Montpellier
A thousand years of trade and intellectual activity have made Montpellier a teeming, energetic city. Benjamin of Tudela, the tireless twelfth-century Jewish traveller, reported its streets crowded with traders from every corner of Egypt, Greece, Gaul, Spain, Genoa and Pisa. After the king of Mallorca sold it to France in 1349 it became an important university town in the 1500s, counting the radical satirist François Rabelais among its alumni. Periodic setbacks, including almost total destruction for its Protestantism in 1622, and depression in the wine trade in the early years of the twentieth century – have done little to dent this progress. Today it vies with Toulouse for the title of the most dynamic city in the south. The reputation of its university especially, founded in the thirteenth century and most famous for its medical school, is a long-standing one: more than 60,000 students still set the intellectual and cultural tone of the city – the average age of whose residents is said to be just 25.
Montpellier is renowned for its cultural life, and hosts a number of annual festivals. Le Printemps des Comédiens (mid-June to mid-July) is a theatre festival; Montpellier Danse (late June to mid-July) is a festival of dance. There's also a music festival, Le Festival de Radio-France et de Montpellier, held in the second half of July, and the Festival du Cinéma Méditerranéen, in the second half of October and early November. The tourist office provides information about programmes and booking.
The City
Montpellier's city centre – the old town – is small, compact, architecturally homogeneous, full of charm and teeming with life, except in July and August when the students are on holiday and everyone else is at the beach. And the place is almost entirely pedestrianized, so you can walk the narrow streets without looking anxiously over your shoulder.
Eating, drinking and entertainment
Montpellier's year-round vitality supports a variety of restaurants and bars to suit all budgets and tastes. Cafés line every square while some of the more expensive restaurants use the city's ancient interiors to stunning effect. And Montpellier's youthful population ensures an energetic bar and nightclub scene right through to the early hours.
There's always plenty of drinking activity in the place de la Comédie, place du Marché-aux-Fleurs and place Jean-Jaurès, and two very different options are Charlier Bière, a grungy beer bar at 22 rue Olivier, and Antidote, a snappy cocktail joint on place de la Canourgue, which attracts the arty set. The Café de la Mer, at 5 place de Marché-aux-Fleurs, is a popular, gay-friendly establishment with a busy terrace. The old perennial for late-night dancing and live gigs is the Rockstore, near the station at 20 rue de Verdun, while JAM, at 100 rue Ferdinand-Lesseps, and Cargo, on place St-Denis, offer jazz and blues respectively. In addition to its clubs, bars and live music, Montpellier has a very lively theatre scene, as well as a tradition of engaging café-littéraires on a variety of themes; Le César at 17 place Nombre-d'Or hosts two such gatherings, the café des femmes and the café des arts – check for days and times. For what's on at the various venues, look for posters around town or check the free weekly listings magazines, Le Sortir and Olé. The best central food markets are Halles Castellane, on rue de la Loge, and Laissac, place A. Laissace (daily 7.30am–1pm).
Discover more to see and do in Montpellier at www.roughguides.co.uk
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