Port Marianne The

Port Marianne The fast-rising Port Marianne district features canals and a small lake which is home to ducks and giant water rats (which I thought were otters, they’re very cute). It’s lined by low height apartments of all different shapes but with a continuous theme of low central penthouses. The light in the area is great and the colours too - from deep blue of the Jean Nouvel designed Hotel de Ville to deep chocolate on a swanky block of flats. Cafés, restaurants and shops are opening on a regular basis and the tram service (some of them designed by fashion legend Christian Lacroix) reaches all the news residential areas. The area is an architectural fan’s dream. The result is stunning and the NY Times has placed Montpellier in the top 100 architectural cities to see before you die. Where to eat in the new town Terminal # 1 run by the Pourcel brothers (who at 22 were the youngest Michelin star chefs in France). Terminal # 1 is a great place for a drink, the food is quite fancy, certainly delicious, and though they're not searching for a star with this one, the quality is there. The RBC Kitchen is filled with design items for the whole home, as well as a basement area with affordable items. It might not strike you as the best place to go to eat but it has a fabulous restaurant hardly known by tourists but loved by savvy locals for its architectural style and stylish menu. La Gazette, Montpellier’s weekly magazine of events and news, has a cool, organic café in an old garage that’s popular with arty types.

The seaside Get out of the city and take a dip in the Mediterranean Sea. With an unspoiled coastline, silky sand beaches and jut 10km from the centre of town, the beaches of Montpellier make for a fabulous day at the seaside. Petit Travers and Grand Travers (between the Grande Motte and Carnon), Palavasles-Flots, Aresquiers in Frontignan, or Espiguette in Le Grau-du-Roi, are ideal for water sports or just lazing about. You can reach them by bus or tram from the city centre (check at the tourist office for services/times), for instance Tram Line 3 will take around 45 minutes to Pérols, a mere 800m from the Mediterranean Sea. How to get there: Take the train – just 3 hours from Pars (check) 5 hours from Lille (both on the Eurostar route). Its extraordinary that in such a short time you’ll find yourself plunged into the heart of Languedoc Roussillon, Occitainie as the new super region is called (Languedoc Rousillon merged with Midi-Pyrenees). By air - Montpellier airport is just 10 minutes’ drive from the city Stay at Hotel les Occitanes makes for a great base with roomy studios close to the station Useful websites: www.destinationsuddefrance.com; www.montpellier-france.com