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In Montpellier France

In Montpellier FranceMontpellier seemed to be a decent place to walk around for a day. . . Or ride the tram. I think buying an all-day pass on a city train system and just riding around at random all day is now one of my favorite things to do. You never know where you are [...]

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In Montpellier France


Montpellier seemed to be a decent place to walk around for a day. . . Or ride the tram. I think buying an all-day pass on a city train system and just riding around at random all day is now one of my favorite things to do. You never know where you are going to end up. I like this feeling. We ended up in the outskirts of the city in an area that was largely Muslim.

It is interesting to me how large the Muslim populations are that surround every major city in Southern France. Mira and I went into a KFC in the outskirts of Nimes to use the bathroom and it was completely full of Muslims. I thought that I was back in Morocco for a moment.

In Montpellier, Mira and I just road the tram and loafed about the city eating loafs of cheap bread. Old, Old and made of stone is Montpellier. I could just imagine the stories that must breathe out of the cracks in these cobblestone streets. Montpellier was a nice terminus to our short hitch-hiking journey.
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From the Wikipedia

Montpellier came to prominence in the 10th century as a trading centre, with trading links across the Mediterranean world and a rich Jewish cultural life and traditions of tolerance of its Muslims, Jews and Cathars— and later of its Protestants. William VII of Montpellier established a faculty of medicine in 1180, recognised by Pope Nicholas IV; the city’s university was established in 1220 and was one of the chief centers for the teaching of medicine. This marked the high point of Montpellier’s prominence. The city became a possession of the kings of Aragon in 1213 by the marriage of Peter II of Aragon with Marie of Montpellier, who brought the city as her dowry. Montpellier gained a charter in 1204 when Peter and Marie confirmed the city’s traditional freedoms and granted the city the right to choose twelve governing consuls annually. Montpellier remained a possession of the crown of Aragon until it passed to James III of Majorca, who sold the city to the French king Philip VI in 1349, to raise funds for his ongoing struggle with Peter IV of Aragon.
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Hmm . . .I suppose people could just sell cities then. Imagine that. I know of a few cities that should be sold.

Photograph of downtown Montpellier

For more Photos of Montpellier, France please go to Montpellier Photographs


Wade from Vagabond Journey.com
Anduze, France
December 22, 2007

Filed under: Europe, France

About the Author:

I am the founder and editor of Vagabond Journey. I’ve been traveling the world since 1999, through 91 countries. I am the author of the book, Ghost Cities of China and have written for The Guardian, Forbes, Bloomberg, The Diplomat, the South China Morning Post, and other publications. has written 3699 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.

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