Montpellier is one of the nicest cities in France that I have visited to date. It is the capital of Languedoc Roussillon and has a truly cosmopolitan air to it, the feeling you get as you stroll around the 'centre historique' is that of an over riding 'cafe culture' where good quality eating and drinking establishments are in abundant supply, this is chilling out French style which isn't bad for a big city.

The cafes and restaurants are tucked under tree covered courtyards around nearly every corner and are never far from the numerous places of interest the city also boasts.

When we visited we arrived around mid day and simply drove into the city center and slipped into one of the many pristine underground car parks, the one we ended up in was under the 'Place de Comedie' which as it turned out was an excellent choice because the steps from the car park came out within a 100m of the 'Office de Tourisme' which allowed us to arm ourselves very quickly with a map of the city and a discovery guide for Montpellier.

Not missing the obvious either, it was lunch time and the 'Place de Comedie' had its fair share of cafes and restaurants from which to choose. I think you could say we were a little spoilt for choice. As it turned out this was just as well because no sooner had we sat down than there was a huge clap of thunder and the next thing it was persisting it down with good gallon or two of the wet stuff.

It was highly amusing watching all the waiters rush around with long poles bridged by canvas that they used to turn into makeshift gutters under the gaps between the sunshades, nearly loosing a few customers through decapitation as they swung them into position. They did manage to get them all up just in time for the rain to stop and the sun to come back out however and then they went back to what I suspect is more of their forte, serving food.

Not sure we employed exactly the right sightseeing strategy, having finished a very ample and delicious lunch, the last thing on my mind was getting out in the afternoon sunshine to walk around the city and see the sights, more like 'I wonder if there is a good place for a siesta', still once we got going we were fine and even resisted the temptation to jump on the train that goes all around the places of interest.

These are all the places that are considered must see, but you probably need more than an afternoon to get around them all as I discovered, luckily I am close enough to go and make another visit someday soon and will be able to see the ones I missed.

• Musee Fabre
• Le Corum - Opera Berlioz
• Opera Comedie
• Les 3 Graces
• Cathedrale Saint Pierre
• Place Royale du Peyrou
• Arc de Triomphe
• Aqueduc St Clement
• Tour de la Babote
• Couvent des Ursulines
• Esplanade de l'Europe Victoire de Samothrace

This is where you can access a Map of Montpellier that includes the places of interest.

For some history and detailed information for Montpellier why not look at what it says on Wikipedia