View Montpellier and le cirque de Mourèze in a larger map

One style of travelling is to not make any plans and just see where the wind takes you. At the other extreme, there is planning everything down to a tee months in advance. I would place myself in the latter category, but with elements of the former. For instance, travel destinations are typically chosen many months in advance and planned out carefully, and likewise as soon as it is possible to purchase train tickets, they will be purchased. This has the benefit of saving a lot of money, but also gives you the “looking forward to an adventure” sensation. However during the adventure, we are often flying by the seat of our pants. So sometime during autumn, a mid-winter trip to the south of France was booked with the assumption being that we would escape the freeze of the north. As we were saving some other destinations in the south until spring/summer, we chose a location with equal length train trips from Geneva and Paris and ended up with Montpellier. When the time arrived, as the winter had been extremely mild, the “escape” was not to be the jealously-inducing weekend that we expected, but it would be a welcome adventure nonetheless. The region has some amazing landscape, so we decided to spend half our time out and about, and the other half exploring the city.

Out and about

The nearby Parc National des Cévennes is renowned for some of the most unique scenery in France, however the region is devoid of public transport, meaning that it was a no go for us. After some extensive research through the depths of webpages last updated during the mid-nineties, I had found an interesting hiking location to which one can catch a bus: le cirque de Mourèze. Comprising part of the karst landscape that the southern Massif Central is known for, le cirque is billed as a dolomite wonderland (I might be paraphrasing). It basically sold itself and we had a plan.

Believing that the bus departed from the central station, I was not all that impressed to discover that it in fact left from Mosson, a depot at the end of a tram line on the outskirts of town. So we were up early and headed to the tram stop. In the process of buying tickets from the automated machine, a young boy came up and started chatting and helped us purchase the correct tickets. I was grateful and said thanks and he replied with give me money. Upon declining, he proceeded to ask why not, and began to demand more forcefully why not. I eventually told him to bugger off, only to watch him latch onto other people using the machine. Upon closer inspection, there appeared to be a much larger network of people scamming money, but it was still a bit early and they were not into it full swing. Noting that we did not have lunch, Mia suggested that we pick a sandwich up from one of the surrounding stores in the few minutes before the tram arrived. I rationalised that since le cirque is only a stone’s throw from the township of Mourèze, we would have no issues getting food from there, so we decided to wait.

The tram ride was about 30 minutes and it also had its share of characters. There were many people asking for money, but asking more as a mission rather than asking for aid and, in addition, they were dressed in their best tracksuits. Once they had done a round, they would go and sit and chat with friends – it was all very strange. At one point a family got on, two older women, two children and an infant in a pram. They proceeded to eat some pistachios, but rather than peel them, they just ate them whole and then spat out the shells onto the tram floor. With all four going to town on a massive bag, they were making one hell of a mess and it was just plain unpleasant. Upon one of them noting my disbelieving gaze, she proceeded to eat and spit much more vigorously and look increasingly disgruntled at my continued unimpressed stare. While I always do my best to be understanding of different ethnic groups, seeing the behaviour of this particular group allows me to understand why there exists tension in the region relating to integration of eastern Europeans into the French way of life. The blatant lack of respect shown towards others does little to help one sympathise with them, which in turn breeds contempt from them toward the French and this just feeds back onto itself. Not an easy issue to address by any means.

The cirque de Mourèze — The *cirque de Mourèze*

Thankfully the tram reached the terminus where we were to catch the bus and as it was scheduled to depart some minutes later, we speedily found our bus amongst the sea of vehicles. An odd start to the day, but we were happy to have made it that far given that the information online didn’t necessarily confirm the existence of the bus at all. So to reach le cirque one must take the 303 bus, operated by Hérault transport in the direction of Bedarieux, which costs a very reasonable 1.60 € each way and takes approximately one hour. No stops were marked on the route nor where they announced, so had I not asked the driver “Is this the bus to Mourèze?” I would have been more concerned. There were again some pretty interesting characters on the bus, but not quite as offensive as the previous group.

