Top Rated Attractions in Montpellier

Showcasing contemporary artworks by emerging artists, AD Galerie is a great place to understand the local art scene of Montpellier. Displaying works by artists like Ludo, Eric Liot and Robert Combas, the gallery explores the world of Figurative, Neo-Expressionist and Neo-Figurative art. The cultural venue also serves as venue for various art fairs as well as art and design events. The gallery also allows artworks to rented out. Private parties and events can also be held at the venue. If you are looking to immerse yourself in the world of contemporary art, head to AD Galerie and be prepared to be amazed by the great artworks on display.

Located close to the historic city center, the exterior of Saint Pierre Cathedral is distinguished by its twin towers rising above the surrounding buildings. The current entrance is by the unassuming doorway in rue du Cardinal Cabrières, next to which one can still distinguish the marks of shots fired by Royalist troops in 1815. Worth noting is the restoration of 19th-century stained glass windows and paintings, most notably the demise of Simon le Magicien by Sébastien Bourbon (1621).

The anatomical conservatory was created in 1794 within the oldest medical faculty in France. It houses an important collection of rare specimens, monstrosities and dissected anatomical organs which make it a real house of horror for the uninitiated. You can also visit the surgical theater built in 1806 and wander around the vast premises of the medical faculty on the steps of François Rabelais. The statue of this great 16th-century writer, author of Gargantua, and famous doctor, is found in the nearby botanical gardens.

The Musée Fabre is housed in an old high school that once was a former Jesuit college during the 15th and 16th centuries. Today the museum displays paintings of major European artists and schools of the 15th-18th Centuries, including Ingres, Véronèse, Courbet and Brueghel. There is a major collection of the works of Bazille, a painter from Montpellier whose rich family lived in a large townhouse on the rue Jean Moulin and whose fortune supported other painters including Monet (1840-1926). There are also sculptures, ceramics and contemporary works by Degas and Nicolas de Staël (1914-1955).

This historic building is located three kilometers (one mile) east of the city center. Once a country house, this family property now finds itself and its surrounding parks and vineyards entirely swallowed by the city. The Château de Flaugergues which dates from the 17th Century and its collection of 17th and 18th-century furnishings and art (including a large collection of optical instruments) can be visited throughout the year (though the timings differ). Outside the house one can admire the gardens à la française as well as the château's own vineyards (Coteaux de la Méjanelle) whose wines can be tasted and bought on site.

Located in the historic city center, this immense, pedestrianized square is the heart and soul of Montpellier. Deriving its name from the first theater built in the 18th Century on the site of what is now the Opéra, this expansive square is the site of major open-air shows and daily street entertainment. At the center of the square, beneath the handsome facades of the surrounding 19th-century buildings, is the fountain of the Three Graces.