Strolling through Montpellier of yesterday and today

Starting point and access: Montpellier Saint-Roch station.
- TER – Take the ‘Centre-ville / Tramways’ exit.
- Tram – Lines 1, 2, 3 and 4.
- Bus – Lines 6, 7, 8, 11 and 12.

(S/E) With your back to the station, head diagonally to the right across the road onto Rue de la Maguelone towards the Corum. Walk past the Protestant church and continue up the street until you reach Place de la Comédie, at the foot of the Opera House. Turn right across the square, walk past the Fountain of the Three Graces and ignore the^first street on the left.

(1) At the corner by a cinema, turn left into Rue Bruyas (marked as a passage on the map). At the end, turn right, go under an arch and continue to the foot of the Chapelle Sainte-Foy. At a small square (with a central palm tree), carry on straight ahead into Rue de la Monnaie.

Walk past the Salle Pétrarque and, at the next junction, turn left into Rue Glaize. At the end, turn left into Rue de l’Aiguillère, then take the^first left into Rue Pétrarque. After a few metres, turn right into the narrow Rue de la Petite Loge.

You’ll come out onto Place Jean Jaurès (statue) and cross it diagonally to the left. At the end, turn right into Rue de l’Argenterie. At the junction you’ll soon come to, turn right into the narrow Rue de la Vieille. Then take the^first left, Rue Saint-Ravy. Pass under an archway, come out onto the charming Place Saint-Ravy and turn right. At the corner of the square, ignore the street leading off to the right at a right angle and head down Rue Joubert.

At the bottom, turn right onto Rue de l’Ancien Courrier, then immediately left to pass under an archway onto Rue Voltaire. You’ll come out onto a square; continue straight on, keeping the Church of Saint-Roch on your right.

(2) On the large square at the foot of the church façade, turn right and follow Rue Saint-Paul. Carry on straight ahead and cross Rue des Gagne-Petit on your left. At the end, turn right onto Rue de l’Ancien Courrier, then immediately left onto Rue du Bras de Fer (staircase with wide steps).

Go under a portico and, as you emerge, turn left onto Rue de la Friperie. Follow the road as it first turns left then right, coming out onto Rue Saint-Guilhem, and follow it to the right. At the corner of the square (large market hall on the right), turn left into Rue de la Draperie Saint-Firmin. Pass a cul-de-sac on the left and take the next street on the left, Rue du Bayle.

Take the^first left, Rue Ranchin, then the first right, Rue Philippy. Walk past the Church of Sainte-Anne on your left. You’ll come out onto Place du Petit Scel; turn right onto the street of the same name.

At the end, cross Rue Foch and continue straight ahead into Rue Montgolfier. At the junction, go straight on into Rue du Palais des Guilhem. Pass Rue du Puits des Esquilles on your left and take the next left, the narrow Rue Castel Moton. After a few metres, turn right into Rue du Figuier, which is even narrower and slopes downwards.

At the end, turn left onto Rue de la Vieille Intendance. At the crossroads, carry on straight ahead and climb a flight of steps. Walk round the Fontaine des Licornes, turn left and cross Place de la Canourgue. At the end, turn right onto Rue du Palais des Guilhem. At the end, turn left onto Rue du Plan du Palais and continue straight on. You’ll come out onto Rue Foch; follow it to the right, towards the Arc de Triomphe. Go past the Arc and cross the road (with care, as there is no pedestrian crossing).

(3) Enter the Promenade du Peyrou opposite. Continue straight ahead along the wide path and pass by the base of the equestrian statue of Louis XIV. Walk round the water tower’s reservoir on the left.

Before climbing up to the water tower, go down the stairs leading to the lower tier and turn right to reach the foot of the Arceaux (the old aqueduct) and the Jean Moulin commemorative plaque.

Retrace your steps and, once on the upper tier, take the staircase leading to the foot of the water tower. Pass an orientation board (view of the Pic Saint-Loup) and head back down the other side.

At the bottom of the stairs, continue straight ahead and, on a sort of landing, go down the stairs on the right. At the bottom, turn right and follow a path lined with plane trees. At the end, go through a gate to leave the Promenade and go down one final flight of stairs.

Then cross a road and turn left onto Boulevard Henri IV, running alongside the tram tracks. Pass Rue du Faubourg Saint-Jaumes on your left. Continue along the boulevard, skirting the Jardin des Plantes on your left, and note the Tour des Pins rising up beside the kerb on the other side.

