A Walk Around Montpellier

We take a morning stroll around Montpellier, starting down the decorated streets on our way to Promenade du Peyrou, a favorite park in the city, with its own Arc de Triumphe (built in 1691 as a tribute to King Louis XIV and called the Porte du Peyrou).

Gayly decorated streets

Trolley tracks under Porte du Peyrou

Porte du Peyrou

Entering the park, we walk along the edge, as the center of the park is being set up for a marathon to be run in a few days.  At the end of the park, we get great views of the city and the landscape around it.

Around the edge of the park

Setting up for the marathon

Reaching the end of the park

Viewing the countryside

We follow the Roman aquaduct out of the park into the city on the far side and wander through a new [to us] section of Montpellier.  It's really impressive how the aquaduct, although no longer functional, has been integrated into the design of the city.

Following the aquaduct

Returning to Promenade du Peyrou, we leave the park and walk over to Jardin des Plantes de Montpellier, the oldest botanical garden in France, created in 1593.  We don't enter this year, but walk along the perimeter and look in.

Jardin des Plantes

From the gardens, we reenter the charming, narrow streets of old Montpellier, just wandering through the neighborhoods and finding charming gardens and squares.

Wandering through the streets

Gardens along the way

We've made a loop through Montpellier and seen a lot of great sights.