian, Dutch, German and French schools, patiently assembled by the experienced art lover Xavier Atger who bequeathed it to the Faculty of Medicine in the last century. The library of this faculty has a large number of precious manuscripts from the 8th to the 19th century.

Pharmacy and Chapel of Mercy
The historical set of Mercy contains the last Montpellier apothecary still in place. Since the departure of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul in 2001, this place of memory, classified as a historical monument, has been managed by the City of Montpellier.

Infantry Museum
The Infantry Museum presents in its 14 permanent exhibition rooms the history of the troops on foot from 1479 to the present day through more than 15,000 objects. A space is dedicated to the African army. It also has a documentation and information center.

Museum of Castings
A collection constantly enriched with casts of the most beautiful sculptures from ancient times to the Middle Ages.

Fougau Museum
This private museum of popular art and traditions is devoted to everyday life in the Montpellier of yesteryear.

Languedoc Museum
Museum of Art, History and Archeology of Montpellier, the Languedocien Museum benefits from the Musée de France label for the richness and variety of its collections which extend from prehistoric times to the 19th century and include many chefs from artwork.

Popular Pavilion
The Popular Pavilion is a photographic art space open to the public free of charge. It displays a high level program, presenting the works of artists of national and international notoriety. Three exhibitions on average take place there each year.

Saint-Ravy space
Espace Saint-Ravy is a municipal exhibition hall oriented towards the emerging creation of the territory and open to the public free of charge.

Jean Vilar Theater
The Jean Vilar Theater remains closed for the moment. The Jean Vilar Theater is the municipal theater of the City of Montpellier. It is located in the heart of the Mosson district, in the cellar of the old Mas de la Paillade. From September to June, it offers a varied program open to all.

Nestor Burma Cinema
The Municipal Cinema Nestor Burma offers an All Audience and Art House programming with a strong Young Audience specificity. Find in particular the current month’s program on this page!

Dominique Bagouet space
Espace Dominique Bagouet is a place of art and heritage open to the public free of charge. Dedicated to regional artists of the 19th and 20th centuries, its success has grown since its reopening in 2012.

Mo.Co. – Hotel des Collections
With its central geographical position, MOCO will be the main entity of Montpellier Contemporain. Inaugurated in June 2019 in the former Hôtel Montcalm, it will play the role of the city’s cultural platform. Without a permanent collection, this space will be dedicated to the exhibition of public or private collections from around the world.

The Panacea – Mo.Co.
La Panacea is now part of the MoCo, a unique multi-site structure dedicated to contemporary art, which also includes the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Montpellier (ESBAMA) and the Hôtel Montcalm (3,500 m2 near the station Saint-Roch, opening June 29, 2019).

Sainte-Anne Square
The Carré Sainte-Anne is currently closed for renovations.

House of Choirs
The Maison des Choeurs hosts concerts, rehearsals and events aimed at promoting choral singing in the region. Today, 40 choirs and nearly 1,500 amateur choir singers already attend this establishment. Choral concerts are given there regularly. Weekly training sessions as well as internships are provided there.

Cultural facilities
the Fabre museum;
the Popular Pavilion, a municipal exhibition space located on the esplanade and mainly devoted to photography;
the Dominique-Bagouet room, a municipal exhibition space located on the esplanade;
the network of ten media libraries that crisscross Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole;
the Saint-Ravy room, a municipal exhibition space devoted mainly to emerging artists;
the Sainte-Anne square, a municipal exhibition space within the old Sainte-Anne church;
La Panacea, contemporary art exhibition halls and university residence for art students in Montpellier;
the Palais des Congrès and the Berlioz opera house within the Corum;
the opera Comedy;
the amphitheater (1,800 seats) and the Ô theater, in the district of Ô;
the La Vignette theater on the grounds of the Paul-Valéry University of Letters;
the Jean-Vilar theater, municipal theater located in the Mosson district;
the Human too human theater, in Grammont, national dramatic center of Montpellier (formerly theater of 13-Vents);
the Rockstore, bought by the city, which offers many concerts in an old converted church and which is also a nightclub;
the Zénith Sud (concert hall for 6,500 people);
the Arena (capacity: 14,800 people for shows and 9,000 for sports).

Cultural events
Agora des savoirs, Comédie du Livre, Fête de la Musique, ZAT: four cultural events, orchestrated by the City of Montpellier, punctuate the year. Presentation of the events, their dates and their programs…

Music Day in Montpellier
On June 21, Montpellier celebrates living music. On the program, nearly 30 musical events in 4 points of the city: the Place de la Comédie, the Maisons pour Tous, the Domaine d’O and for the third consecutive year, the TraMusic.

