What to do for a 3 or 4 day stay in Montpellier
Welcome to Montpellier! This document is made for our visitors!
Here is a list of places to discover in the old center of Montpellier (l. Restaurants, bars, sights near Montpellier.
After Provence and then 10 years in the UK, here are the advices of a resident of Montpellier since 2004.
This list is just the beginning. Your comments and opinions on this document are important, especially to keep it up to date.
Last updated : 06 October 2026
Montpellier district by district
Areas to be visited in descending order of priority:
- The Ecuson (old Montpellier)
- The Peyrou Garden, the Arceaux and the Plant Garden
- Antigone and Port Marianne
- Fine Arts and Buttonnet
Have a nice visit!
Best places to buy drinking and eating in Montpellier
Bakery and pastry in Montpellier
An old-fashioned bakery with reasonable prices. Offer: bread, sandwiches, salads, cakes, pastries.
- Address: rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau 34000 Montpellier
- Schedules: Monday to Saturday from 7:30am to 7:30pm (memory)
(Photo to be updated)
Another bakery where we want to buy everything: Maison Bonnaire. Offer: bread, sandwiches, salads, cakes, pastries. Sweet or salty lightnings, delicious cakes (an amazing Norwegian omelette)
- Address: several addresses in ECUson
- Hours: ?
Fresh products (fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, specialities...)
Two favourites:
1. Fruit, vegetables, meat, cooked dishes, in the shield : Halles Castellane :
- Fruit and vegetables:
- Open: Monday morning 8am to Sunday noon (close around 7pm)
2. Fruit and vegetables, Antigone district, near the Halles Jacques Coeur :
- Rodolphe
- Address:?
- Open: 8am to 1pm from Tuesday to Sunday (closed some school holidays)
Next to Rodolphe, a regional product store (olives, etc.).
There is also coffee, fish and a very good butcher in the halls Jacques Coeur.
The best places to buy a souvenir to bring back from Montpellier
The basket of Loved to make an hour or bring back memories, is the right place!
- Address : 6, rue du Plan du Palais – 34000 Montpellier
- Hours : Monday to Saturday from 9.30am to 7pm
- Website: https://lepanierdaime.fr/
(Photo to update !!!)
A great manga and comic bookstore : Planet prohibited
- Address : Close to the Place Jean Jaurès
- Hours: ?
- Site: ?
Favourites restaurants and snack where to eat in the ECUson in Montpellier
Here are restaurant addresses in the historic centre of Montpellier.
Restos rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Place de la Canourgue (near plant garden): among the best addresses
Bravo Babette, for sandwiches!
- Address: rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau 34000 Montpellier
- Hours : noon
Aroc is a semi-gastro restaurant at affordable prices, two formulas around 30€ without drinks
- Address: rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau 34000 Montpellier
- Hours : some lunches and evenings
The Reflect d'Obione is a Michelin gastro restaurant.
- Address: rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau 34000 Montpellier
- Hours : some lunches and evenings
The restaurant gastro le petit jardin is considered one of the best restaurants in Montpellier. There are 3 options: star restaurant, brewery or glacier.
- Address: rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau 34000 Montpellier
- Hours : some lunches and evenings
A bistro with Asian flavours.
- Address : Place de la Canourgue 34000 Montpellier
- Hours?
Favourites in Montpellier for a drink or coffee
Places district by district in Montpellier
Cafés and bars rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Place de la Canourgue (close to the plant garden): among the best addresses
A café on one of the most beautiful places of the ECUson in Montpellier
- Address : Place de la Canourgue 34000 Montpellier
- Hours?
Cafes and bars around the Place Jean Jaurès: among the best addresses
LADN coffee is a coffee to drink good coffee close to the market place with flowers (behind the Prefecture)
- Address:?
- Hours?
Favourites in Montpellier to eat a real artisanal ice cream
(this isn't the right picture)
There are several delicious glaciers. But let's start with two excellent classics:
- The Banquise (near the Saint Roch Church)
- Mama mia (near Place de la Comédie)
There are also:
- Padova (Large St. Guilhem Street) and its neighbour next door down
What to visit in Montpellier
Note: most activities that require booking are not regular events. Do check!
The historic centre of Montpellier: the ECUson
Among the classics:
Free museums and galleries in Montpellier
On the 1st Sunday of each month, MOCO (near Saint Roch station) and the permanent collections of the Fabre Museum are free of charge.
There are several free locations:
- The Panacea (with a very nice brasserie bar at prices) and its contemporary art exhibitions
- The Popular Pavilion on the Esplanade, with remarkable photo exhibits
- Le Carré Saint Anne (with a pub and a
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