Montpellier

This sun-filled city has plenty to dazzle the eye in the historic centre and strikingly modern outskirts, as Peter Stewart discovers

I am standing in front of an Arc de Triomphe – but it is 750 kilometres from the Champs-Élysées in Paris. The building I am gazing at is a modern equivalent made predominantly from gleaming glass, and home to the Conseil Régional in Montpellier.

It is an example of the striking architecture in one of France’s fastest growing cities. I am here for a weekend exploring what residents will tell you is ‘une ville qui bouge’ (a dynamic city).

Lying close to the Mediterranean, Montpellier enjoys an average 300 days of sunshine a year, but was once overshadowed by its glitzy Provençal cousins such as Nice, Saint-Tropez and Aix-en-Provence. However, that all changed in 1977 with the election as mayor of Georges Frêche, who came up with a grand vision for Montpellier. His plans included transforming the city from a provincial capital to a leading player on the international stage, with the creation of spacious and affordable business premises on the outskirts and a new, architecturally striking quarter that would make other cities stop and take notice.

Frêche, who served as mayor for 27 years, was a controversial character, but certainly lived up to his promises, as I can see in the Antigone district, where my tour begins. Built on former army barracks in the eastern outskirts between the historic centre and the River Lez, this 36-hectare district has a collection of grand neo-classical structures. My local guide Xavier tells me that Frêche commissioned a Catalan designer, Ricardo Bofill, to come up with the master plans. “Bofill was a great admirer of Greco-Roman architecture and wanted his work in Montpellier to be a nod to them,” Xavier says.