European Heritage Days
The 37th edition of the European Heritage Days will take place on 19 and 20 September 2020. They will revolve around the European theme “Heritage and education: learning for life!”, Because heritage is a learning tool and a source of inspiration for the future.

Agora of Knowledge
A must-see event for science and knowledge enthusiasts, the Agora des Savoirs offers conferences dedicated to scientific culture and the dissemination of knowledge. To be continued on Wednesday evening at the Rabelais room in Montpellier or on the Agora des Savoirs YouTube channel.

Temporary Artistic Zones (ZAT)
The City of Montpellier is organizing the 14th edition of the Temporary Artistic Zone (ZAT) from April 25 to 26, 2020. After the heart of the city, the Aubes district was chosen to host this artistic event for the general public.

Book comedy
Learn more A major popular event around books, literatures and independent bookstores, La Comédie du Livre – Rencontres Internationales du Livre à Montpellier – welcomes nearly 100,000 visitors every spring, in the heart of the city.

Festivals
the Rencontres Folkloriques de Montpellier, place de la Comédie (end of April, beginning of May);
the Festival Occitan Total Festum, the 21st of October, Comedy Square;
the Diffuz festival, around free culture (software, music), October;
the Comédie du livre, at the end of May beginning of June, on the Place de la Comédie;
the Festival de Radio France and Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon;
the Montpellier Dance Festival of Contemporary Dance;
the Turbulences Sonores Festival (contemporary music);
the Mediterranean Film Festival, known as Cinémed;
the Spring of the Comedians;
the Internationales de la Guitare, in October;
the 100% Festival, Espace Grammont, in October;
the Fanfares Festival, Beaux-Arts / Pierre Rouge and Boutonnet districts, mid-June;
the ZAT – temporary artistic zones, which take place between 2010 and 2020, twice a year (April and November), in a different district of the city each time;
the International Festival of Extreme Sports (Fise) on the banks of the Lez in front of the Hôtel de Région in May (five days);
the Christian Film Festival;
the Saperlipopette Children’s Festival, Voilà Enfantillages;
the Attitude Festival;
the Nuits des Équinoxes, at the science faculty, at the end of March (TAUST amateur theater festival);
the Patrimôme Association promotes heritage to children;
the Battle of the Year, at the end of April (hip-hop dance festival);
the Electromind festival (electronic music) at the end of July at Espace Grammont;
the International Argentine Tango Festival;
the Estivales de Montpellier, every Friday from late June to early September;
the Festival des Architectures Vives from 15 to June 19;
the Montpellier-Reine is a fun and united race in the Montpellier Escutcheon for the benefit of the fight against breast cancer. It takes place on Mother’s Day;
March of Diversity Gay Pride which is traditionally held the 1st Saturday of June;
the Boutographies – Rencontres photographiques de Montpellier, a festival of young European creative photography which takes its name from the Boutonnet district where it started;
the I LOVE TECHNO festival exported to France. I LOVE TECHNO is an electronic music festival created in 1995 by Peter Decuypere and Herman Schueremans. It takes place every year in November at the Flanders Expo in Ghent, Belgium and since 2011 in Montpellier.

Natural space
Nature present and clean streets. Montpellier has more than 1000 hectares of greenery. Parks, forests, zoo, plots for gardening: discover the places to have a bowl of nature and major environmental projects. And to keep this space clean, make yourself aware of the waste management rules.

Biodiversity is everywhere! The term biodiversity encompasses all the diversity of living things: diversity of species, of their genetic heritage and diversity of the ecosystems they make up. In order to preserve the biodiversity present on its territory, the city of Montpellier is committed to the ecological management of its green and natural spaces. From 1995, differentiated management was applied for the management of green spaces, making it possible to adjust their maintenance as well as possible to their use. Since then, Montpellier has changed the management of its spaces towards ecological management applied to all of its heritage, which revolves around 4 major axes: Saving water, Supporting local biodiversity, Reducing pollution and protecting soils, Train and raise awareness.

Parks and gardens
Private or public, forgotten or restored, the gardens of Montpellier constitute an astonishing heritage because of their composition and their diversity.

Private or public, forgotten or restored, the gardens of Montpellier constitute an astonishing heritage by their composition, the variety of their species, and by the sum of information they offer on previous historical periods, mainly from the 17th to the 19th century. Famous or intimate, parks and gardens are part of all town planning projects. These corners of nature, frequented on a daily basis by the inhabitants of the district, offer parentheses of greenery, harmonious arrangements for children, sportsmen and walkers.

On the outskirts of Montpellier, the 18th century saw the emergence of elegant homes, designed for aristocrats or big bourgeois: Château de Flaugergues, Château de la Mogère, Château d’O or even de la Mosson, are now part of the perimeter of the town.

