Day 54 – Exploring Montpellier
Porte du Peyrou, Montpellier
The term “exploring” implies open-mind, totally objective, information gathering. That is not what really is going on here.
Whenever I have a little time in a new town or village, even when I was just crashing at the next available alburgue after a long day on the Camino, I would take a half hour to traverse the neighborhood in search for something, some place that reflects the soul of that location. It might be a statue of a town forefather, an academic institution, a historic grain warehouse or just a bridge over a narrow spot in the river. It may not be the most popular tourist attraction but it is held in reverence by the local community.
Montpellier has several candidates for this role because there are several memorials to the violence that has racked France over the centuries.
When I approached the 17th century Porte du Peyrou (Arche de Triumph) shown above and the associated Promenade and Bassin du Peyrou…
Bassin de Peyrou, Montpellier
Followed by the 18th century Saint Clement Aquaduct…
st Clement Aquaducts, Montpellier
…I knew I had discovered the foundation of Montpellier. These structures, though weathered in places and serving host to a community of homeless, have stood over centuries of Montpellier history.
Camino de Santiago marker in Montpellier
The standards for marking the pilgrims path to Santiago de Compostela are largely left to local jurisdictions and implemented by volunteers. Montpellier has embedded these brass markers in the streets. I followed them for a ways through town.
Two spotted rays at Planet Ocean World, Montpellier
Having saturated my interest in renaissance and modern art in previous cities, I passed on the rich collections of Montpellier and tried the “Planet Ocean World” Aquarium instead.
Being just 11km from the Mediterranean I expected a pretty dramatic presentation of exotic sea life. I guess I’ve been spoiled living near two of the hotbeds of aquatic research, Woods Hole Marine Biological Research Center in Massachusetts and The Seattle Aquarium in Washington state.
The aquarium in Montpellier was centered around one large tank with multiple viewing points of the same few fish swimming lackadaisically.
The remainder of the presentations were mostly mock ups, video simulations and colored pictures. There were no outside exhibitions at all.
To get there I did learn how to navigate the Montpellier tram system which was easy and inexpensive.
Both Toulouse and Montpellier sport a functioning bike sharing system. I did not try it out because it seemed like an even more efficient method of getting totally lost in a city that eschews street signs and where the buildings all look pretty much alike. But if I were here longer, I’d definitely choose this over driving a car.
Today’s eclectic picture is this sign for a bar near my studio apartment.
Buen Camino,
– jgp
