Show Notes for Episode 105: Tips for Visiting Montpellier, France

Category: Montpellier Area

Discussed in this Episode

• France with children
• Montpellier
• Montpellier Medical School
• Neo-Classical

Episode Highlights

• [4’40] Introduction to Montpellier and why we hadn’t talked about it before: “c’est la ville des bouchons”
• [6′] Igor the guide dog who works in Montpellier
• [6’30] Montpellier has a great reputation as a student city and a place to live
• [7’30] Montpellier doesn’t have a port today, but it did, it is 7k from the Mediterranean Sea
• [9′] Montpellier is a limestone city whereas Toulouse is a brick city
• [10’20] Montpellier: 500,000 inhabitants and 8th larger city in France
• [11’20] Montpellier has a large city center that was extended with the Antigone area in a neo-classical style
• [14′] The consolidation of regions in France, Montpellier used to be in the Languedoc-Roussillon region and is now in the Occitan region
• [19′] Montpellier has a Mediterranean climate and that is one of the reasons why it’s one of the fastest-growing areas in France, we love 300+ days on sun each year!
• [20′] There aren’t a lot of ancient buildings left in Montpellier where an old building are from the 1800s, the Maison des Octrois is older, but there aren’t many
• [21’36] Montpellier was heavily involved in the War of Religion and that is when a lot of the older city was destroyed or otherwise abandoned
• [22’20] In the middle ages, the most populated cities in France were Rouen, Toulouse and Montpellier
• [24’45] Montpellier is the city with the oldest medical school in France and to this day there are still a lot of medical conventions there
• [27’15] Georges Frêche, mayor of Montpellier between 1977 and his death in 2010 positioned the city as a place for smart people, he is the one who funded the Antigone area built-in a Neo-Classical style
• [29’15] Antigone is “démesuré” or over-sized, case in point: their city hall is much larger than the one in Toulouse when we have twice as many inhabitants!
• [33′] Montpellier is a great city to live in, it has a very large library, Olympic pool, esplanade, parks, and a very good tramway system that can take people anywhere they need to go
• [35’30] You need at least 2 days to see Montpellier, you can go from the neo-classical part, go through the shopping center called Corum, to the Place de la Comédie, and move on through the old city-center, go through the Arc de Triomphe, to the statue of Louis XIV, then the old Roman aqueduct, it’s a 3 km to 4 km walk and an interesting way to visit the city
• [38′] You could also start in the center, at the Place de la Comédie and the Molière theater, go towards the old city center and its narrow streets
• [41′] Montpellier has a great zoo and an aquarium, as well as a beach, which makes it a great place to go with children
• [42′] Montpellier may be nicer to live in than Toulouse, as long as you don’t mind living in an apartment building or in a home that has very small yards
• [43′] Montpellier and the whole area is heavily populated as are all areas with great weather and the beach
• [46′] Museums in Montpellier: the Musée Fabre is one of the best art museums outside of Paris because it shows not only Western art, but makes a point to also show African and other pieces
• [54′] In Montpellier you can go to the beach using the tramway + a bus
• [55’45] If you have a car you can also go visit Maguelone, a great place to visit!
• [59′] What to do if you run into Igor the Guide Dog: most sighted people are petrified of talking to blind people, but if you want to pet the guide dog, say hello the dog owner first!
• [60′] Local wines: wines from Montpellier are gaining in quality and popularity right now
• [62′] Local foods: Longuettes (or Zézettes) de Montpellier are a fun cookie, les Grisettes de Montpellier (candy with liquorice and honey), the Mediterranean cuisine is really good
• [60′] Local wines: wines from Montpellier are gaining in quality and popularity right now
• [62′] Local foods: Longuettes (or Zézettes) de Montpellier are a fun cookie, les Grisettes de Montpellier (candy with liquorice and honey), the Mediterranean cuisine is really good

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Category: Montpellier Area