Squares and cafés in MontpellierBy Georges RouzeauThe city combines two powerful attractions: beautiful shady or sunny squares that are discreet or ostentatious, and a multitude of café terraces. Indeed, for nine months of the year, the locals live on the terraces, an intense place of sociability, lounging around, day-dreaming and flirting. Locals start their 'second day' by sitting on a terrace. Place du Petit Scel and Place Sainte-Anne A stone's throw from Promenade du Peyrou there are two little squares that are among the most discreet in Montpellier, each of them adjacent to Saint-Anne's Church which has been converted into an exhibition venue. On Place du Petit Scel, enjoy a drink at O'Carolans Irish Pub. On Place Sainte-Anne for its part, the Pré Vert, a tearoom, has a few tables outside in the shade of a row of trees. All around there are stringed-instrument makers (it's their district), one or two secondhand book sellers and lawyers' practices. Absolute calm reigns here - broken only, but it's a pleasure, by the sound of a few singing exercises drifting out from between the Ionic columns of the Conservatory.  Place du Marché aux Fleurs © G. Rouzeau/ViaMichelin Place du Marché aux Fleurs With the austere Prefecture as a neighbour, several cafés share this modern square, including the legendary Café de la Mer, one of the city's main gay venues. But you don't have to be gay to enjoy the pleasant terraces here. Place Jean-Jaurès Located on Rue de la Loge (that leads to Place de la Comédie), this is one of the main squares with at least half a dozen addresses (if the snackbars are counted) that attract a motley set of bimbo girls and techno boys, law students hiding behind their Gucci shades, and senior citizens at the Croq'Mie enjoying a quiet tipple. The best address remains the Café Joseph, which draws a throng around its DJ and the dance floor at the back.  Place de la Comédie © G. Rouzeau/ViaMichelin Place de la Comédie Holding a King Zog scholarship, Enver Hoxha, the future Albanian dictator, in Montpellier from 1930 to 1934, was bedazzled by the glitzy Grand Café Riche, today known simply as the Grand Café. Joseph Conrad and Valery Larbaud were also regulars. By no means the only café on the square, it is however the best known. In actual fact, Place de la Comédie is ONE huge terrace with its busy servers, whirring tramways and motley crowd heading towards the Antigone district, the work of architect Ricardo Bofill. Watched by the Statue des Trois-Grâces, three-piece-suit-clad businessmen with mobiles rub shoulders with students and tourists. Place de la Canourgue If you had to choose just one square, it would be this one. Marvellous Place de la Canourgue, verdant, peaceful and skirted by beautiful facades is a mere stride from Saint-Pierre's Cathedral with its splendid canopy covered porch. Even Madame de Staël had her word to say about it: 'I am on a square which is the world's most beautiful'. If she were alive today, she'd almost certainly be a regular of the Comptoir de l'arc, a café-restaurant that always attracts a trendy set. For a more zen atmosphere, choose the Salon boaâ which offers many varieties of teas and homemade pastries made with organic products. PubsFitzpatrick's Irish club A genuine Irish pub often grouping a large part of the local Anglo-Saxon community. The establishment also enjoys the benefit of a terrace. A prime venue to watch rugby match broadcasts. Le Corto Old stones, vaulted rooms, large wooden tables: this pub is one of the favourite dens of local rugby fans. Practical informationO' Carolans Irish Pub5, rue du Petit Scel 34000 Montpellier Le Pré vert 10, place Sainte Anne 34000 Montpellier Tel. : 04 67 02 72 81 Croq'Mie 3, place Jean Jaurès 34000 Montpellier Tel. : 04 67 66 29 72 Café Joseph 3, place Jean Jaurès 34000 Montpellier Tel. : 04 67 66 31 95 Grand Café 8, place de la Comédie 34000 Montpellier Tel. : 04 67 54 71 44 Comptoir de l'arc Place de la Canourgue 34000 Montpellier Tel. : 04 67 60 30 79 Salon boaâ 5, place de la Canourgue 34000 Montpellier Tel. : 04 67 63 39 85 Fitzpatrick's Irish club 5, Place Saint-Côme 34000 Montpellier Tel. : 04 67 60 58 30 Le Corto 12, rue Candolle 34000 Montpellier Tel. : 04 67 66 35 67 |
Tourism and Gastronomy
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