A small flat disc of raw goat cheese from the Cévennes foothills, AOP since 2000. Young it is chalky and lactic; dried it goes hard and intensely goaty, and Montpellier kitchens grill it on toast over salad.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
Goats have been kept on the schist and limestone slopes of the Cévennes for as long as the region has been farmed, because the terrain suits nothing larger. The pélardon is made from raw whole milk in discs of about sixty grams, salted and left to ripen for a minimum of eleven days. Kids are born in late winter, so the first cheeses of the year appear in spring and the flavour tracks the season: mild and milky in April, sharp and dry by autumn. The AOP granted in 2000 fixed the area and the method, and every covered market in Montpellier now carries at least one producer selling it at several stages of drying.
Tours, tastings and classes from the cities on this page, bookable on GetYourGuide.
Guided tour · 3 hours
Join us on this fantastic food tour to taste and learn everything you've ever wanted to know about French gastronomy. Savory and sweet specialities...
Day trip · 4 - 4.5 hours
Discover St-Emilion on a guided village tour, followed by a guided visit and tasting of 3-4 wines with a French aperitif platter at a Grand Cru...
Day trip · 4 hours
Discover Southern Beaujolais on a wine tour from Lyon which will show the highlights of this beautiful region. Learn about the history and wine...
Common allergens: Dairy
Halles Castellane is Montpellier's iron-and-glass central market on Rue de la Loge, 25 stalls of cheese, oysters and produce a minute from the Comédie.
TipSeveral stalls shuck Bouzigues oysters to eat on the spot with a glass of Picpoul; go before noon for the full spread.
Halles Laissac packs 24 traders under a rebuilt rotunda on Place Alexandre Laissac in Montpellier, oyster and tielle counters pouring wine into the evening.
TipThursday is the night to come, when the halles run until 23:00 and the central tables turn into one long apéro.
The Marché des Arceaux lines Montpellier's Saint-Clément aqueduct on Tuesday and Saturday, up to 80 producers selling organic vegetables, cheese and flowers.
TipThis is where the city's chefs shop; arrive by 09:00 on Saturday before the best producer stalls sell through.
More cities are in research. Want pélardon des cévennes covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.
