Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the department of Hérault. As of 2023, 310,240 people live in the city proper, Its living environment, with one of Europe's largest pedestrian areas, along with its rich cultural life and Mediterranean climate, explains the enthusiasm for the city, which is nicknamed the "Gifted". Montpellier was nominated for "Best Emerging Culture City of the Year 2017" by the think tank LCD. It is ranked as a Sufficiency city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.

History

Medieval period

thumb|left|Tour de la BaboteIn the Early Middle Ages, the nearby episcopal town of Maguelone was the major settlement in the area, but raids by pirates encouraged settlement a little farther inland. In 737 Charles Martel destroyed Maguelone.

Montpellier, first mentioned in a document of 985, was founded under a local feudal dynasty, the Guilhem, who combined two hamlets and built a castle and walls around the united settlement. The name is from medieval Latin mons pisleri, "Woad Mountain" referring to the woad (Latin pastellus, pestellus) used for dyeing locally. There is no real "mountain" in the area, with the mons referring to a pile of stones. In 986 the Lords of Montpellier begin with William I of Montpellier. In the 10th century the town consisted of two portions, Montpellier and Montpelliéret. Montpellier was among the most important of the 66 ('cities of protection' or 'protected cities') that the Edict of Nantes granted to the Huguenots. The city's political institutions and the university were all handed over to the Huguenots.

Increasing tension with Paris led to King Louis XIII besieging the city in 1622.

During the repression of January and February 1894, the police conducted raids targeting the anarchists living there, without much success.

After this the city grew because it welcomed French repatriates from Algeria and other parts of northern Africa after Algeria's independence from France. In the 21st century Montpellier is between France's number seventh and eighth largest city. The city had another influx in population more recently, largely due to the student population, who make up about one-fourth of Montpellier's population. The school of medicine kickstarted the city's thriving university culture, though many other universities have been well established there. The coastal city also benefited in the past 40 years from major construction programs such as Antigone, Port Marianne and Odysseum districts.

==Geography==<!--

Neighborhoods

Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council.

  • Montpellier-centre: historical centre (Écusson), Comédie, Gares, Faubourg Boutonnet, Saint-Charles, Faubourg Saint-Jaume, Peyrou, Les Arceaux, Figuerolles, Faubourg du Courreau, Gambetta, Clémenceau, Méditerranée, boulevard de Strasbourg, Le Triangle, Polygone, Antigone, Nouveau-Monde, Parc à Ballons, Les Aubes, Les Beaux-Arts, Saint-Lazare.
  • Croix-d'Argent: avenue de Toulouse, Croix d'Argent, Mas Drevon, Tastavin, Lemasson, Garosud, Mas de Bagnères, Mas Nouguier, les Sabines, Lepic, Pas du Loup, Estanove, les Bouisses, Val-de-Crozes, Bagatelle.
  • Les Cévennes: Les Cévennes, Alco, Le Petit Bard, Pergola, Saint-Clément, Clémentville, Las Rebès, La Chamberte, La Martelle, Montpellier-Village, Les Grisettes, Les Grèzes.
  • Mosson: La Mosson, Celleneuve, La Paillade, les Hauts-de-Massane, Le Grand-Mail, Les Tritons.
  • Hôpitaux-Facultés: Malbosc, Saint-Priest, Euromédecine, Zolad, Plan des 4 Seigneurs, Hôpitaux, IUT, Père Soulas, Universités, Vert-Bois, Hauts de Boutonnet, Aiguelongue, Justice, Parc zoologique de Lunaret, Agropolis.
  • Port-Marianne: La Pompignane, Richter, Millénaire, Jacques Cœur, Consuls de Mer, Grammont, Odysseum, Montaubérou, La Méjanelle, Cambacérès.
  • Prés d'Arènes: Les Prés d'Arènes, Avenue de Palavas, La Rauze, Tournezy, Saint-Martin, Les Aiguerelles, Pont-Trinquat, Cité Mion.

