Montpellier France -Things to do on a 5 day break

[mumma24]

we are flying to Montpellier in July for 5 nights stating in the city centre.
would love your recommendations on places to visit, cafes, parks, beaches, restaurants, attractions, shops, day trips. Have thought about a day trip to carcassonne.
thank you

We loved Montpellier! Went with my mum last autumn.

Fab day trips were Sète (by the sea: had amazing local cuttlefish dish for lunch overlooking the canal bit, short train ride), and St Guihelm Le Désert (Inland, Romanesque abbey and beautiful setting up a gorge. Got a tram then bus). Carcassonne is great too but Od personally save it for another holiday and explore closer to Montpellier.

In Montpellier itself the art gallery is impressive, cathedral worth a visit, botanic gardens were ok but bits were closed off and it was short of labels.

Didn't have a bad meal, everywhere we ate was lovely. But we did return to the Cafe des Arts, which did fairly straightforward meals very well.

have a fabulous time!

To add to pp great suggestions

La grande motte for beaches and water sports
Pézenas is a lovely day trip, small town up in the hills
Beziers
Wine tasting?

I remember the aquarium being worth a visit as well

If you can, do go and see river jousting: https://www.golanguedoc.com/tourism/french-festivals/languedoc-festivals-water-jousting-in-sete.html

It is a real thing! We blundered into it by chance. The most amazing spectacle.

That look amazing gnome!
Another good day trip is aiguës mortes
Nîmes is also within reach

@HappyHolidai thank you sounds great. Will add these to my itinerary

@SiobahnRoylovely thank you, added these to my list

@BedZwift thank you

Avignon is lovely, Palais de Papes very interesting.
I prefer Meze to Sete. It's much smaller and easier to get around. They do the jousting there too. It's got a lovely little beach. Nice place to have a coffee. You can do a boat trip to the oyster beds which is interesting. Bouzigues next door is the place for lunch - mussels or oysters, frites, glass of picpoules..magnifiques.. Worth a stop on the way to Peznas (birthplace of Molieres)

Thank you everyone. Going in 4 weeks time. Please keep suggestions coming 😀

Pont du Gard
Nimes
Sete
The beach
The town square is nice

St Guilhem le Desert. UNESCO World Heritage town. Close to le Pont du Diable, which is a beautiful bridge over a gorge that leads to a lake where you can swim etc.

Aigues Mortes is a must do, there’s also the aquarium not far from there. What age are your kids, there’s a dinosaur park in Méze which even my teen sons enjoyed. Pont du Gard is 1hr15 from Montpellier so easy to get to. We’ve just been to see Arles for the Roman amphitheater and Van Gogh foundation but my daughter thinks the amphitheater in Nîmes is better/bigger. Look out for the flamingos in the étangs. If you have very small children you could also fo the haribo museum in Uzés on the way to Pont du Gard, mine enjoyed it when they were small but as they’re now adults we just drove past it last week. Montpellier also has a Botanic Garden, it’s tiny so my son was very disappointed in it but if you’re having a ramble around it’s worth going in plus there’s small coffee shops across the road.

Montpellier is my favourite place! My favourite things: any of the wonderful cafes (kids like the cat cafe - le cafe gourmand), empenada club, gelato - amorino. Just sit and enjoy, its a fabulous place. We had a house outside the centre with a pool so mooched in the pool and got the tram into Montpellier. We liked cycling along by the flamingos as well at Carnon. I want to go back!

We adore Montpelier and go quite a lot (we will be there in two weeks time!).
The city itself is great for a couple of days - good museums (Musee Fabre is great), lota ofngrwat bars and restaurants in the squares and winding streets.

Sete and surrounding towns like Meze are lovely. We adore Sete and stay there a lot - it has amazing fish and seafood restaurants water jousting, brilliant bars and friendly locals. There is also a couple of great art galleries. There is also a lovely stretch of beach.

Palavas Le Flots and La Grande Motte are great if, like me, you love a cheesy seaside town.

In the other direction Nimes is wonderful - especially if you are in to Roman history.

Montpelier is well connected with trains and trams so a good base to explore a lovely area of France. It is not as touristy as other areas but more fun for it.

Thank you @Ginmonkeyagain we’re flying out on 14th July
we have booked 5 nights there.
we plan a trip out to Sete and Nimes, looking for one other trip out if you have any suggestions. Thinking Avignon, Beziers, Narbonnr. Have you been to these places? Any nice beaches/cafes Thank you

Avignon is definitely worth a visit, a beautiful historic town.

If you have time Pont du Gard is amazing - you will need a car or research bus routes. Nb Nimes/Pont du Gard TGV station is nowhere near Nimes or Pont du Gard!

If you only have 5 nights, @mumma24 , I would stick with just 2 trips and spend more time enjoying Montpellier itself. There is plenty to see and do around the city.

Tnat is also a good tip. There is lots to do in the immediate area. It also gets very hot in Montpellier this time of year so you may not feel like rushing around.