When you reach the entrance to the Jardin des Plantes, cross the tram tracks and the boulevard to the right (taking care). Immediately turn right into the Square de la Tour des Pins. At the junction that appears straight away, take the middle path. Turn left to leave the square at the west end of the cathedral.

Then turn right, walk alongside the cathedral on your right-hand side (note the east portal) and emerge onto Place Saint-Pierre, at the south-east corner of the cathedral of the same name.

(4) Walk round the square, passing beneath the cathedral’s imposing porch, then stepping back a little to gain some height on Rue de l’École de Médecine.

(4) Back at the corner of the cathedral, turn right onto Rue de la Candolle. At the next two junctions, carry straight on. Then cross Place Candolle (also known as Plan de l’Université) diagonally to the left (towards the statue of Adam and Eve).

At the corner, turn right onto Rue du Four Saint-Éloi. At the end of the street, first turn left then right onto the uphill Rue Expert. At the junction, turn left onto Rue de la Verrerie. At the next junction, take Rue Gui de Chauliac opposite, slightly to the right. At the next junction, carry on straight ahead along Rue de la Verrerie Basse, passing a small square on your right.

At the end, turn right. Then take the^first right onto Rue Aventurin, which soon makes a first turn right then left. Cross Place de la Chapelle Neuve, then turn right. At the junction immediately ahead, take the^first left onto Rue de l’Aiguillère. At the junction (with the statue of Saint Roch on the right-hand corner), head up the street opposite, Rue Bocaud.

At the end, turn right onto Rue de la Salle l’Évêque and walk alongside the Hôtel de Grave. Cross Rue des Écoles Centrales on the right-hand side, then turn left onto the street which becomes Rue Girard. At the end, turn right.

(5) When you reach the entrance to the Musée Fabre, cross the boulevard to the left using the pedestrian crossing. Cross a gravel-surfaced pedestrian path and first turn right then left to reach the Champ de Mars. Then take Allée Missak Manouchian opposite, slightly to the right.

At the next junction, turn right into Allée Aimé Césaire and walk alongside a pond on your left. At the end of the pond, turn right and walk past the Palais Populaire. Continue on and, at the corner of the Salle Dominique Bagouet, turn right and then immediately left to reach the Place de la Comédie.

(6) At the corner of the Tourist Office, turn left. Pass, in turn, on your left: a cul-de-sac, a flight of steps leading down to a bookshop, and an escalator leading down to a shopping centre. Continue along a wide avenue towards the Polygone and walk alongside the Le Triangle building on your left.

Just before the entrance to the Polygone, turn left and go down a flight of steps. At the bottom, turn right and walk alongside a railing on your left. Cross Place Francis Ponge diagonally to the left, go down a flight of steps and pass under a block of flats. Turn left to exit via the Cour du Raisin.

Then cross the street (Rue de la Spirale on the map) and follow it to the right. The street curves to the left. At the end, cross Rue des Pertuisanes at the pedestrian crossing. Immediately afterwards, go down the flight of steps on the right. Walk alongside the tram tracks and pass the Antigone station.

(7) Then cross the tram tracks on the left (taking care) and pass under a large arch. Continue straight on along a wide avenue lined with tall buildings featuring Greek-inspired architecture. Walk through the Place du Nombre d’Or and then the Place du Millénaire.

Cross a road at the pedestrian crossing, go under a large archway and cross Place Zeus. Walk round a fountain on Place de Thessalie, then continue straight on along Allée Delos. Cross Place Dionysos (statue), then cross the tram tracks again (taking care) and finally cross Rue Poséïdon.

Carry on straight ahead, cross the Esplanade de l’Europe and walk round a replica of the Winged Victory of Samothrace. Then go down a flight of steps and pass a statue of a man carrying a horse. Cross Piraeus Avenue at the pedestrian crossing and emerge at the banks of the Lez opposite the imposing Regional Government Building (the river here looks more like a pond with a fountain).

(8) Then turn right and walk along the river. After about 75 metres, take a concrete footbridge which crosses the river at water level (Aphrodite Footbridge). As you leave the footbridge, turn right and go under the road bridge. Immediately afterwards, climb a flight of steps on the left, at the foot of the L’Arbre Blanc building.

At the top, turn right and follow the quayside with the channelled river below on your right. Take the footbridge to cross the river. At the other end, cross Avenue du Pirée and, on the other side, head diagonally left onto Rue des Consuls de Mer. You’ll soon come out onto Place Rives du Lez (E).

