Note: this is a series of articles about a town in France, some 4000 miles away from Vermont’s capital.
Introduction
The second largest town in France during the Middle Ages, after Paris itself, Montpellier has an important transit network, made of three types of lines:
- regular buses
- regional buses
- tramway (light rail)
Overview of the hubs
Having lived myself there, I can say that the public transit is well developed around the center of the town. The single most important place of Montpellier is the square of the railway station (Saint-Roch). It is a major transportation hub, where many urban lines cross each other. So far the station doesn’t have a dedicated web site, although it deserves to have one.
The other hub is connecting the urban and regional lines and is called Occitanie. From here, one can travel to the towns west of Montpellier. There are other smaller hubs, like Odysseum or the new railway station Sud de France. The town is developing at a fast pace.
A city of records
Before diving into the specifics of public transportation, one must know that Montpellier is holding several records:
- the first botanical garden in France (early 1600s)
- the largest zoological park in the south of France (lost its national top position in 1980s)
- the oldest medical school in the world still active (late 1200s)
One could also mention the old seaport of Lattes. For centuries, Montpellier has been close to the largest seaport in France, until the advent of that of Marseilles. Maybe it could shine again in the future, who knows. One thing is sure: Montpellier has a long history of public transportation, urban, regional and international. It is good to know that Barcelona is just 3 hours away by rail and the travel time will shrink in the future, thanks to the high speed rail.
And now ?
I couldn’t help but present a bit the town. Be ready for dive into the urban transit in a future article (click on “next”)
Some links
You can always use a web translator (i.e. Google or Bing) in order to have an English version.
- the official page of the town is in French.
- the botanical garden has long served the medical school with rare plants.
- the zoological park
Be sure to come back later….
The Spline 