Demographics

The whole metropolitan area had a population of 813,272 at the 2020 census. and INSEE (since 1968)

| graph-pos = bottom

|1793 | 32897

|1800 | 32723

|1806 | 33264

|1821 | 35123

|1831 | 36029

|1836 | 35506

|1841 | 40746

|1846 | 45828

|1851 | 45811

|1856 | 49737

|1861 | 51865

|1866 | 55606

|1872 | 57727

|1876 | 55258

|1881 | 56005

|1886 | 56765

|1891 | 69258

|1896 | 73931

|1901 | 75950

|1906 | 77114

|1911 | 80230

|1921 | 81548

|1926 | 82819

|1931 | 86924

|1936 | 90787

|1946 | 93102

|1954 | 97501

|1962 | 118864

|1968 | 161910

|1975 | 191354

|1982 | 197231

|1990 | 207996

|1999 | 225392

|2007 |253712

|2012 |268456

|2017 |285121

|2023 |310240

thumb|Montpellier seen from Spot satellite

Heraldry

Sights

right|thumb|[[Place de la Comédie]]

thumb|[[Porte du Peyrou]]

thumb|Saint Clément Aqueduct

thumb|[[Montpellier Cathedral|Saint Pierre Cathedral]]

thumb|Fabre Museum in Montpellier

  • The main focus point of the city is the Place de la Comédie, with the Opéra Comédie built in 1888.
  • The Musée Fabre.
  • In the historic centre, a significant number of hôtels particuliers (i.e. mansions) can be found. The majority of the buildings of the historic centre of Montpellier (called the Écusson because its shape is roughly that of an escutcheon) have medieval roots and were modified between the 16th and the 18th centuries. Some buildings, along Rue Foch and the Place de la Comédie, were built in the 19th century.
  • The Rue du Bras de Fer (Iron Arm Street) is very typical of the medieval Montpellier.
  • The mikve, ritual Jewish bath, dates back to the 12th century and is one of very few old mikves preserved in Europe.
  • The Jardin des plantes de Montpellier—oldest botanical garden in France, founded in 1593.
  • The La Serre Amazonienne, a tropical rain forest greenhouse
  • The 14th-century Saint Pierre Cathedral
  • The Porte du Peyrou, a triumphal arch built at the end of the 17th century, and the Place Royal du Peyrou built in the 17th century, are the highest point of the Ecusson.
  • The Tour des Pins, the only remaining of 25 towers of the city medieval walls, built around 1200.
  • The Tour de la Babotte, a medieval tower which was modified in the 18th century to house an observatory.
  • The Saint Clément Aqueduct, built in the 18th century.
  • The Antigone District was designed by the postmodern architect Ricardo Bofill from Catalonia, Spain
  • A number of châteaux (such as Château de Flaugergues, Château de la Mogère or Château d'O), so-called follies, built during the 18th century by wealthy merchants surround the city
  • Montpellier City Council is based at the Hôtel de Ville, completed in 2011.
  • Nearly 80 private mansions were built in the city center from the 17th to 19th century, and some of their interior courtyards are open
  • Montpellier Zoological Park - 80 hectare zoo based in the commune.

Education

History

The University of Montpellier is one of the oldest in the world, founded in 1160, and having been granted a charter in 1220 by Cardinal Conrad von Urach and confirmed by Pope Nicholas IV in a papal bull of 1289. It was suppressed during the French Revolution but was re-established in 1896.

It is not known exactly at what date the schools of literature were founded which developed into the Montpellier faculty of arts; it may be that they were a direct continuation of the Gallo-Roman schools. The school of law was founded by Placentinus, a doctor from Bologna University, who came to Montpellier in 1160, taught there during two different periods, and died there in 1192. With regard to the school of medicine, there were excellent physicians at Montpellier. The statutes given in 1220 by Cardinal Conrad, legate of Honorius III, which were completed in 1240 by Pierre de Conques, placed this school under the direction of the Bishop of Maguelonne. Pope Nicholas IV issued a Bull in 1289, combining all the schools into a university, which was placed under the direction of the bishop, but which in fact enjoyed a large measure of autonomy.

Theology was at first taught in the convents, in which St. Anthony of Padua, Raymond Lullus, and the Dominican Bernard de la Treille lectured. Two letters of King John prove that a faculty of theology existed at Montpellier independently of the convents, in January 1350. By a Bull of 17 December 1421, Martin V granted canonical institution to this faculty and united it closely with the faculty of law. In the 16th century the faculty of theology disappeared for a time, when Calvinism, in the reign of Henry II of France, held complete possession of the city. It resumed its functions after Louis XIII had reestablished the royal power at Montpellier in 1622; but the rivalries of Dominicans and Jesuits interfered seriously with the prosperity of the faculty, which disappeared at the Revolution. The faculty numbered among its illustrious pupils of law Petrarch, who spent four years at Montpellier, and among its lecturers Guillaume de Nogaret, chancellor to Philip the Fair, Guillaume de Grimoard, afterwards pope under the name of Urban V, and Pedro de Luna, antipope as Benedict XIII. But after the 15th century this faculty fell into decay, as did also the faculty of arts, although for a time, under Henry IV of France, the latter faculty had among its lecturers Isaac Casaubon.

