Montpellier - The new French riviera.

Advantages: Cosmopolitan, student-orientated, public transport
Disadvantages: parking in city centre,

...I have just returned from spending a year in Montpellier as a student and can thoroughly recommend this city for both holidays and as a base for a year abroad. I initially chose Montpellier for its location in the South of France and for the most part, the weather has not let me down this year, with temperatures still around 30 degrees in late September. In term of the city itself, I would say it is ideally suited to the weekend traveller. The airport is conveniently located about 10 minutes South-East of the city centre and there are year-round bargain flights to be purchased from Ryanair. In fact, I would recommend ariving by aeroplane and using the public transport in Montpellier as this is exceptionnal. A tramway runs through the centre and is complimented by an extensive bus network which has proved more than adequate...

David1983 21.07.2004 · Read review
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Review of Montpellier (France)

Montpellier - great city

Advantages: Good weather, compact city, picturesque
Disadvantages: same as any large city, expense, parking etc...

...Montpellier is a great city - I spent a year studying there and loved it. It's a picturesque city with a pedestrianised centre. There is an average size shopping centre, a canary wharf equivalent called Antigone, loads of cinemas, and an opera house all in easy reach of the centre. Attractions include lots of side streets with little shops and outside of the town, an olympic size swimming pool. There is bowling nearby and karting near the airport. There are lots of gyms catering to aerobics, martial arts and weightlifting. There are several concert venues. Bands who have played here include the Rolling Stones, Iron Maiden, Bjork and the Cranberries. Sting and The presidents of the USA played in Marseille, an hour or two away. Avoid Peyrou (the park by the arc de triomphe)and the station after dark.(unless you are after drugs...

JamesRichardson 07.12.2000 (06.12.2000) · Read review
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Review of Montpellier (France)

A peaceful retreat in the heart of Montpellier

Advantages: It is FREE!!!!
Disadvantages: none. But you have to like plants and trees!

...In 1593, Henri IV, very much interested in curing diseases by plants, asked Pierre Richer de Belleval, an anatomy and botanical teacher, to create a Royal Garden inspired by famous Italian "medical garden". The Botanical Garden of Montpellier later became the model for the famous Botanical Garden in Paris built later in 1635. Used only to gather all plants with a medicinal power, the Royal Botanical Garden was an incredible tools for all students in medicine, (the University of Medicine, the oldest in France, is just a stone away) but the Garden quickly became more than that and turned into a powerful tool for all botanical studies, which was unique and never done before in France. In the XVII century, the Garden became a Scientific Garden, housing plants from all over the world. You will have to understand that it was really new...

elliott2424 01.05.2006 · Read review
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Review of Jardin des Plantes, Montpellier

A real shoppers heaven in the heart of Montpellier

Advantages: 2000 parking spaces 120 shops
Disadvantages: Too overcrowded at weekends

...Le Polygone is a huge 3 storeys shopping centre set in the heart of Montpellier, next to La Place de La Comedie (see my previous review for the Place). It hosts more than 120 shops but the biggest of them all is without a doubt the giant and famous Galerie Lafayette where you will find all your favourites designer outfits The Galerie Lafayette are actually located at the end of the shopping centre and spread over its 3 storey.) The list of shops is endless and ever changing so I apologise if I am not listing all of them. But you will find everything from furniture (Habitat) to DVD's and books (Fnac). And, as you would expect from a huge shopping centre, you will find numerous clothing shops for men and women, shoe shops, bakeries and cafes, restaurants? The place is very lively and clean (check those sparkling toilet) and boots...

elliott2424 30.04.2006 · Read review
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Review of Le Polygone, Montpellier

A great day out

Advantages: you're the right side of the fences
Disadvantages: for endangered species

...The Lunaret Zoo is situated in the town of Montpellier, and is easy to reach by bus or tram. It doesn't resemble other zoos much for several reasons. The first thing you'll notice when you visit, is that the entrance is free. You can always donate a few euros to help out with the major animal protection programs that go on here. The second thing you'll notice is that once inside the zoo gates, you find yourself in a shady forest with a choice of paths to explore. There is a children's playground at the entrance, a merry-go-round and an information hut, where you can pick up a map to chose which way to go around the zoo. Unlike other zoos, visitors are not all there to see the animals. Seeing as it is Montpelliers largest open green space, just 3 kilometres from the town centre, many...

bodsquidge 07.01.2008 (13.06.2007) · Read review
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Review of Lunaret Zoo, Montpellier

City centre - everything in walking distance

Advantages: Centrally located, friendly, English spoken.
Disadvantages: Subject to city centre noise. Not wheelchair friendly.

