France's Most Underrated Mediterranean City

Welcome to Montpellier. This city is certainly not the most popular destination in the south of France, but it's definitely worth a closer look if you're looking for an off-the-beaten-path weekend break. If you'd asked me a few years ago what I thought of Montpellier, I'd probably have told you it's not my favourite place in France. However, this is a city that's rapidly changing, with an exciting foodie scene, lots and lots of pedestrian-only roads, green spaces and plenty of hidden gems. In this travel guide, we're going to show you the best of Montpellier, including its top attractions and even taking a day trip. This is Place de la Comédie and it takes its name from the nearby theatre. It's one of the best places to start your time in Montpellier because it is one of the grandest and most beautiful squares of the city. The square actually dates back to 1755, though fires in 1785 and then again in 1881 meant that it had to be reconstructed each time. Today, it's completely pedestrianised and is a popular place for locals to hang out, have lunch or sit at one of the many cafes. A short walk away, and this whole area is pedestrian-only, you'll find Place Jean Jaurès. This is yet another square where you can sit out with a coffee or grab a bite to eat. But for food, I have another idea in mind. The covered market is something of an institution in France and there's one right in the heart of Montpellier, which dates back to 1858. But on a sunny day like today, you probably want to be eating outside and so we've chosen not to come here either for lunch. Of course, everyone loves a French bistro, but because Montpellier is quite an international city, we've decided to come to a bistro with a twist. This bistro is influenced by both Korean and Japanese cuisine. The wait for the dishes was a little bit long, but they do look delicious. Surprise! Montpellier has an Arc de Triomphe too, and actually when you're walking down this Grand Avenue, it's very reminiscent of Paris because there's so much Haussmannian architecture. But the Arc de Triomphe right behind me dates back to 1691. It's 15 meters high and was built solely to commemorate the achievements of King Louis XIV, who was of course the son king of Versailles. It's very decadent and just behind it there is a delightful park, which we're going to go to. Just behind the triumphal arch, you'll find the Promenade du Pérou, which was also laid out in the 17th century. This public park boasts commanding views over the surrounding countryside, and if we head to the very end, we'll find another architectural gem. Constructed at the end of the 18th century, the Château d'eau du Pérou, which means water tower, marks the end of the Saint Clément aqueduct. Once upon a time, this aqueduct transported water all the way from the spring of Clément, some 14 kilometers away, to feed the fountains in the center of this esplanade. Now it's no longer in use, but we can still admire it. Can you say something to us in Occitan? Why do you come and play the music? Is this a traditional instrument? Montpellier has no shortage of green spaces, but the most beautiful is probably Jardin des Plantes, which is a botanical garden belonging to the University of Montpellier. It was founded in 1593 by King Henry IV, and now is a gem of a place to visit. You can hear the birds, you can enjoy all of the flowers, and a beautiful green space. We were truly astonished by the wildlife that could be found in this park, and after spotting some frogs, I wasn't sure what else we'd be able to see, but we ended up spying a red squirrel. This is the oldest botanical garden in France, and of course, while little has actually survived from the end of the 16th century, the stones just behind me are some of the original ones which were used in the garden. The rest of the garden has seen plenty of development over the centuries, including specifically in the 19th and 20th. It's now time to explore the medieval heart of Montpellier, which includes several attractions and hidden gems. The Cathedral of Montpellier has a southern facade, the likes of which I've never seen before. Most of it is constructed in the Gothic style, and the one thing to note about this church is that it didn't start out life as a cathedral. In fact, it began life as a monastery church, and only was elevated to cathedral status in 1536. I'm pretty sure we can go inside and have a look, so let's go and do that. If you come here and it looks like the front entrance is closed, then don't worry, because the real entrance is actually around the side. During the 16th century wars of religion, Protestants severely damaged or entirely destroyed most Catholic landmarks in Montpellier. St Peter's was heavily targeted and used as a defensive stronghold between 1561 and 1567, earning it the nickname Fort Saint-Pierre. As daytime drew to a close, we wandered through the old quarter of Montpellier. Dinner time was swiftly approaching, and it was fun to see all of the restaurants being set up for the evening. There are quite a few medieval streets in this area that are pretty popular, but the most famous one has to be this one, which is a rainbow. Rue de Lavier is also pretty famous, because it has all of these shops selling postcards. Montpellier is also a great place from which to check out the surrounding region, and so today we're going to be exploring some of the best attractions under an hour's drive away from the city. We're beginning our day at Pont du Gard, which is one of the most impressive feats of Roman engineering you can still see today in the world. Requiring approximately 21,000 cubic meters of stone to construct, this Roman aqueduct once stretched over 50 kilometers, supplying water to the homes of Nimes, which was a really important Roman settlement at that time, and we'll go there later today. It's estimated that over 200 million liters of water were supplied to the fountains, homes, businesses, baths, and basically everything