Musée du Vieux Montpellier

Montpellier


This municipal museum has a fairly pedestrian collection of local-interest pieces ranging from furniture to paintings and antique weaponry, but it’s worth a visit as it’s one of the few hôtels particuliers (private mansions) open to the public. Highlights include a 15th-century tabernacle that contains a 13th-century Black Virgin, a gilded table-clock and a wonderful ivory cabinet.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Montpellier attractions

1. Hôtel de Varennes

The Hôtel de Varennes is a harmonious 18th-century makeover of a medieval structure; it now contains the city’s small history museum, the Musée du Vieux…

3. Musée Fabre

0.13 MILES

Founded in 1825 by painter François-Xavier Fabre, this exceptional museum houses one of France’s richest collections of European art. The galleries…

4. Hôtel de la Vieille Intendance

0.17 MILES

The early-17th-century Hôtel de la Vieille Intendance was built during the reign of Louis XIII for the queen mother and his niece Marie Louise d’Orléans …

5. Hôtel St-Côme

0.19 MILES

The Hôtel St-Côme is a suitably grand building for the city’s Chamber of Commerce.

6. Carré Sainte-Anne

0.21 MILES

The landmark neogothic St Anne's church, with dazzling stained-glass windows, was deconsecrated in the 1980s and is now a spectacular setting for…

7. Cathédrale St-Pierre

0.3 MILES

Noted for its disproportionately tall porch, Montpellier’s monumental Cathédrale St-Pierre began life as a church attached to the 14th-century monastery…

8. Arc de Triomphe

0.32 MILES

Built in 1695, Montpellier's 52m-high triumphal arch is dedicated to Louis XIV. The tourist office organises guided tours in summer that take you up 103…