What is the cardinal rule when travelling, have a bit of a game plan and check what’s open on a Monday …. We had the game plan but you guessed it we are here on a Monday ready to have a good look at the many wonderful museums in Montpellier, not a one was open ( not surprising at all). It’s like we haven’t been to Europe before 🤣. Okay museums no, so let’s go through the renowned botanical gardens – also closed.

As is Saint Pierre Cathedral 😢.

The Cathedral is a short walk (or a 5 minute ride in the tram) from where we are staying in Montpellier’s old town. The site was originally the home of a small chapel built in 1364, which was formally consecrated by the Pope in 1367 and in 1536 was elevated to the status of Cathedral. Over the years there has been significant damage inflicted on the church from warring parties including on the two pillars you can see in the picture above. This has meant repairs have been required over the years.

I must say that I was busting to get in and have a look at this church – next time I guess.

Everywhere we look there are reminders of the past here in Montpellier.

Babotte Tower looks quite unassuming but it’s got a rich history. It was initially built as one of 25 towers of the fortified enclosure to protect the city of Montpellier. Construction started in the 12th century. Speeding through years of battles and sieges to the year 1739. This is when the Royal Academy of Sciences asked if they could use this space as an astronomy observatory, which they did. Some updates and improvements were required and the tower was used as an observatory until 1793, noting the astronomers returned in 1902. During this period a local physicist by the name of Louis-Sebastian Lenormand used the space for experiments with a parachute and various animals. Lenormand the son of the local watchmaker, went off to study physics and chemistry in Paris, before returning home to work in the family business, being a scientist and inventor was his side gig. Lenormand is considered to be the first person to experiment this way. In fact on 26 November 1783, he leapt from a nearby elm tree holding in his hands two parasols with a radius of thirty inches – he did survive, just in case you are worried, Lenormand lived until he was 79 years old. The original intention for these experiments was to save people from burning buildings. How cool right!

And to the present ❤️

To see a little more of Montpellier, knowing that we are limited in what we buildings are open, we decide rather than hitting the hot pavement we will take a ride on the Montpellier tram system, while Isaac decides to hit a local beach. The tram system is easy to understand (just tap on with your credit card), it is efficient (they go every 15 minutes) and it’s inexpensive. With tram stops dotted all around the place it’s a no brainer. We’re on and off and back and forth like we’re locals (or so I think) 🤣.

Off the tram, and we have some more energy having had a lovely reprieve from the weather. We’re back on the streets to find some of those places in or near old town that we’ve heard about that aren’t necessarily in every travel guide book.

To set the scene for the cannonball (photo above) we’ve already ascertained that this town has seen quite a bit of conflict (the church wars and a few sieges) and so it’s not surprising that they’ve had cannon balls lodged in walls all around the place.. but this?

The legend goes that in 1622 during the siege a cannonball was shot and simply stayed lodged in this building, it does stick out a bit, as a ball should, but I would have thought the impact of it hitting the wall would have shaken some of the brickwork around it 🤔 . Of course, all of my expertise on this matter is based on the significant number of castles I’ve seen around the world that have had bits blown out of them with cannonballs and I’m simply saying that they’ve never looked this neat 🤣. If you’re in the neighbourhood and would like to take a look, you can find it at 30 Rue des Étuves, be warned it is easy to miss.

Moving on from the cannonball, Trompe l’oeil means (I think) a painting that is an optical illusion. And if you look closely at the photo above you will see that the building is actually a painting on two buildings. There is a little coffee shop sitting out the front which makes it even more life like – it’s clever. In fact as we came up the road towards it I thought that we weren’t in the right spot. I read somewhere that the artist adds bits and pieces from time to time which is pretty cool. Its address is 40 Rue des Étuves.

We’ve so loved our time here in Montpellier despite it coinciding with a Monday. If the inside of these buildings is as beautiful as the outside they would have been stunning.

Tomorrow we head to Marseille and so to celebrate our last night here its steak and frites at L’Entrecôte for tea.

L’Entrecote has a set menu so don’t be coming here if you don’t eat meat. The menu is a walnut salad, then thinly sliced sirloin steak (with a devine sauce, we all loved), a truckload of fries and then dessert. The only choices you make are, how you’d like your steak cooked, what you’d like to drink and if you have enough room what you’d like for dessert. It is a chain restaurant here in France and there is often a queue to get in. We arrived just after 7.00pm when it opened, and we were straight in.

And it was yummy !