LANGUEDOC - Living in France
MONTPELLIER
Montpellier is the capital of the Department of the Herault, a University town with a world famous faculty of medicine, It is also said to be the oldest. It is the eighth largest town of France with a population of, 350000 inhabitants, of which 55000 are university students
Montpellier has been the subject of many superlatives and battles with Toulouse for the title of capital of southern Europe. The town center has many interesting features not least the modern university buildings, and the old town with its Arc de Triumph in honour of Louis 14th.
The hub of Montpellier is the Place de la Comedie, known to the locals as "place de l'oeuf", here you will find the theatre and the statue "les Trois Graces" carved in white marble. There are many instances in England where Montpellier has been used to name streets and buildings, the origins of this stem from the Napoleonic Wars when many English, trapped in France, were kept in Montpellier. Upon their return to England they used Montpellier, frequently, to name roads and squares. This is the fifth largest town in France and its cosmopolitan town center contains an assortment of shops and many parks and gardens.
Under the leadership of its exuberant Mayor Georges Freches. Montpellier has expanded considerably and edges ever near the coast, almost certainly to become a coastal town in the future.
The latest acquisition of the town is its state of the art tramway. The first section of line to be built, runs from the north west at Mosson- La Paillade to the south east of the town at Odysseum a distance of 15.2kilometers, and has 28 stations. The trams run from 05.00 to 01.00 and normally there is a waiting time no longer than 5 minutes between trains. The trains run at a speed of between 20 km/h and 70km/h The carriages have been built so that there is no step between the platform and the tram that allows access to all, including invalides in wheelchairs.
Cambous
A short distance from Montpellier lies the prehistoric village of Cambous, Discovered in 1967. Since that date, excavations and surveys have exposed many dwellings from the Fontbouisse culture, a local variety of the copper age, and dated 3000 years B.C. The site consists of four groups of about ten houses each. One of these houses has been restored. The houses have a double facing of dry stone walling and never exceed 1.50m in height.
The roofs were supported by wooden beams wedged into holes running through the middle of the house and was covered with branches and thatch. Various artifacts have been discovered including pottery, tools, weapons and ornaments. Hearths were the inhabitants made a fire is situated in the back of the houses at the most distant part from the fire. Some hearths were found outside the building, suggesting that they lived an outdoor life for large parts of the year.
The village spreads over about 5 acres and is one of several sites know around the nearby village of St Martin de Londres
St Martin de Londres
St Martin is a village typical of the region and worth a visit to see its clock tower, many of its roads are stepped. Normally the region is well known for being burnt by the sun, but St Martin has the distinction of holding the record for the coldest location of the region with a temperature of -26degs. Centigrade in 1956. At that time many of the Olive trees of the area died because of the cold.
Pont du Gard, Remoulins
A short drive from Montpellier is the Pont du Gard an aquaduct composed of three levels of arches, 49 meters high and 275 meters long. Built by the Romans during the 19th century B.C. to bring water from the Cevennes mountains to the town of Nimes, it remains in good condition.