The City of Medicine Teaching

Once again in the middle of a very busy (and tight) weekend in order to fit as many places as we can, taking the advantage that our flight would depart later in the night from Montpellier; we came after having greatly enjoyed the day before among some of the finest Roman remains in the whole of France at both cities of Nimes and Arles, and the nearby Pont du Gard aqueduct. And while I can agree with you sometimes we are pushing it to all the limits in trying to see as much as we can, in this occasion I must also be honest in telling you this is all possible, nicely without rush and enjoying every sight at our own pace, but only because we managed to get a rental car we used the day before across all the sites I mentioned. Otherwise I cannot possibly imagine doing all of it by public transport, which is perfectly possible by train and bus, but extremely costly altogether and time consuming.

Montpellier is one of the last important cities along the Mediterranean coast of France we had pending for visiting, and it was a great choice. It is in fact one of the most elegant cities in the country with some of the finest 19th century architecture through perfectly designed neighbourhoods; although this is actually the case for most (if not all) of the cities in France anyway. It is large, but good enough for an entire day sightseeing. Sometimes referred as the city of medicine teaching, it’s home to the worlds oldest school of medicine still in operation, yet it’s not only about medicine, but other fields and subjects too. Everywhere across the city you will find old schools and university buildings, legacy from this rich knowledge and teaching tradition.

While this is not an “old” city considering French standards; no Roman nor older foundations, instead dating from the 10th century, its rich history and architecture, retaining most of its medieval fabric coupled with such elegant traditional districts and even the striking new ones by famous world architects. All in all, quite a lot to see and enjoy, pretty much in every corner (more…)