that Nimes required. Today, just a small part of this aqueduct remains, and you can come and visit here. The site is completely free to visit, though you do have to pay for the parking. The Pont du Gard was in use right up until the 6th century, and after that point, it was the task of local bishops and lords to care for the monument. However, people didn't really appreciate it in the same way they do today, and so lots of people ended up pillaging the Pont du Gard in order to use the stones for local building projects. It wasn't until the 18th century when the Pont du Gard started to become a well-known monument, and tourists started flocking here. By the 19th century, they had added extra staircases and the like, which you can see behind me, in order for tourists to go inside the monument. And if you visit today, then you might have the possibility to go inside if you book a guided tour. In 1985, the Pont du Gard was finally listed as a UNESCO, and is now being cared for for the generations to come. You can already kind of see this in the images, but once you're here, it seems even larger. The Pont du Gard is almost 50 meters in height, and is almost 2,000 years old because it was constructed in the first century, during the reign of Nero and Claudius. When you visit, you can either come to the Rive du Haut or the Rive Gauche, but to be honest, whichever one you come to doesn't really matter because they both meet in the middle, and depending on the weather, you can walk all the way down to the riverbanks and cool off in the water of the Gardon. Perhaps the most interesting or impressive fact of all, is that over the course of its 31 mile length stretch, it only descends by 17 meters, and over the bridge itself, I think it's just 2.5 centimeters. When you come to the Pont du Gard, the aqueduct itself is not the only thing over a thousand years old. On the route to it, you'll find this olive tree, which is said to have been born in Spain in 908. It was moved here in the 1980s, and has been appreciated by hundreds of thousands of people ever since. You're probably starting to get a good feel for this now, but the south of France is a wonderful place to see Roman ruins, and so we have now come to Nimes, which was known as Naumausis during Roman times, and is often referred to as the most Roman place outside of Italy. So you know we're in for a real historical treat. One of the coolest things about traveling in Europe has to be that you can often have a coffee sitting in the shadow of history. So just behind me is the amphitheater of Nimes, which is often regarded to be one of the best preserved amphitheaters of the Roman world still in existence. It dates back to the first century, and was constructed shortly after the Colosseum was finished in Rome. Once upon a time, it could sit up to 24,000 spectators. We don't have a great deal of time to explore Nimes, so we picked up these tickets at the tourist office, which will give us access to the main Roman monuments. So let's finish our coffee and head inside. Once you come inside, you're pretty much free to explore the entirety of the space. You can pick up an audio guide, which will of course give you more information about the visit, and at the moment it's laid out for concerts and the like. Unfortunately, there are also bullfights here. The other thing to know is that when you visit, it's pretty likely that there will be some scaffolding up because this is a historic monument, and it is constantly being renovated and repaired. Once you're in the arena, it's definitely worth coming to the top where you'll get a fantastic view, both of the amphitheater as well as the surrounding old town of Nimes. I have had to take off my hat though because it is a bit windy. Our next spot is yet another place which is pretty unique in the world, because this is one of the best preserved Roman temples still in existence. It's dedicated to Lucius and Caius Caesar, who were the grandchildren of Emperor Augustus, and it dates back to the 21st century common era. Today, it's inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list, and we can go inside and have a look. Already from the outside, it's really beautiful. The proportions are pretty perfect, and it is crowned with Corinthian columns. Inside, there is a small museum about the restoration of this temple, but you don't really need more than 10 to 15 minutes to visit, and so we'll head on out to our next destination. Our third Roman spot of the day is the Great Tower. This was constructed as early as 15 BCE, though of course, little of the original tower survives. You can just see a layout within the actual museum. Now, the best thing to do inside today is to head up the 19th century rather narrow staircase to get to the very top. This is by far the best view of Nimes, unless you're a bird, and from the top, you can see many of the spots that we've enjoyed today. Les Jardins de la Fontaine were laid out in the 18th century in the French style. Today, you can still see lots of the fountains, and the other thing worth noting here is that it was also a place that was venerated by the peoples even before the Romans arrived. There is, of course, another Roman monument here, and it is a temple dedicated to Diana. The Temple of Diana is in pretty poor repair compared to some of the other Roman monuments in Nimes, which means that it's free to visit. It was originally dedicated to the cult of the Emperor Augustus and his family, and now you can still see some really beautiful carvings, the Corinthian columns, and the like. Montpellier and Nimes are just a short drive away from the Camargue, an area of marshy swampland which is perfect for seeing wild flamingos. In fact, this is one of the best places in Europe to see the pink birds. As you can see, this region has so much more to offer than just the city, but that will have to wait for our next trip. Thank you so much for watching, and don't forget to like and subscribe for more France travel content. See you next time!