Montpellier is the capital of the Hérault "department." Although not terribly large, it is a vibrant city thanks to its student population. It is also home to a thriving gay community. The old city is lovely, bursting with history from Roman times on up, and where the action is: for shopping, pubs and people watching. Plus it's largely a pedestrian zone. There's a market every morning on the Place de la Comédie: farmer's market + clothing, etc. Next to the market is the traveller's bureau (office de tourisme), with a helpful and bilingual staff that will provide you with maps and tips on places to visit or stay. Further up in the old town there's an English bookshop that has second-hand paperbacks for sale (and occassionally swaps, depending on the owner's mood that day). Any cravings for junk food from back home (peanut butter, marmite, etc.) can be satisfied at the Inno grocery store in the Polygone shopping mall. To the south, there are the beaches of the Mediterranean. In the summer, there are boating jousts in Palavas - an event that dates back to Medieval times, fun but always dark with throngs. Those who'd rather escape the crowds can make their way along the coast road and find more isolated beaches (fewer people in the morning).

Montpellier is a gorgeous, shining and welcoming city, with a history kept within each of its stones. Founded from the 10th to the 12th century by Jews, Muslims, and Christians, it values tolerance and fraternity and has since developed a very special Mediterranean "art de vivre".



In Montpellier you will find interseting architecture from all periods of France's history . Sights include an 18th- century water tower, an aqueduct, narrow streets lined with tall narrow houses and a medieval-styled Ancien Courrier (where the shopping's great).

Montpellier is an excellent base for daytrips.

Some information courtesy of ot-montpellier.fr

Aix-en-provence
Ajaccio
Alp dHuez
Amboise
Angers
Annecy
Annot
Antibes
Arles
Arras
Avignon
Azay-le-Rideau
Bar-le-Duc
Bastia
Baume-les-Messieurs and Cirque
Bayeux
Bayonne
Berck sur Mer
Bergerac
Biarritz
Blois
Bordeaux
Boulogne
Bourges
Bracieux
Brienne-le-Chateau
Caen
Calvi
Cannes
Carcassone
Carnac
Ceillac
Chalons-sur-Marne
Chambord
Chamonix
Charlesville-Meziers
Chartres
Chartreuse
Chateau de Val
Chaumont
Chenonceau
Cheverny
Chinon
Cirque des Navacelles
Clairvaux
Clermont-Ferrand
Cognac
Colmar
Cons-la-Grandville
Corse
Courthezon
Deauville
Dieppe
Dijon
Dinan
Disneyland Paris
Domme
Dunkerque
Entraygues-sur-Truyère
Epernay
Etretat
Fabulous rivers
Fleville
Fontainebleau
Fontevraud
Fraisse-sur-Agout
Giverny
Gorges-du-tarn
Grenoble
Guilvinec
Hattonchatel
Hautvillers
Honfleur
Huelgoat
Ile dOleron
L'Isle sur la Sorgue
La Rochelle
La Roque Gageac
Langeais
Laval
Le Blanc
Le havre
Le mans
Le Sidobre
Les Andelys
Les Beaux de Provence
Lille
Lisieux
Loches
Lormes
Loue valley
Lourdes
Lyon
Mailly-le-Chateau
Marseille
Menton
Mesnil-Val
Metz
Meung sur Loire
Mirande
Mont Aigoual
Mont-saint-michel
Montpellier
Montpoupon
Montréal
Monts de l'Espinouse
Morbihan
Morvan
Nancy
Nantes
Nice
Nimes
Olhain
Orange
Orleans
Paris
Perigueux
Perpignan
Pezenas
Pic Carlit
Pontgibaud
Provins
Queyras
Quimper
Reims
Rennes
Rochebrune
Roscoff
Rouen
Roussillon
Saint Malo
Saint Remy de Provence
Sainte Croix en Jarez
Salers
Sarlat
Saumur
Sedan
Sixt Fer-à-Cheval
St livrade
St Pons de Thomière
St Tropez
St-Benoit-sur-Loire
St. Aignan
St. Etienne
St. Omer
St.Jean de Luz
Strasbourg
Tarascon-sur-Ariège
Toulouse
Tours
Train des Pignes
Trouville
Troyes
Usse
Uzes
Valencay
Valence
Vannes
Verdun
Vernet les Bains
Versailles
Vezelay
Villandry
Villeneuve-Loubet
Villerville