Montpellier

Web

Other Links

Facebook

Montpellier is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania, Montpellier is the capital of the department of Hérault. In 2017, 285,121 people lived in the city, while its urban area had a population of 616,296. The inhabitants are called “Montpelliérains”.

Montpellier is the third-largest French city near the Mediterranean coast, behind Marseille and Nice. It is the seventh-largest city of France, and is also the fastest-growing city in the country over the past 25 years.

In the Middle Ages, Montpellier was an important city of the Crown of Aragon (and was the birthplace of James I), and then of Majorca, before its sale to France in 1349. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the oldest universities in the world and oldest medical school still in operation, with notable alumni such as PetrarchNostradamus and François Rabelais. Above the medieval city, the ancient citadel of Montpellier is a stronghold built in the seventeenth century by Louis XIII of France.Since the 1990s, Montpellier has experienced one of the strongest economic and demographic growth in the country. Its urban area has experienced the highest population growth in France since the year 2000. Numbering 70,000, students comprise nearly one-fourth of its population, one of the highest such proportions in Europe.[4] Its living environment with one of Europe’s largest pedestrian area, along with its rich cultural life and Mediterranean climate, explain the enthusiasm for the city, which is nicknamed the “Gifted”. Montpellier is ranked as a Sufficiency city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.

Do you want to be up to date with
MedCities projects?

Subscribe to the monthly newsletter to receive the latest news.