Trompe-l’oeil in Montpellier (Google Maps)

We were looking forward to traveling to Marseilles for our two days off from our Workaway gig, but the train strike was working against us and it meant that we’d spend more time traveling that actually in this Southern French town, so we settled for the nearer destination of Montpellier – primarily because we got an offer of a ride from a friend of our host. It took about and hour and a half to travel from on current Workaway gig in Saint Georges de Luzeçon to reach the coastal college town of Montpellier.

Our Accommodation in Montpellier

I found an arty little self-contained studio on Quai du Verdanson, in the heart of the Corum district and 2 minutes from the Corum metro stop. From the outside it looked like a drug den.

Red was excruciatingly silent as we ascended the poorly lit narrow stone stairway that led up to our first floor apartment. I had my toes and fingers crossed—but inside we were embraced by the spacious artistic interior.

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It was such a lovely apartment I would quite happily have moved in at a moment’s notice. Travel lesson #1 – don’t just a book by it’s cover (or your accommodation from the outside).

Exploring Montpellier Old Town

We were within an easy stroll of Rue du Pila St Gély and Rue des Écoles Laïques which were two of the main arterial pedestrian streets leading to the heart of the old town.

Little shops, restaurants and cafes were crammed on either side of these narrow streets and we nearly got whiplash in the excitement of having so many places to look at. There were lots of second hand boutiques filled with retro clothes at reasonable prices. I found lots of resale clothes I would have bought if only I wasn’t limited by the available space in my backpack.

Some of the side-streets were more residential, or only had one or two restaurants hidden down them, but each of them was an adventure to walk down. There’s were artistic touches and street art down every turn, and there was a distinct young vibe and eclectic twist to these streets.

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This is by far the most charming and artistic French town we’ve visited to date, and we enjoyed our two days just wandering these cobbled lanes.

On the second day we made our way to the heart of the city—Place de la Comédie (Google Maps), which is Montpellier’s central square and is one of the largest pedestrian areas in Europe.

We arrived just as a group of fancy dressed demonstrators were chanting their rebel discourse. It looked more like a public karaoke session than a demonstration.

Music was being blasted from oversized speakers, and song sheets were handed out to the crowd. There was even dance moves and hand gestures to  go along with the words.

Place de la Comédie It was Montpellier’s version of Piccadilly Circus, and although the immediate area is resplendent with wide avenues and equally impressive intricate architecture it was just too mainstream touristy for us.

So we made our escape down the nearest narrow side street and were back in the nurturing arms of old town within a few quick paces.

Arceaux Saturday Market

The next day I was jonesing for a market, and we’d been given the names of a few, but on Saturday we decided to wander to the closest one on the map, which was located underneath the arches of the Saint-Clément Aqueduct (Google Maps).

As well as the customary fruit, veg, cheese and bread stalls Le Marché des Arceaux features a lot of second hand stalls selling old postcards, books, and toys.

I could have quite easily spent an hour just flicking through the boxes of old black and white postcards of France’s yesteryears that were screaming to be bought from one of the second hand stalls, but we didn’t have time to dawdle.

We didn’t get to the market until around noon, and stalls were already starting to pack up for the day. So if you plan on visiting you should get there earlier so that you don’t have to rush through it. It starts at 7am and the last stalls are packed up by 1:30pm. Catch bus #6 or #16 and ask to get off at Arceaux.

Saint Clements Aquaduct

Montpellier’s Aqueduct was built in the 17th century to supply the city’s wells with water from the Saint Clement Spring (about 14 km away).

It’s an impressive 880 metre aqueduct consisting of 53 arcades build on 2 levels and we had our first birds eye view of it the day before when we explored it from the raised elevation of the Promenade du Peyrou.

The vantage point of this paved city square gives you sweeping views of the city and the Arc de Triomphe.

Dinner Disaster, then Recovery

Our first night’s dinner was a bit of a disaster. We found an Indian restaurant that was packed, so we took it as a good sign that the curries were good. Bad move. All of our dishes, even the spicy ones we ordered were really bland.

