A French window on the world

By Fraser Thomson

Montpellier offers a heady mix of ancient and modern architecture, as Fraser Thomson discovered.

That I should have to go to France to discover something of the social mores of the 17th and 18th centuries came as a surprise. That I should make my discovery while admiring the architecture of Montpellier was even more fascinating.

Standing in one of the many small streets that lead into the magnificent Place de la Comédie I turn my eyes skyward and spot it . . . the class divide that has shaped possibly every significant town and city across Europe.

The cornice: it’s sole purpose to hide from public view at street level the servants’ quarters. A simple overhanging ledge often favoured by pigeons, that, given the right angle, masks the top-floor windows from which the staff might while away a few idle moments.

And here started my French architecture lesson. A model that, doubtless, has been followed throughout the civilised world.

The ground floor housed the kitchens and store rooms. The first floor, with high ceilings and deep windows, comprised the grand rooms where the resident family would conduct all of its entertaining.

Above that, with equally tall ceilings would be the bedrooms and, at the top of the house, the more modest heights indicated the living quarters for butlers, cooks, maids and assorted minions.

One imagines that if passers-by in the street could not see them, they, in turn, would not see the street. Humility must have been complete.

All this is gleaned from just one stop on a guided tour of Montpellier. My latter-day shepherd proved to be a bottomless well of information about the history – ancient and modern – of France’s eighth-largest city.

Montpellier’s private homes were also distinctive in their humble façades. Unlike their Paris counterparts, Montpellier’s architects preferred to make their grand gestures on the inside; so, relatively plain – even austere – exteriors are commonplace throughout the city today.

Entrance to some of the grand old homes might be through two giant carriage doors into a vestibule that would have a broad stone staircase off. Here was the clue to what lay within.

The monumental staircase would boast huge ballustrades; the pomp came in the width of the staircase. Once inside, visitors would have been treated to a new world of wonder as homeowners celebrated their wealth with grand interiors.

The 18th century brought with it change and new architects introduced iron-railed balconies in a bid to demonstrate wealth more openly but never to the extremes of Paris.

Courtyards at the rear of the houses were, and remain, very private but tourists can still gain a glimpse of old world France by wandering the narrow streets which today boast a rich array of restaurants, cafés and boutiques.

Montpellier has a broad spectrum of architectural styles and the mix is never more evident than in Place de la Comédie, where 21st century monoliths sit side by side with ancient monuments.

The medieval influences appear on every corner from the high cut-away arches, which allowed horse-drawn carriages to navigate the labyrinth of narrow streets, to the vaulted ceilings of St Peter’s Cathedral.

The Romans’ march through Europe paused at Montpellier and there is still evidence of their indefatigable ability to build on a grand scale in the remains of an aqueduct which skirts the city centre.

The neo-classicists had their say, too, in the Antigone district thanks to the Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill.

At one end of Place de la Comédie lies Place de L’œuf or Egg Square – a contradiction in terms, surely – but labelled because of its egg-shaped road that, until it was pedestrianised in the late 1980s, was a busy thoroughfare.

In its centre stands the Statue of the Three Graces, a magnificent fountain which, when erected, was Europe’s first free water supply for the residents of the city, fed by an underground spring. Don’t be tempted to drink from it now – yet another concession to modern pollution.

In wandering the many streets off the Place de la Comédie, you will notice many bars with terraces which, by day, often seem deserted but, by night, are the favourite hang-out for Montpellier’s 60,000 students.

Montpellier is renowned as the centre of medicine in France thanks to Guilhem VIII who decreed in 1180 that anyone, regardless of religion, colour or creed, could teach medicine in the city. It led to the foundation of the world’s oldest medical school and the first hospitals around which guided tours can be arranged including the St-Côme Anatomy Amphitheatre and the Botanical Gardens.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the heart of the old town occupies the site of the first surgical theatre where young students practised their craft on cadavers.

Montpellier, the capital of the Languedoc-Rousillon region of France, has a rich religious past and while following in the footsteps of thousands of like-minded tourists, you are sure to come across bronze studs embedded in the roads and pavements.

