City life centres on the vast, pedestrianised place de la Comédie, dominated by the Opera House (04 67 60 19 99, www.opera-montpellier.com), which owes its ornate look to Charles Garnier of Paris Opéra fame. At the opposite end, the landscaped esplanade Charles de Gaulle, where there’s a market most mornings, leads to the modern concert hall and conference centre Corum (04 67 61 67 61). At the market you can try Pelardon goat’s cheese, savoury olive and bacon fougasse breads, and oysters from Bouzigues.

The city’s main shopping street, rue de la Loge, runs from place de la Comédie. From place de la Comédie you can plunge into the old town, with its wealth of elegant private mansions and courtyards dating from the 15th to the 18th centuries.

Rue Foch leads west of the old town to the ornate 17th-century Arc de Triomphe, from where the terraced promenade de Peyrou provides views as far as the Med and Cévennes National Park. The walk leads eventually to an aqueduct modelled on the Pont du Gard outside Nîmes, passing the Jardin des Plantes (163 rue Auguste Broussonnet, 04 67 63 43 22, www.jardindesplantes-montpellier.com), one of Europe’s oldest botanical gardens. Nearby, bulky St-Pierre cathedral, set in steep, picturesque streets, demonstrates a hotch potch of architectural styles.

The Languedoc region is named after the Occitan word for yes, oc. The Occitan language of medieval troubadours was all but erased until its relatively recent resurgence in schools and universities. A fiery movement aims to reclaim the old language and students take to the street to protest at France and Europe’s failure to grant Occitan the same status as Breton in Brittany. Occitan rap groups have a loyal following in local clubs.

• Tourist information: 30 allée Jean de Lattre de Tassigny/Esplanade (04 67 60 60 60, www.ot-montpellier.fr).