The Montpellier school of medicine owed its success to the ruling of the Guilhems, lords of the town, by which any licensed physician might lecture there; there was no fixed limit to the number of teachers, lectures were multiplied, and there was a great wealth of teaching. Rabelais took his medical degrees at Montpellier. It was in this school that the biological theory of vitalism, elaborated by Barthez (1734–1806), had its origin. The French Revolution did not interrupt the existence of the faculty of medicine.

The faculties of science and of letters were re-established in 1810; that of law in 1880. It was on the occasion of the sixth centenary of the university, celebrated in 1889, that the Government of France announced its intention—which has since been realized—of reorganizing the provincial universities in France.

Universities

With 70,000 students and good universities whose influence radiates worldwide, as well as very prestigious schools, the capital of Hérault is a fantastic setting for a post-baccalaureate course.

  • University of Montpellier: sciences, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, law, business, sports
  • Paul Valéry University: arts, languages and social sciences

University of Montpellier 1 and University of Montpellier 2 reunified in January 2015 to form the University of Montpellier. Paul Valéry University Montpellier, remains a separate entity.

Moreover, Montpellier was ranked 137th best student city in the world for 2026, according to QS Best Student Cities 2025 ranking.

Grandes Ecoles

thumb|250x250px|[[École nationale de l'aviation civile]]

Public service schools

  • (ENCCRF): National School for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control

; Science

  • E-Artsup
  • École Polytechnique Universitaire de Montpellier (Polytech)
  • National Superior Architecture School of Montpellier (ENSAM)
  • École nationale de l'aviation civile
  • ENSCM: chemistry
  • École pour l'informatique et les nouvelles technologies
  • Institut supérieur européen de formation par l'action
  • Montpellier SupAgro: agronomy
  • SUPINFO International University: private institution of higher education in general computer science

; Business

  • Montpellier Business School
  • SupExup Higher Education Institute

Transport

left|thumb|Line 1 of the tramway network, at the [[Corum (Montpellier)|Corum stop]]

Montpellier is served by railway, including TGV highspeed trains. Montpellier's main railway station is Saint-Roch. Since 2018, there is also a station on the high-speed railway linking Nîmes and Montpellier with the LGV Méditerranée, called Montpellier-Sud de France.

thumb|260px|Montpellier tramway map

The Montpellier – Méditerranée Airport is located in the area of Fréjorgues, in the town of Mauguio, southeast of Montpellier.

The Transports de l'agglomération de Montpellier (TaM) manages the city's public transportation, including its tramway network consisting of five lines and several parking facilities. Line 1 runs from Mosson in the west to Odysseum in the east. Line 2 runs from Jacou in the northeast to St. Jean-de-Vedas in the southwest. Line 3 and Line 4 opened in April 2012. Line 3, which is long, links Juvignac and Pérols with a branch to Lattes and serves 32 stations. Line 4 circles the centre and serves as a connector line between the various arms of tram system. They intersect at Gare St. Roch station, Rives du Lez and Corum.

Since 2019, €440 million were invested into the construction of a 5th tramway line, linking the south from Lavérune to Clapiers, up north. It has been inaugurated on December 20, 2025.

Since 21 December 2023, the public transport is free for all residents. Previously, all residents under 18 and over 65 years of age have been transported free of charge since 1 September 2021.

The TaM also manages the large bike sharing scheme Vélomagg', started in June 2007, comprising 1200 bicycles and 50 stations.

Sports

thumb|[[Stade de la Mosson]]

Montpellier was the finish of Stage 11 and the departure of Stage 12 in the 2007 Tour de France. It was also the finish of Stage 11 and the departure of Stage 12 in the 2016 edition. The city is home to a variety of professional sports teams:

  • Montpellier Hérault Rugby, of the Top 14 who play rugby union formerly at the Stade Sabathé and now at the Altrad Stadium. In the 2010/2011 season, the team made it to the Top 14 Final against the Stade Toulousain.
  • Montpellier HSC of Ligue 2 who play association football at the Stade de la Mosson. MHSC became French Champions on 20 May 2012.
  • Montpellier Agglomération Handball are a major team handball club playing in the French National League, 14 times winner of the French championship and twice winner of the European Cup (last in 2017–2018 season).
  • Montpellier Red Devils who play rugby league in Elite 1 division at the Stade Sabathé
  • Montpellier Hérault Sport Club Volley-Ball who play in the LNV Ligue A and have 8 National titles, last in 2021–22 season.
  • Montpellier Vipers of France's Division 1 ice hockey Federation, play at the Patinoire de l'Agglomération de Montpellier at Odysseum
  • Montpellier Water Polo play in the National League and European Cup competitions.
  • Barracudas de Montpellier is a baseball club, and competes in Division Élite, a French top level baseball league.