These markers, every five or six yards, indicate you are treading the Camin Roumieu (Pilgrims’ Way), one of four routes out of the city which millions of faithful have walked on their pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella. It prompted UNESCO to grant it preferred status as a world Heritage site.

Follow the trail throughout the city to its limits but thereafter you will need a map.

Just around the corner from the start of the Camin Roumieu is the neo-gothic Church de St Roch, a functioning shrine to the city’s greatest son and one of its most famous pilgrims. Born in the late 13th century, he is revered for his lifetime’s work in trying to find a cure for the plague.

Deprived of his parents when about 20-years-old, he distributed his fortune among the poor, handed over to his uncle the government of Montpellier, and set out for Italy.

After recovering from serious illness himself – possibly the plague – he returned to his home only to be imprisoned for refusing to disclose his identity. He was taken for a spy in the disguise of a pilgrim and five years later he died only to be identified by the cross-shaped birthmark on his chest. He was, accordingly, given a public funeral and later sanctified.

Today a statue stands inside the church in his honour but before you come across it there is an even more remarkable facet to the Church de Saint Roch.

On the plain wall opposite, the city leaders have allowed an artist to paint a fake façade, depicting doorways, windows, including lounging cats, curious children and a reflection of the church’s huge entrance and stained glass windows. Only closer inspection reveals the ruse.

My knowledgeable guide Sabine, having been given the keys to many of the city’s landmark attractions, was able to show me views of the city that others rarely see, including a visit to the roof of the formidable L’Arc de Triomphe.

Built in 1691 to mimic the arches of many other French cities, it stands like a sentinel over the city and is a constant reminder to the inhabitants of King Louis XIV.

As Montpellier continues to develop it continues to unearth remarkable glimpses of its past and Sabine had reserved one such discovery until last.

Buried deep within the basement of one of the old family townhouses lay a secret that was only discovered 20 years ago when heavy rains flooded what the owner was using as a wine cellar.

The waters rose but never subsided and inquisitive builders discovered an ancient mikvé, which was a Jewish ceremonial bath, usually reserved for ritual bathing before a significant event such as a wedding.

The mikvé, accessible only on one of the excellent guided tours around Montpellier, is one of very few vestiges of the major medieval Jewish community that settled in the city after the expulsion of Jews from Spain under Queen Isabelle.

It offers a window on the past and it is astonishing to think that one of the most recent finds is actually one of the oldest artefacts in this city of ancient and modern times.

• TRAVEL FACTS

* Fraser Thomson stayed at Golf de Fontcaude, Route de Lodeve, 34990, Juvignac, Montpellier. Tel: +33 (0) 4 67 45 90 00; Fax: +33 (0) 4 67 45 90 20. www.golfhotelmontpellier.com .

* All bookings can be made through www.golfinfrance.com.

* Standard rates: 750 euros pp per week b&b, including seven rounds of golf (two of which can be taken at other golf courses in the area excluding transfers). Week can be taken starting on any day. Or 120 euros pp per day b&b plus one round of golf per day. Children under 16, 20 euros pp supplement. Price also includes extra rounds on nine hole academy course subject to availability.

* Golf Hotel de Fontcaude can also offer teaching breaks with two hours of morning tuition by resident professionals for 50 euros pp per day, minimum of eight people.

* Transfers to and from airports, ie Nimes, Montpellier, Perpignan and Carcassone, or car hire can be arranged through Golf in France.

* Flights were with Ryanair from Nottingham East Midlands to Nimes for £13.69 including taxes but prices usually start at approx. £50-60 return. Contact: www.ryanair.com for further details.

* For details about Languedoc-Rousillon, contact the Languedoc-Rousillon Regional Tourist Board, CS 79507, 34960, Montpellier, Cedex 2, France. Tel: +33 (0) 4 67 22 81 00. Email contact.crtlr@sunftrance.com or visit www.sunfrance.com.