Montpellier Ville

            The Streets of Montpellier

Montpellier is a medieval city. I know this, its part of the city’s heritage (patrimoine). But wandering the streets, with their modern, brightly-lit shops, cafés and restaurants overflowing with patrons, and, increasingly, the tattoo parlors and CBD shops, it’s easy to forget its medieval beginnings.

The photo on this poster shows that this is no new town. The narrow streets, the red tile roofs, the very layout of the city make clear its ancient origins. In the lower left is Sainte Anne’s (no longer a church, now a community center) whose tall steeple we often see rising above the surrounding buildings. We regularly pass through this area, but until I saw this poster I really didn’t get how long this city has been around!

My photo of a poster showing a fantastic aerial view of a neighborhood in Montpellier

Since seeing this poster I’ve been paying more attention to the streets of le vieille ville. Here’s some photos of streets we pass through every day…

Ok, so this one is just outside the the city center. That's the steeple of St. Anne's on the left. While Napoleon's Droits de l'homme guarantees freedom of religion in France, the impact of traditional Catholicism is still evident.

Yup, St. Anne's again, from within the city

Let's take a stroll through some of those narrow streets and see what we find...

This one is a real treat!

And here's a great shopping street

There is a some very quirky art in the streets of Montpellier. I don't know where these tiles come from or who puts them up, but it's fun to find them on the corners of buildings!

Ah. What else would you expect on Street of the Swan?

...and some funny little mosaics!

Some funny little characters on tiles...

My favorite, though, is at the top of our street, Rue de la Merci or Thank-you Street...

Because de rien—it’s nothing—is the perfect reply to "Thank you"!

             Morning Bells

Every morning we hear the bells. Oh, it’s not obnoxious. In fact, it’s pretty nice. Charming, even. We can see the belfry from our window, less than a hundred meters (ok, yards) away. We can’t actually see the bells—it’s an enclosed belfry—but we know they have to be in there!

Paula's watercolor of the belfry, seen from our bedroom

At first we thought maybe they rang at sunrise. Either that, or 8 AM. (Yes, sunrise at 8 AM in October!) It wasn’t until the time change (the Daylight Savings Time change which happens at the end of October here) that it became clear: every morning at 8 AM.  And then again at 7 PM.

These bells have a very distinctive pattern (making me wonder: do different churches have different patterns, so listeners will know which church to attend? Kinda like lighthouses, each with its own flash sequence?) First, a deep bell; then a smaller, higher bell just lays into it, with a steady stream of tintinnabulation (such a lovely word, and so few opportunities to use it!).

We occasionally hear the bells while lying in bed, although more often awaken after they’ve finished. (I do recall, once, hearing the bells after having lain awake in the darkness for some time; I remember the beginning, but not the end. It seems the reassurance of the bells allowed me, finally, to fall back asleep.)

Just this morning I was able to capture the sounds. Click the link…

Morning Bells

(And if that doesn't work, click here!)

Morning Bells