Montpellier was one of the hosts of the FIBA EuroBasket 2015.

The city is home to the Open Sud de France tennis tournament since 2010, and will host the XXXI World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship.

The main athletics stadium is the Philippidès Stadium, which is owned by the University of Montpellier.

Culture

The city is a centre for cultural events as there are many students. Montpellier has two large concert venues: Le Zénith Sud (7.000 seats) and L'Arena (14.000 seats). Le Corum cultural and conference centre contains three auditoriums.

  • The Festival de Radio France et Montpellier is a summer festival of opera and other music held in Montpellier. The festival concentrates on classical music and jazz with about 150 events, including opera, concerts, films, and talks. Most of these events are free and are held in the historic courtyards of the city or in the modern concert halls of Le Corum near historical city center.
  • The annual Cinemed, the International Mediterranean Film Festival Montpellier, held in the fall, is the second largest French film festival after the Cannes Film Festival. Held since 1979, it offers screenings of over 200 long and short films, documentaries, animated films, trailers, and a special program of student films. Other events include panel discussions, exhibitions, and gatherings. Venues include Le Corum and cinema halls.

International relations

thumb|Sign on the Esplanade Charles de Gaulle, showing Montpellier's sister cities

Montpellier is twinned with:

  • Barcelona, Spain since 1963
  • Bethlehem, Palestine, since 2012
  • Chengdu, China, since 1981
  • Fes, Morocco since 2003
  • Heidelberg, Germany, since 1961
  • Kos, Greece, since 1962
  • Louisville, United States, since 1955
  • Obninsk, Russia, since 2017
  • Palermo, Italy, since 2016
  • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil since 2011
  • Sherbrooke, Canada, since 2006
  • Tiberias, Israel, since 1983
  • Tlemcen, Algeria, since 2009

Notable people

Montpellier was the birthplace of:

  • Abraham ben Isaac of Narbonne (–1179), rabbi and author of the halakhic work Ha-Eshkol.
  • Solomon ben Abraham of Montpellier (circa the 13th century), Jewish philosopher and Talmudist
  • James I of Aragon (1208–1276), King of Aragon and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276.
  • Nicholas of Poland (), Dominican healer.
  • Saint Roch (1295–1327), pilgrim to Rome, venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church.
  • Guillaume Rondelet (1507–1566), French physician and naturalist.
  • Pierre Magnol (1638–1715), botanist, founder of the concept of plant families.
  • Charles Bertheau (1660–1732), French pastor.
  • Francois Chicoyneau (1672–1752), court physician and member of the French Academy of Sciences
  • Jean Raoux (1677–1734), painter.
  • Louis Bertrand Castel (1688–1757), mathematician, entered the order of the Jesuits in 1703.
  • Pons Augustin Alletz (1703–1785), agronomist
  • Joseph-Marie Vien (1716–1809), painter.
  • Étienne-Hyacinthe de Ratte (1722–1805), mathematician and astronomer.
  • Paul Joseph Barthez (1734–1806), physician.
  • Suzanne Verdier (1745–1813), writer.
  • Cyrille Rigaud (1750–1824), poet.
  • Jean Jacques Régis de Cambacérès (1753–1824), lawyer and statesman, author of the Code Napoléon.
  • Guillaume-Mathieu Dumas (1753–1837), military leader.
  • Louis-Sébastien Lenormand (1757–1837), chemist, physicist, inventor, the world's first modern parachuting pioneer
  • Pierre Marie Auguste Broussonet (1761–1807), naturalist, contributed primarily to botany.
  • Pierre Antoine Noël Bruno, Comte de Daru (1767–1829), soldier, statesman, historian and poet.
  • Laure Junot, Duchess of Abrantès (1784–1838), writer and spouse of French general Jean-Andoche Junot.
  • Joseph Frédéric Bérard (1789–1828), physician and philosopher.
  • Auguste Comte (1798–1857), a founder of the discipline of sociology.
  • Antoine Jérôme Balard (1802–1876), chemist.
  • Émile Saisset (1814–1863), philosopher.
  • Charles Bernard Renouvier (1815–1903), philosopher.
  • Édouard Albert Roche (1820–1883), astronomer.
  • Alfred Bruyas (1821–1876), art collector.
  • Alexandre Cabanel (1823–1889), painter.
  • Renaud de Vilbac (1829–1884), composer, organist.
  • Frédéric Bazille (1841–1870), Impressionist painter.
  • Eugène Baudouin (1842–1893), painter.
  • Paul Ferrier (1843–1920), dramatist, he also provided libretti for several composers.
  • Henri Chantavoine (1850–1918), writer and Professor of Rhetoric.
  • Henri-Charles Puech (1902–1986), historian of religion.
  • Léo Malet (1909–1996), crime novelist.
  • Henri Carol (1910–1984), French composer and organist.
  • Jeanne Demessieux (1921–1968), organist, pianist, composer, and pedagogue.
  • Monique de Bissy, member of the Resistance during World War II (1923–2009)
  • Juliette Gréco (1927–2020), singer and actress.
  • Jean-Luc Dehaene (1940–2014), Prime-Minister of Belgium.
  • Henri Joyeux (born 1945), oncologic surgeon, nutrition specialist and writer.
  • Didier Auriol (born 1958), rally driver, 1994 World Rally Champion.
  • Rémi Gaillard (born 1975), famous French prankster.
  • Sophie Divry (born 1979), writer, winner of the 2014 Prix Wepler.
  • Victor Aviat (1982–2025), oboist and conductor.
  • Adèle Charvet (born 1993), operatic mezzo-soprano.