Wine town
The new Cuvée M comes from the vineyard planted at Mas Nouguier, owned by the City of Montpellier. Former 17th century wine estate with an area of approximately 25 ha, connecting the ZAC Ovalie to that of Grisettes, two recent districts with a strong environmental dimension located on the second line of the tram, the Mas Nouguier has been converted into a public Agriparc from 18 hectares. This Agriparc already ensured wine production, with a special “Domaine du mas Nouguier” cuvée. In 2009, thanks to the “Bee, sentinel of the environment” program, he experienced his first harvest of honey and has an olive grove with a surface area of 5,800 m² which includes 135 olive trees.

In accordance with its commitments in terms of biodiversity, the City wanted this space dedicated to viticulture, beekeeping and olive growing retains an ecological vocation but also educational and leisure. Identifying element of the municipal domain of Grisettes, the vines have been maintained and developed, so that each year, in this municipal public park, the harvests gain in quality and quantity. As the Grisettes vines are somewhat aging, the City of Montpellier has joined forces with the Chamber of Agriculture to implement a two-year renovation program for the vineyard. Thus, during a first phase, the vines were uprooted over an area of 10 ha, included in the 17 ha of vineyard. The land was thus left to stand for two years, in order to then proceed to re-grape varieties. It was therefore not until 2011 to take advantage of a new harvest of theView large imageCollective harvest, with the inhabitants of the district or the children of the schools, are organized within the framework of the operation Main Verte.

To date, the City is therefore the owner of 12 hectares of vines allowing an annual production of around 15,000 bottles and has requested from the authorities of the wine industry the classification of some of its plots in the appellation “Grès de Montpellier”. In order to claim this AOC, the City of Montpellier in 2011 entrusted the vinification of its wine to the Cave des Vignerons du, the latter already producing “Grès de Montpellier” cuvées. This initiative is fully in line with the original and innovative partnership entered into by the City in July 2010 with the Syndicat des Grès de Montpellier.

Wine tourism
As part of the partnership concluded between the City of Montpellier and the Syndicat des Grès de Montpellier, the Tourist Office has encouraged the creation of new tourist circuits reconciling the quality of the Montpellier heritage and the Grès de Montpellier appellation.Ideal for discovering Montpellier and its wines, this half-day excursion offers an approach on the Grès de Montpellier and the discovery of the follies of Montpellier. Visit of two wineries (Domaine Château d’Assas or Château de l’Engarran or Château de Flaugergues or Abbey of Valmagne), meeting with the operators, wine tasting, restaurant meals, all departing from Montpellier. The return to the end of this excursion is very satisfying for tourists who discover an exceptional environment and terroir, as well as proximity to the winegrower.

Two new wine tourism circuits which should delight wine and heritage lovers, and which allow the City to offer the many visitors and the people of Montpellier a new way of visiting our territory. It is also for the city, through its Tourist Office, to highlight its land and its traditions by offering high-quality tourist products,

Circulate
Traveling through the city by tram allows you to share it with its inhabitants, the route is marked out by a series of works of art. It also allows you to discover a large part of the city’s architecture and urban planning: the residential towers of La Paillade, the recent neighborhoods under development, the residential neighborhoods from the 1960s to 1980s, the city center (Écusson), recent monumental developments (Corum congress center, Richter-Port Marianne district and Odysseum leisure activities zone).

The urban transport company TAM sells a wide range of transport tickets, including group tickets allowing several people to travel on a single ticket all day.

Walking around
The walks in the Ecusson allow visitors to immerse themselves in the medieval past of the city. Its most beautiful squares bring to life the atmosphere of the Age of Enlightenment. Walking remains the best way to discover the historical, architectural and natural riches of Montpellier. Walks in the Ecusson allow visitors to immerse themselves in the city’s medieval past and its most beautiful squares bring back to life the atmosphere of the Age of Enlightenment. Many parks and gardens bring nature to the heart of the city and the area of Lunaret is, thanks to the zoo, a destination of choice for children and their families. Finally, castles and follies recall, in the districts, the splendours and splendours of past centuries. Montpellier can be discovered in many ways, Montpellier is a historic and modern city, multicultural, discover Montpellier step by step.

Cycling
Cycling in the city means 160 km of cycling facilities and ultimately a continuous cycling network. Daily, work, sport or leisure, whatever your habits, cycling in Montpellier is for you. To get around by bike, the city publishes a plan called Montpellier à Vélo, which allows you to practice several routes (numbered 1 to 10). Although the traffic patterns are easier to follow on the map than in the field, the plan is useful for avoiding certain dangerous roads, such as the route to beaches. Like other large cities, the Agglomeration has also set up the VéloMagg system, which makes it possible to rent bicycles from a large number of stations dedicated to this purpose.