| | | A stroll through old Montpellier Par Georges Rouzeau Where better to start off than the Place Royale du Peyrou, builtin homage to the Sun King? The only one of its kind, it is even considered revolutionary. Outside the city, instead of occupying its very heart, it stands in the middle of empty space, seeming to float against the wild Mediterranean scrub, Pic Saint-Loup and the foothills of the Cévennes (to the north) and the sea (to the south)–a magnificent setting. It's simply stunning. As Jean-Antoine Giral wrote when he built the elegant château d'eau water tower and connected it to Saint-Clément aqueduct, it's 'nature [that creates] the real decoration of this place'. Leaving Peyrou, you pass through the Arc de triomphe (dating back to 1691) and enter rue Foch (traced during the major public engineering works of the 19th century). Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau behind the Palais de Justice is where the philosopher lived in student lodgings in 1737. It is said that the jeu de mail and the young ladies did more to cure him of his neurasthenia than the doctors of Montpellier he had come to consult…
 Place de la Canourgue © G. Rouzeau/ViaMichelin Like Madame de Staël, who preferred it to all others, Jean-Jacques Rousseau liked to stroll in Place de la Canourgue, which, on the far side, opens onto the canopy of Saint-Pierre Cathedral. Walking round the square, you should take a closer look at the fine layout of the Hôtel de Cambacérès-Murles, the work of architect Jean Giral. Right next to Rue de la Vieille-Intendance, is the house where Paul Valéry lived in 1894—a stone's throw from the famous Jardin des plantes where the Sète-born poet nearly drowned in an ornamental pond! The story goes that his nanny was being chatted up by a gardener... Leaving Place de la Canourgue by Rue du Palais des Guilhem, you quickly approach one of the spiritual centres of Old Montpellier associated with Judaism. In fact, Rue de laBarralerie (a ‘barralier' makes barrels for wine) features a Mikhvé-Jewish ritual baths dating back to the 13th century and perfectly preserved. They remained walled up until the 1980s–and were opened up after tenants complained regularly of dampness! From there, it's an easy stroll down towards Place Pétrarque, where you will find the Hôtel de Varennes. Beneath its 18th-century façade, the mansion reveals its medieval origins with the fine pointed vaults of the ground floor and the interior courtyard with its wells. The narrow rectangle of Place Pétrarque continues towards Rue de l'Aiguillerie where there is a series of old mansion houses: Hôtel d'Autheville, de Montferrier, de Planques, de Griffy, de Saint-Ferréol... Crossing Rue Foch once again, you can go along Rue du Petit-Scel, which ends in the square of the same name. Here, at the city's highest point, stands Sainte-Anne church (1866-1869). The neo-gothic style building is now used for contemporary art exhibitions. On the far side, you will see the strange remains flanking the entrance to the Music Conservatory.  Saint-Roch church © G. Rouzeau/ViaMichelinNext, cross Rue Saint-Guilhem and carry on to Place Saint-Roch and its church via Rue de l'Ancien-Courrier, which is one of Montpellier's oldest streets and features many vaults. Unfinished (note the exterior niches devoid of statues), Saint-Rochchurch (1860), dedicated to Montpellier's patron saint (celebrated on August 16th), is of little architectural interest. However, the little shaded squares around it are irresistibly charming places to stop for a rest. Next, go down the wide Rue Jean-Moulin (also known as 'Grand' rue'), passing the house where the great resistance leader was born, and admire the Maison des Chirurgiens or the Hôtel Saint-Côme, built as a result of a legacy from the surgeon of Louis XV, François de La Peyronie. This masterpiece of Baroque architecture was built by Montpellier's omnipresent architect, Jean-Antoine Giral. As you continue up Rue Victor-Hugo, you pass Tour Babote, one of the city's defence fortifications, before reaching Place de la Comédie. This takes you from the reserved and slightly aristocratic Montpellier to the sun-kissed, hedonistic Montpellier of café terraces... Carré Sainte AnnePlace du Petit Scel 34000 Montpellier Tél : 04 67 60 82 11 | |
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