The cirque de Mourèze. Le Sphynx is in the centre — The *cirque de Mourèze. Le Sphynx* is in the centre

The bus left town and headed onto the windy motorway and into the hills. After thirty minutes or so we arrived in Clermont-l'Hérault, the last ‘big’ town before the hills rise and the roads become scarce. As soon as we saw the town that was the stop before ours, the fear that we would not be able to get any food became very real, as the township was 3 dilapidated barns. Some minutes later we were dropped off on the side of the D908, a kilometre from the town. The weather was not bad, but not good either – and appeared unstable. Only some 100 kilometres away there were some of the most violent snowstorms of recent years battering the Pyrénées. The local landscape was full of vineyards and as we got closer to Mourèze, interesting rock formations started to show themselves, jutting out in all shapes and sizes. Before heading out on to the hike, we scoured the town to see if there was anything open. Unfortunately everything was closed, meaning that the only food we had was some apples and the jumbo bag of Daim! chocolates purchased duty-free on our way back from Norway. Trying to make the best of the situation, we happily loaded up on the delectable Swedish treat and set off to le cirque, which is only a few hundred metres past the town.

Le cirque is not much like the cirques of the Pyrénées, but rather a flatter basin with some incredible dolomite features forming more of an amphitheatre rather than the characteristic towering walls which encircle a valley. Walking into the centre area, one is greeted by an incredible array of shapes, with many notable ‘peaks’, most of which have been named over the centuries (le Sphynx, le Gardien, l'Oracle, l'Ours et le Berger, les Hauts Fourneaux, le Cerbère, la Tour du Guetteur, la Tour de la Brèche, la Tour du Poulailler). The most impressive is most likely le Sphynx, which was basically a carrot-like rock some thirty or forty metres tall. The area is great to wander around and in the south-east there is an elevated platform with a view over the area, but as we were to be climbing up Mont Liausson we did not bother.

After having had a good look around, we began the ascent of Mont Liausson, which is some 250 metres above le cirque. It was not particularly difficult, but it was rather steep with many loose rocks. As we neared the top, the wind really started to pick up due to the combination of exposure and changing weather. From the top we had a great view over le cirque but also over le Lac du Salagou to the north as well as the town of Liausson. The lake is quite spectacular, even having a few rocky islands, but for us to see it, we had to stay in the most exposed spot, so we did not hang around for long. We were also still snacking away on our Daim! but the deliciousness was starting to wear a little thin. We came across a very old ruined building which may have been a monastery, but somewhat ironically we would have missed it completely had there not been a sign saying “please stay away from the ruins” which of course made us look around for them.

It was about 1330 and the bus was at 1700, so we extended our hike to include another peak, namely that of Lousses. The landscape is such that any ridgelines are short and narrow and then drop to the valley floor, so to climb Lousses, one has to descend to the Col de portes which is roughly two-thirds of the way down and once again climb up to the summit. This peak was much less steep however, and also provided less spectacular views as there was much more vegetation due to the friendlier terrain. In no time at all we passed over the summit – without even realising it – before arriving at the Col de lousses. From here all paths led back into town, so that is where we went. As we got closer, the dolomite structures began to reappear and a few vantage points allowed for a great view of the surrounds.

The ruined building on the summit of Mont Liausson

We arrived back in town around 1445 and had another look around for some food as we were pretty hungry and very sick of DAIM! but just like the morning, there was none to be found. As we had some time to kill, we decided to check out the residence that is perched atop a large cliff overlooking the town. The building looked to be that of a church or a monastery, but with no access point except a mysterious set of stairs that were locked, we guessed it had to be private. We passed some fellow travellers, I asked them if there was some way to access the peak and one said “yes, of course, just head down there…” so we followed his directions leading to a path which we started to climb, but this path quickly became overgrown and a fence could be seen in the distance, so we turned back. On our way back into town, by chance we ran into the same group and we had a chat which went along the lines of:

“Did you make it?”

“No, there was no real path”

“Yes, I know. There is no path.”

“Well, why did you say there was a path?”

“You didn’t think I was serious? There is no path; there is no way up there.”

