Montpellier

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Overview

Graceful and easy-going, Montpellier is a stylish metropolis with elegant buildings, grand hôtels particuliers (private mansions), stately boulevards and shady backstreets, and gorgeous white-sand beaches on its doorstep.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Musée Fabre

Montpellier

Founded in 1825 by painter François-Xavier Fabre, this exceptional museum houses one of France’s richest collections of European art. The galleries…
Montpellier Parc Zoologique

Montpellier

Four kilometres north of the city centre, this zoo – France’s second-largest, covering 60 hectares – has an enormous population of wild residents that…
Hôtel de Cabrières-Sabatier d’Espeyran

Montpellier

Attached to the Musée Fabre is L’Hôtel de Cabrières-Sabatier d’Espeyran, a lavish Montpellier mansion that belonged to local notable Madame Frédéric…
Jardin des Plantes

Montpellier

One of Montpellier’s hidden gems, the Jardins des Plantes is the oldest botanical garden in France. Established in 1593, it was used as a model for the…
Arc de Triomphe

Montpellier

Built in 1695, Montpellier's 52m-high triumphal arch is dedicated to Louis XIV. The tourist office organises guided tours in summer that take you up 103…
Musée du Vieux Montpellier

Montpellier

This municipal museum has a fairly pedestrian collection of local-interest pieces ranging from furniture to paintings and antique weaponry, but it’s worth…
Hôtel de la Vieille Intendance

Montpellier

The early-17th-century Hôtel de la Vieille Intendance was built during the reign of Louis XIII for the queen mother and his niece Marie Louise d’Orléans …
Place Royale du Peyrou

Montpellier

At the eastern end of this wide, tree-lined esplanade is the 1695 Arc de Triomphe. From the Château d’Eau, an elaborate hexagonal water tower at its…