Montpellier travel guide — Montpellier tourism and travel information

Montpellier travel guide

about Montpellier

Montpellier (Occitan Montpelhièr) is a city in the south of France. It is the préfecture (administrative capital) of the Hérault département. Its population in 1999 was 225,392, while the surrounding metropolitan area (in French: aire urbaine) had a population of 459,916 in 1999.

Montpellier geography

The city is situated on hilly ground 10 km (6 miles) inland from the Mediterranean coast at the coordinates 43°37N 3°52E, on the River Lez. The name of the city, originally Monspessulanus, is said to have stood for mont pelé (the naked hill, because the vegetation was poor), or le mont de la colline (the mount of the hill). It is a major industrial centre, producing textiles, metal goods, wine, printed materials and chemicals.

Montpellier history

Montpellier is one of the few cities in France that does not have a Roman background. In the early Middle Ages the nearby episcopal town of Maguelone was the major settlement in the area, but raids by pirates probably encouraged settlement a little further inland. The city was founded in the 8th century but came to prominence in the 10th century as a trading centre under the rule of the counts of Toulouse. It became a possession of the kings of Aragon by the marriage of Peter II of Aragon with Mary of Montpellier. James III of Majorca sold the city to the French king Philip VI to raise funds for his ongoing struggle with Peter IV of Aragon.

At the time of the Reformation, many of its inhabitants became Protestants (or Huguenots as they were known in France) and it became a stronghold of Protestant resistance to the (mainly Catholic) French crown. In 1622, King Louis XIII beseiged the city and took it after eight months. During the 19th century the city developed into an industrial centre. In the 1960s, its population grew dramatically after French settlers in Algeria were resettled in the city following Algeria's independence from France.

Near cities to Montpellier

• Sete travel guide 27 km
• Nimes travel guide 46 km
• Orange travel guide 94 km
• Perpignan travel guide 130 km
• Valence travel guide 170 km
• Toulon travel guide 170 km
• Toulouse travel guide 200 km
• Gap travel guide 210 km
• Montauban travel guide 210 km
• Cahors travel guide 220 km

Near webcams to Montpellier

• Narbonne webcam 82 km
• River Rhone - Avignono webcam 83 km
• Palais des Rois de Majorque webcam 100 km
• Aubenas webcam 120 km
• Marseille New Port webcam 120 km
• Marseille Port webcam 120 km
• Marseille - Old Port entry webcam 130 km
• Port de Marseille webcam 130 km
• Pic du Canigou (2.785 m) webcam 130 km
• Collioure webcam 140 km

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Montpellier travel books

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