I was completely confused by the situation, as he was speaking one hundred percent seriously at all times, so I had no idea if he was joking or not. But we continued to chat, and they eventually offered us a ride back into Montpellier, but we would have to split up and go in separate cars. So whilst the gesture was nice, we politely declined and headed back to the bus stop. On the way we had a dog join us, following from the edge of town all the way to the bus stop, but as we were going along, we realised that this was a hunting dog, as there were hunters everywhere, between 15-20 if them working together to hunt down some sanglier (wild boar). Thus it was a little awkward that the dog decided to stick with us and was eventually carted off by one of the spotters.

Overlooking both the town and le cirque of Mouzère

Arriving at the bus stop, it was 1650 and we were starving, and Mia refused to eat any more DAIM! though I was hungry enough to begrudgingly eat the last few. It is unfortunate that such a tasty treat has essentially been ruined for us by not having appropriate food stocks. The thought of getting back into Montpellier and finding some food was pretty exciting, and after hailing down the bus and dealing with the sickening road and a long tram ride, we were back in town. We got off the tram and headed to the nearest place that looked decent. We ended up at an Italian place where we demolished some food and had a beer. We were both pretty pooped so did not plan to explore the town in the evening, except for the aqueduct which I had heard was really well lit-up at night. We arrived at La Place royale du Peyro and were going to wander in, but after a metre or so, a security guard rolled in and told us to get out as he was locking the place up. So we walked around the gardens to reach the water tower and aqueduct, which were indeed very nicely lit-up. The aqueduct is seemingly endless, and particularly with the glowing lights looked really impressive. But with limited viewpoints due to the closure of the park, we did not hang around for long before retiring for the day.

The city

Montpellier is famous for being the largest city in the south with neither Greek nor Roman heritage, making it a ‘new’ city. It is the capital of the Languedoc-Roussillon region, as well as the Hérault administrative department. The city made a name for itself in the late 12th century, when William the Third of Montpellier allowed the teaching of medicine to occur, which lead to the establishment of a medical school which was and still is arguably the most important medical school in Europe. The town has grown into a large student town, but has also simply grown, having the largest population growth of anywhere in France over the last 25 years. Being a young city does mean that there are less major attractions than the neighbouring towns of Nîmes or Avignon.

After the turbulent weather from the day before, the weather for our city exploration was amazing. The sun was out and had some heat to it and a predicted maximum temperature of 18 degrees. We first headed to the main square, place de la comèdie, where aside from the theatre, there are many restaurants and activities/performers going at all hours. It is the main part of town and it certainly has the look of a town in the south of France, with weathered sandstone lining the streets and a slightly worn-down look. The little park (Allée Jean de Lattre de Tassigny), along with the fountain at its head, was quite pretty.

Église Sainte Anne — *Église Sainte Anne*

We moved on, making a very rough line to the cathedral, but just wandering the back streets. Since it was a Sunday, there was nobody around and we had the place to ourselves. The streets are quite charming and due to the student presence in the city, one can find surprises around any corner. The narrow alleyways near cathédral Saint-Pierre de Montpellier were special and the cathedral itself was certainly interesting – the style is not at all traditional, which is particularly highlighted by the porch supported by two gargantuan towers. Unfortunately the cathedral was closed, so we could not see inside.

We moved on to the botanical gardens, but in mid-winter, these had really been let go and warranted only a few minutes. We returned to the nearby Place royale du Peyro which is really pretty. There was a market in full swing, selling antique trinkets, and the area around the water tower and aqueduct is pretty. From here we walked down Rue Foch, which leads you through the Arc de triomphe, which is similar but smaller to its famed sibling in Paris. At Place du Marché aux Fleurs we spotted a place for lunch, Burger et Blanquette, which turned out to be excellent, and the gourmet coffee for desert was a real winner.

Having eaten, we continued to explore, visiting Église Sainte Anne which is now a museum space which had some interesting contemporary art (as well as some less interesting pieces). Nearby at Église Saint Roch we stumbled across some bollard type pieces lining the streets that were individually painted, and there were some people in the process of painting more, which was pretty neat. After some more wandering, we found ourselves back in the centre with not so much time before our trains, so we made our way to the station, but via Antigone district, a massive section of the town which is primarily subsidised housing, but done very well, particularly the public spaces. But after a brief look around, it was time to go to the station and head back into the northern winter – mild as it was.

Adventures

Montpellier and le Cirque de Mourèze

Out and about

The city