Montpellier (France Part 11)

When we arrived in Montpellier in the evening, the first thing we saw near the center was a large aqueduct. However, it does not date back to Roman times, but was built in the 18th century. Unlike many other cities we visited, Montpellier was founded in the 9th century AD.

Our first day in Montpellier was so rainy that we limited ourselves to a short walk through the city and a visit to two very small museums in the old town. We then drove to a large new shopping center, the Odysseum, which unfortunately was not fully covered, as we discovered on site. After a round of bowling, we returned to our vacation rental.

The next morning, we headed to the "Place de la Comédie", where our guided tour of the old town began. With our guide, we walked through the narrow streets of the old town and saw some things that were not freely accessible.

So we visited one of the courtyards of the old mansions of the old town

and visited an old Jewish ritual bath, which has now been excavated and is accessible to guided visitor groups.

Jewish ritual bath

Finally, we were also allowed to climb the triumphal arch, which was built in honor of Louis XIV in the 17th century.

From there we had a view of a small park and the aqueduct.

In the afternoon, we had planned to take the tram to the zoo. However, at the tram stop we realized that not all lines were running anymore due to the 'Yellow Vest' protests, so we decided not to go on the trip to avoid being stranded outside in case the traffic was completely stopped. Later, we also encountered the protesters in the city.

So we changed our plans and headed to the modern district of 'Antigone', which is adjacent to the old town.

Europe Square

This district was commissioned by Mayor Georges Frêches in the 1970s as a new building area with postmodern architecture and ancient elements.

According to our tour guide, the district owes its name 'Antigone' to the rebellious and innovative attitude of the mayor, which led to a comparison with the ancient tragic heroine.

He is also said to have been an opponent of the nearby shopping center 'Polygone' - which did not prevent us from visiting it.

Prefecture (Old Town)

We strolled through the old town back to our apartment.