Best Things to See in Montpellier

The Travel Pages picks the best things to see in Montpellier including the city’s mansions and museums, and visiting the Antigone district.

Best Things to See in Montpellier

Antigone

You wouldn’t normally expect a housing estate to be a visitor attraction, but Montpellier’s modern Antigone district is a happy exception. The Antigone was conceived as low-income housing with a difference, integrated with recreation and civic spaces, restaurants and other facilities. Designed by the Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill in the 1980s, it features low-rise residential blocks and office buildings of white stone, built in a neo-classical style with allusions to Greek and Roman mythology. The glass-clad Olympic swimming pool is here, and the central library.

The main attraction is the broad esplanade which stretches for nearly a kilometre through the centre, connecting a series of lovely squares and fountains that make a pleasant stroll. At the western end is the Place du Nombre d’Or. Here a statue of Neptune is surrounded by a delightful fountain of water jets that begins with a sequence of playful leaping spouts rising to a soaring geyser. The Place de Thessalie boasts a striking circular fountain supported by the busts of three young men. At the eastern end the Esplanade de l’Europe with its statue of Nike overlooks the River Lez.

The Antigone district is east of the city centre, and easily accessed through the Polygone shopping centre, or via the tram.

Montpellier‘s Mansions

From the west side of the place de la Comédie, the broad, pedestrian rue de la Loge leads into the city centre. A jumble of narrow streets runs off to either side, lined with medieval mansions, shops, churches and some eye-catching trompe-l’oeil murals. Pleasant restaurants and cafés seem to fill every corner and square. In Montpellier, ancient and modern live together in easy harmony.

Over 60 private mansions, dating from the 15th to the 17th centuries (or maybe even earlier), are a reminder of Montpellier’s prosperity in medieval times. Behind their massive entrance gates are handsome interior courtyards, carved stone staircases and other impressive architectural details. Most are closed to the public, but you can see some of them on guided tours given by the tourist office.

One mansion you’ll often find open is the Hôtel des Trésoriers de la Bourse, on the street of the same name, which sometimes hosts art exhibitions in the courtyard. On a guided tour you can also visit a rare gem: a medieval mikve, or Jewish ritual bath. This atmospheric 13th-century bath was discovered in the cellar of a former mansion and is one of the best-preserved in Europe.

Musée Fabre

Founded in 1825 by François-Xavier Fabre, a Montpellier artist and pupil of David, the Musée Fabre spreads out through three buildings along the Esplanade Charles de Gaulle, representing three eras and three different architectural styles. Some 800 works of art are on display from several collections: European paintings from the 16th to 17th centuries; 18th-century Neoclassical works; 19th century artists including Gustave Courbet and Eugène Delacroix, and 20th-century art featuring Henri Matisse, Robert Delaunay and around 20 works by Pierre Soulage.

Collections of decorative arts, drawings and engravings are also on display, and there are changing exhibitions and special events. The cafeteria has a terrace which opens on to the Esplanade. Across the park the museum’s pavilion provides a separate space for temporary exhibitions.

museefabre.fr
13 rue Montpelliéret
04 67 14 83 00

Musée Languedocien

The star attraction of this excellent regional museum is the building itself – a beautifully-restored 15th-century mansion which once belonged to the financier Jacques Coeur. The nondescript exterior gives no clue to the treasures within, from the architecture and décor to the fine collections of Languedoc art, archaeology and history ranging from prehistoric times to the 19th century. The first room, where temporary exhibitions are held, makes a fabulous first impression. It has its original, ornate wood ceiling from 1445, with polychrome blue and red painted patterns. Adjoining rooms display exquisite Romanesque sculptures from regional churches and abbeys beneath a beautiful coffered ceiling.

In the early 17th century the mansion was purchased by the treasurers of France, entrusted by the king to collect taxes and manage royal estates. Their alterations are best seen in the neoclassical inner courtyard, with two levels of Doric and Corinthian columns topped by striking carvings of the sun, the royal motif of Louis XIV.

A monumental spiral staircase leads to the first floor, where there are fine collections of decorative art and religious objects from the Middle Ages, and rooms of 16th- to 18th-century furniture, tapestries and pottery, including a rare celestial sphere by the Italian cosmographer Vincenzo Coronelli. Several ostentatious salons, the private apartments of the Lunaret family who bought the house in 1816, are also on display.

The top floor contains collections of Gallo-Roman, Greek, Etruscan and Egyptian antiquities, and a room of prehistoric exhibits. This is a wonderful museum. Its collections are superb but not overwhelming, and offer a rare chance to glimpse Montpellier’s mansions from a bygone age.

musee-languedocien.com
7 rue Jacques Coeur
04 67 52 93 03

Place de la Comédie

To walk into the place de la Comédie, Montpellier’s main square, is to be reminded how city life ought to be. It’s a vast, open plaza surrounded by busy cafés and bars, alive with the sound of talented buskers, and a meeting point for local people and visitors alike. It was laid out in the middle of the 19th century, and many of those buildings remain, providing an elegant backdrop to today’s activities.

At the south end of the square is the old 1888 opera house, with a lovely statue of the Three Graces in front, while at the northern end, through the leafy Esplanade Charles de Gaulle, is Le Corum. This is a modern opera house and convention centre, and if you climb up to the terrace above the building there are good views over the rooftops of the old city.

Between Le Corum and the opera house, at the southern edge of the esplanade, is the excellent and well-stocked Tourist Information Office, whose helpful staff take a real delight in showing their lovely city to visitors. The east side of place de la Comédie has the most central tram stop, making it the perfect hub for getting into and out of the city centre.