To return to Saint-Roch station:
- Tram – Lines 1 (stop on the right, towards Mosson), 3 (stop opposite, towards Juvignac) or 4a (stop on the right).

How to get there and back:
- Public transport is the best way to reach the starting point of this route within an almost entirely pedestrianised city centre.
- Motorists are advised to use the large car park at the station.
- From the end point, it is recommended to return to the station by tram (€1.60 per ticket in December 2018, to be purchased from the ticket machine on the platform). It is, of course, possible to walk back (for example via Rue du Comté de Melgueil, Boulevard de Strasbourg and the Pont de Sète), but this route is not particularly interesting.

A good pair of trainers is sufficient for this urban route.

Public toilets are available along the route, mainly between (5) and (6). There are numerous bars, restaurants and shops along the way.

A detailed map is required (at the very least, the one accompanying this description).

Opening hours of the public gardens:
Promenade du Peyrou:
- Opens: 7.00 am daily.
- Closes: 8.00 pm from November to February; 9.30 pm from March to May and from September to October; midnight from June to August.
Square de la Tour des Pins:
- Opens: 8.00 am every day.
- Closing time: 6.00 pm from November to February; 8.00 pm from March to May and from September to October; 9.30 pm from June to August.
Champ de Mars: open 24 hours a day.

Walk undertaken by the author on 8 December 2018.

From Saint-Roch station (S) to Place de la Comédie (1):
- Protestant church (1870).
- Large Art Deco-style buildings.
- Montpellier Opéra-Comédie (1888).
- Fountain of the Three Graces.

From Place de la Comédie (1) to Promenade du Peyrou (3):
The first section lies in the historic Écusson district, with its narrow alleyways, numerous old houses and charming little squares, some of which feature a fountain.
- Sainte-Foy Chapel (12th–17th centuries), with an arch linking its façade to the opposite wall of the street.
- Statue of Jean Jaurès on the square named after him.
- Saint-Roch Church (1867), in the Neo-Gothic style, open on weekdays from 2.00 pm to 6.00 pm.
- Sainte-Anne Church (1869), in the Neo-Gothic style, open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10.00 to 18.00.
- The Unicorn Fountain, Place de la Canourgue.
- Arc de Triomphe (1691), Porte du Peyrou.

From the Promenade du Peyrou (3) to Saint-Pierre Cathedral (4):
- Equestrian statue of Louis XIV.
- Water tower (1768).
- Les Arceaux Aqueduct. It was at the foot of the first arch that, in 1940, what is undoubtedly the most famous photograph of Jean Moulin (1899–1943) was taken.
- Panoramic view over the Montpellier hinterland, notably of the Pic Saint-Loup.
- Jardin des Plantes. Founded in 1593, it is the oldest botanical garden in France. Open Tuesday to Sunday, from 12.00 to 18.00 (October to May) or 20.00 (June to September).
- Tour des Pins (12th–14th centuries).

From Saint-Pierre Cathedral (4) to the Fabre Museum (5):
The second section takes you through the historic Écusson district.
- Saint-Pierre Cathedral (14th–16th centuries), notable, amongst other things, for the porch on its façade resting on two round towers. Open Monday to Saturday, from 9.30 am to 12 noon and from 2.30 pm to 6.30 pm.
- Statue of Adam and Eve (1882), Place Candole.
- Statuette of Saint Roch (born in Montpellier in 1350 and died in 1378), at the start of Rue Bocaud.
- Musée Fabre, Montpellier’s main fine arts museum.

From the Musée Fabre (5) to Place de la Comédie (6):
This section passes through the Jardin du Champ de Mars: lawns, a pond, etc.

From the Place de la Comédie (6) to the Antigone district (7):
This section, which isn’t the most exciting part of the route, goes round a large shopping centre.

Antigone district, from (7) to (8):
This section runs in a straight line through the Antigone district. This district was built between the early 1980s and the early 2000s. It is characterised by architecture and place names reminiscent of Ancient Greece. There are several statues and fountains, as noted in the description.

From the Antigone neighbourhood (8) to Place Rives du Lez (E).
- Former Languedoc-Roussillon Regional Council Building, now the Occitanie Regional Council Building.
- The L’Arbre Blanc building, so named because its balconies, like branches, extend far out from the building’s central axis.
- Beautiful views of the river.