Other notable inhabitants include:

  • François Rabelais (1493–1553), student at the University of Montpellier.
  • Nostradamus (1503–1566), student at the University of Montpellier.
  • Iacob Heraclid (1527–1563), ruler of Moldavia from 1561 to 1563.
  • Élisabeth Bouissonade (died 1647), French servant who led a women's uprising
  • Pierre-Joseph Amoreux (1741–1824), zoologist.
  • Elisabeth Coste (1748–1794), French cloth merchant and resistor.
  • Adamantios Korais (1748–1833), Greek humanist scholar and a major figure in the Greek Enlightenment, studied at the University of Montpellier.
  • Jean-Louis Michel (1785–1865), fencing master, who lived in Montpellier from 1830 onwards.
  • Agénor Azéma de Montgravier (1805–1863), deputy director of l'École d'Artillerie de Montpellier, died in Montpellier.
  • Gaston Darboux (1842–1917), mathematician.
  • Paul Valéry (1871–1945), French poet, essayist, and philosopher who studied at the University of Montpellier.
  • Josias Braun-Blanquet (1884–1980), botanist.
  • Taha Hussein (1889–1973), student at the University of Montpellier.
  • Jean Moulin (1899–1943), famous French resistant during WWII, studied and worked in Montpellier.
  • Michel Navratil (1908–2001), survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic.
  • Enver Hoxha (1908–1985), student at the University of Montpellier.
  • Alexander Grothendieck (1928–2014), mathematician.
  • Guy Delisle (born 1966), Canadian-born cartoonist, animator and author.
  • Grégory Vignal (born 1981), football coach and former footballer, who played as a left-back.
  • Nikola Karabatić (born 1984), handball player.
  • Simon Billy (born 1991), Speedskier.

Other locations named after Montpellier

The name Montpellier is used for towns and streets in as many as four continents. Many places in the United Kingdom and Ireland carry the name Montpellier. Often they are in resort locations claiming some of the healthy attributes for which the French city was renowned in earlier centuries. The variant spelling "Montpelier" is common, and is of quite early provenance. Brewer uses that spelling. The first example was the early 19th-century suburb of Montpelier in Brighton.

The capital of the American state of Vermont was named Montpelier because of the high regard in which the Americans held the French who had aided their Revolutionary War against the British. Several other American cities are also named Montpelier.

Places named Montpellier/Montpelier are also found in Australia, Canada, South Africa, and the Caribbean.

James Madison, the United States fourth president, named his plantation Montpelier (Orange, Virginia), after the resort-like properties associated with the city at the time.

See also

  • Communes of the Hérault department
  • Archdiocese of Montpellier
  • Montpellier vitalism

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

Further reading

  • Official website