...The first time my partner and I arrived at this hotel, from the outside, it was not quite what we expected of a Holiday Inn. It is tucked away in a fairly narrow street in the centre of the city. It's claim to be in the city centre is genuine, less than a 5 minute walk to the Place de la Comedie. The fact that we have stayed there again on our 3 subsequent visits to the wonderful city of Montpellier must be evidence of our affection for this hotel. However, if you prefer the anonymous glass and concrete cubes of the ultra modern hotel, this is NOT for you, this hotel has ATMOSPHERE. Before becoming a Holiday Inn, it was the 'Hotel Metropole' and there are many relics of this past (the letters HM etched into the glass of the entrance doors to name just one). The rooms, which are fairly spacious compared with most 3 star, city centre...

petesm 25.06.2007 · Read review
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Review of Holiday Inn, Montpellier

Welcome to my hometown!

Advantages: one of the biggest place in Europe, and 99% pedestrian!
Disadvantages: none but could be cleaner I guess!

...Welcome to my hometown! I was born there, I grew up there and then I left. And then I came back. And left again? Once you've been there, once you have tamed its people, you will always come back, for Montpellier is a wonderful city and has a lot to offer. Montpellier is the capital of Languedoc-Roussillon, one of the largest region of France, and almost touch the Mediterranean Sea. The old town center itself, with the Cathedral St Pierre (XIth Century), the Botanical Garden, the Jardin du Peyrou (made for Louis XIV), the Ancien Courrier Quarter... you will find History on every corners and since the old town is not very big, it is all fairly short walking distance. La Place de la Comedie (name given by the beautiful theatre sitting in front) is Montpellier's vital organ. You cannot miss it. It is set south east from...

elliott2424 29.04.2006 · Read review
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Review of Place de la Comedie, Montpellier

Fireplace Megastore.

Advantages: Super product and service.
Disadvantages: Busy phone lines.

...Having just moved house, my husband and I started on the hunt for two new fireplaces. I purchase an awful lot of 'stuff' on the internet but wasn't sure if a fireplace was something I could or wanted to buy online...... nethertheless I thought I could at least research my prices online even if I decided not to purchase. Having visited quite a few shops and internet sites we decided on the actual fireplaces we wanted and then looked to find the best price. On calling the 'Fireplace Megastore' I found that not only were their prices a fantastic saving on all of the other quotes I had received but they were also very knowledgable and gave me the confidence to buy such an item online. I purchased a Montpellier Leonardo fireplace along with a Europa Stone Cheshire and was delighted with both fires. Absolutely beautiful. Very...

alicat1972 09.03.2007 · Read review
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Review of fireplacemegastore.co.uk

The l'Herault experience

Advantages: forests and nature
Disadvantages: very little public transport

...I discovered this part of France by sheer luck. In fact, I'd taken the wrong road, but seeing as on my map i could see that i was in the right direction, but on a smaller road, i decided to pursue my journey. Warning, all my distances are in kilometers! 1km = 0,62miles. L'Herault is a french department which stretches from 30 kilometers east of Montpellier, to 10 kilometers north of Narbonne along the Mediterranean coast, and approximately 60 kilometers inland. This coast line is known as the "golf de Lion". L'Herault's department number is 34. It is in the "Languedoc Rousillon" region. The "Languedoc-Rousillon" is France's biggest region, stretching from Avignon (95 kms east of Montpellier) to Millau, (114 kms north of Montpellier) and right down to the Spanish border and west until Andorra. From Montpellier, (753...

bodsquidge 24.03.2006 · Read review
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Review of Le Caroux - L'Herault

Chaotic landscape

Advantages: Naturally beautiful
Disadvantages: Too many tourists in the summer

...Once you turn off the D908 towards Mourèze, the landscape changes from hills of thick oak and pine forest, to a sandy rocky territory. The narrow windy road dodges blocks of flaky limestone rocks until the quaint village of Mourèze appears with its cluttered houses around the church of Saint Marie, topped by the castle. ₪▪♦▪₪ Just west of Montpellier, in the department of Herault, this site is certainly one of the most spectacular displays of natures work that I've ever seen. The Cirque de Mourèze is in fact Europe's' most intact dolomite site, a vast landscape of centuries of erosion, leaving a maze of strangely shaped sculpted rocks, to which the locals have given names such as the Sphinx, the bear or the Sheppard, in accordance with their...

bodsquidge 21.12.2007 · Read review
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Review of The Cirque de Mourèze, Herault, Languedoc-Roussillon