Montpellier - A Visit to the Beach and Glimpses of Modern Architecture

A necessary beach trip bring us to Montpellier.  We have the opportunity to visit a modern neighborhood, eat some bagels, and swim in the Mediterranean Sea.  

Going to the beach when you live in the south of France is not as difficult as when you live in Upstate NY.  I promised Sophia that we would go to the beach at least once before school started. We chose to go to Montpellier and stay in a hotel near the city hall.  We arrived late and checked in and went to explore the neighborhood near the hotel.  The area was super modern with high rise apartments, a lake, and lots of restaurants and cafés.  I was surprised to see the open spaces and so many people outside enjoying the evening. We ended up going to a little supermarket and buying stuff for a picnic by our hotel pool.  YUM!

Modern neighborhood across the river Lez from our hotel - Bassin Jacques Coeur

The next day, Sophia and I woke up early, picked up some croissants and took the car to the nearest beach, Carnon Plage.  We found a parking space in a public lot and set up our blanket near a sand mermaid on the narrow strip of sand.  The beach was broken up periodically by rock jetties, making many little crescent beaches. We were the first ones there and it wasn't very hot yet but we loved watching the waves and taking a dip in the cool sea water.

sand mermaid

We returned to the hotel for another pool side meal and a dip in the pool.  The pool area looks up into the modern city hall building and from our room we had views of city hall square and the main entrance. The area is very modern but easily accessible for bikes, pedestrians, cars and public transportation. We were so excited to find a bagel store on the city hall plaza, Place Georges Frèche, (bagels are hard to find in France) and we ordered sandwiches to go.  Our visit to Montpellier was shorter than planned.  We look forward to exploring the old city and discovering other parks and neighborhoods on our next visit.