Having spoken to a few locals about this—it turns out that the French aren’t too keen on really spicy food, so this restaurant was actually serving Indian dishes to suit the local taste, rather than what we’ve come to expect in the UK. Travel Lesson #2: Don’t order curry in France.

The next night’s dinner more than made up for it. We started our morning in search of a coffee shop for a Café Longé (long coffee) and stumbled across a little neighbourhood square called Place des Beaux Arts (Google Maps) just behind our accommodation (in the opposite direction to old town).

There was a small market in the centre of the square, with littles shops and a couple of restaurants around the perimeter. The server at the Bar du Marché told us they were serving lunch, but we could have coffee as long as we moved if they needed the table.

The waiters were really chatty and as I sipped on my coffee and nibbled my way through a flakey croissant, I noticed their menu board advertising a reasonably priced tapas menu, so we decided to come back there for dinner.

After a sunny day meandering around the city streets, we headed home for a restorative nap before venturing out to eat. At the cafe, we were greeted not quite with open arms, but definitely open smiles and a warm welcome. There weren’t any seats inside, so we perched at the bar until an older couple vacated their table and motioned us over.

The selection of vegetable tapas dishes was surprisingly varied, and we worked our way through a tortilla, humous, aubergine caviar, and two orders of garlic mushrooms. Washed down by a very smooth carafe of red wine.

Just as we were wrapping up, the older couple from earlier came back to the bar, and this time there was nowhere for them to sit, so we invited them to join us at our table.

Their English was only marginally better than our limited French, but we spent the next few ours fumbling our way through a very animated and hysterically funny evening – aided by another carafe and occasional translation from the waiter. Who, coincidentally, had done his fair share of workaway assignments.

We had a brilliant evening, discussing French and Spanish politics, and the revolution. Turns out this area of Montpelier was (and still is) a hot bed for revolutionary types and alternative thinkers, and our dinner companions weren’t letting maturer years dilute their strong opinions.

We tried leaving numerous times, but were delayed when Fernando and Chantelle bought us more wine, and then when that was gone, the waiter delivered another round on the house.

It’s after enjoyable evenings like these that drive home the realization that travel isn’t simply about the sights you see, but it’s more about the people you meet. By the end of the evening we swapped numbers, and they invited us out to dinner next time we’re in town.

A Tram Ride to BlaBla

We had to get up early the next morning to leave town to return to our workaway gig.

We got one of the first trams leaving Corum on Sunday morning, and we were thankful our accommodation was only a short stroll away because it was difficult to drag ourselves out of bed after all that red wine.

Our exploration of Montpellier had been done on foot, but I was glad I had a chance to try the tram service at least once before we left town.

We had to travel 35 minutes to the outskirts of town to meet our BlaBla car driver. This ride share service runs across multiple countries. You enter your starting and ending locations to find people driving the same route who are willing to give you a ride. It’s faster and cheaper than the train and you never know who you’re going to cross paths with. The tram ride was quick and streamlined, and the blabla ride was even speedier. I sat in the back with my hat pulled over my eyes so I didn’t have to watch how our driver was taking the corners, and Red exercised him brake foot as our 64 year old female reincarnation of Mario Andretti took the corners like a pro.

Our first workaway weekend away had been a resounding success. I rather like this zipping away to a random French town during our days off. Where next?

Read about our 2020 Workaway and Travel Adventures:

1. French Train Strikes won’t stop us in our tracks
2. Toodling around Toulouse
3. Exploring the Castle at La Couvertoirade
4. Meandering around Montpellier
5. Our Workaway at an 18th Century Flour Mill
6. Chilling in Clermont Ferrand
7. Our Workaway at an 18th Century Chateau
8. Lingering in Lyon’s 1st Arrondissement
9. Our Self-Guided Walking Tour of Lyon
10. Making the most of Montparnasse Paris
11. Our Workaway at a La Rochelle BnB
12. Our Workaway at Ile D’Aix
13. Video: Our Workaway adventure through France
14. Our Memorable Food and Wine Adventures in France
15. …. the rest of our trip TBD because of the virus – but planning Bordeaux, Lille, Bruges, Antwerp, and Amsterdam