Day-by-day eating plans for Montpellier: weekend classics, family routes, vegan plans, on-a-budget editions.

Making a weekend of it

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Day-by-day plans

Montpellier weekend: the markets, the bistronomy and the Languedoc glass

  • ★ 4.5
  • 2 days
  • First-time visitor, two days

A Saturday and Sunday built around the two things Montpellier does better than any city its size: covered markets that open at seven in the morning, and a wine list that never has to leave the Languedoc.

  1. Day 1Saturday: the Arceaux market, then the Ecusson

    Morning
    Start under the aqueduct arches at the Marché des Arceaux, open Tuesday and Saturday from 07:00 to 13:30 and the best producer morning in the city. Buy pélardon, Lucques olives and whatever fruit the Hérault plain has in. Walk down to Café Bun on Rue des Etuves for a filter coffee in the room behind the Opéra Comédie.
    Afternoon
    Cross into the Ecusson for Halles Castellane, the iron-and-glass hall on Rue de la Loge, open until 20:00 on Saturdays. Buy a bag of grisettes at a market stall, then take a table at Les Canons on Rue de Candolle from midday for small plates and a glass of Pic Saint-Loup.
    Evening
    Dinner at La Canourgue, the Pourcel brothers' bistronomy room on the square of the same name, service from 19:30. Finish with a cocktail at Aperture on Rue des Trésoriers de la Bourse, open Tuesday to Saturday until 01:00.

    StopsCafé BunLes CanonsAperture

  2. Day 2Sunday: Laissac, oysters and the Marché du Lez

    Morning
    Breakfast at Maison L'Œuf on the Faubourg de la Saunerie, open 08:15 to 18:00 on Sundays, for the chocolate and truffle pastry that gives the house its name. Then walk to Halles Laissac, which runs Sunday from 07:00 to 15:00.
    Afternoon
    Order a dozen Bouzigues oysters standing at the Mélissa Coquillages counter inside Laissac, open Sunday until 13:00, with a glass of Picpoul de Pinet. Tram out to the Marché du Lez, where the brocante runs 10:00 to 19:00 and the food-truck yard of La Street Food du Lez serves through the afternoon.
    Evening
    Stay at the Marché du Lez and climb to Muchacha on the roof of the Halles, open every night from 18:00 to 01:00, for Mexican sharing plates and a Latin floor after 23:00.

    StopsMaison L'ŒufMélissa CoquillagesMarché du LezLa Street Food du LezMuchacha

Rather go with a guide?

Pic Saint-Loup Wine Tour with Winery Visit

★ 4.9 (327)5 hoursfrom €82

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Three days inside Montpellier's bistronomy cluster

  • ★ 4.6
  • 3 days
  • Returning visitor eating seriously, three days

Wednesday to Friday, when every small Ecusson kitchen is open at once. Sunday and Monday closures are endemic here, Ebullition shuts all weekend and Pastis stops serving dinner after Friday, so a midweek run is the only way to eat the whole cluster without losing a night to a locked door.

  1. Day 1Wednesday: filter coffee, a market lunch and Ébullition

    Morning
    Coldrip on Rue Glaize opens at 11:00 on Wednesdays and pours the most considered filter coffee in the Ecusson. Take a brew flight rather than an espresso.
    Afternoon
    Walk five minutes to Halles Castellane for an hour among the stalls, then lunch at L'Oignon Givré on Rue de l'Université, weekday service only from 12:00 to 14:30, where the crudité buffet is unlimited and the plat du jour costs €10.
    Evening
    Apéritif at Pousse Pas Mémé dans la Vigne on Rue des Étuves, a cave à manger with more than 400 references that opens daily from 09:30 to 01:00. Dinner at Ébullition on Rue du Pila Saint-Gély, open Tuesday to Friday only, with menus from €69.

    StopsColdrip Food and CoffeeL'Oignon GivréPousse Pas Mémé dans la VigneÉbullition

  2. Day 2Thursday: sourdough, dumplings and the late hall

    Morning
    Buy a loaf at Boulangerie Daveloza on Rue du Grand Saint-Jean, open from 09:30, then take beans from La Brûlerie du Courreau in Figuerolles, roasting since 1979 and open 09:00 to 12:30.
    Afternoon
    Lunch at Li's Raviolis Chinois on Rue de l'Université, open every day 11:30 to 14:30, where ten hand-folded dumplings cost €6.60. Spend the afternoon walking the Peyrou and the aqueduct.
    Evening
    Halles Laissac stays open until 23:00 on Thursdays, the one late market night in Montpellier, so take an apéritif there before dinner at Pastis on Rue Terral, serving Tuesday to Friday from 19:00.

    StopsBoulangerie DavelozaLa Brûlerie du CourreauLi's Raviolis ChinoisPastis

  3. Day 3Friday: brunch, focaccia and the Pourcel table

    Morning
    Brunch at Bonobo on Rue Saint-Guilhem, weekday service 10:00 to 14:30, for eggs Benedict in the plant-filled front room.
    Afternoon
    A focaccia from Fabiano Focaccia on Rue Saint-Guilhem, open Friday until 17:00, eaten standing. Then an hour in the MO.CO. Panacée courtyard round the corner.
    Evening
    Wine and charcuterie at La Part des Anges on Rue Collot from 18:00, then dinner at Jardin des Sens inside the Hôtel Richer de Belleval, which serves Friday lunch and dinner from 20:00. Close at Le Clandestin on Rue de la Valfère, piano bar until 01:00.

    StopsBonoboFabiano FocacciaLa Part des AngesLe Clandestin

A student-budget day in Montpellier

  • ★ 4.2
  • 1 day
  • Budget traveller or student, one day

Montpellier is a university city where roughly a fifth of the population is a student, and prices follow. This is a full day of eating well on under €40, built around Tuesday when both the Arceaux and Plan Cabanes markets are running.

  1. Day 1Tuesday: two markets, dumplings and a brewpub

    Morning
    The Marché des Arceaux runs Tuesday 07:00 to 13:30 under the aqueduct and costs nothing to walk. Buy bread, olives and cheese for later, then take an alfajor at Station Sucrée on Rue de l'Université, the Argentine pastry counter where nothing passes €10.
    Afternoon
    Lunch at Li's Raviolis Chinois, ten dumplings for €6.60, open daily 11:30 to 14:30. Walk west to the Marché Plan Cabanes on Cours Gambetta, open Tuesday to Sunday until 13:30, the most mixed produce market in the city and the cheapest.
    Evening
    A fully vegan burger at Vegorilla on Rue du Puits des Esquilles, dinner service from 19:00 and gluten-free bread on request. Finish at La Barbote in Beaux-Arts, a brewpub open every night until 01:00 where the beer is made on site.

    StopsStation SucréeLi's Raviolis ChinoisVegorillaLa Barbote

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