Like a local: Montpellier

I think the verb “haunting” is the only appropriate word for how my year abroad still exists in my life. It exists as a fragment of myself, kept in a kaleidoscope of memories, people and smells.

I close my eyes, and I’m back there.

“Oh, I’m leaving for France in August. I can’t believe how soon it’s come around.”

And now, I can’t believe how fast it’s come to an end.

I’ve been home for almost a year, and have had so much time to reflect on how much I grew in Montpellier, and how much living alone in a foreign country truly shapes you.

What a privilege it is to be so affected by something, to feel so much for an experience that was, after all, nothing more than fleeting.

Despite the transient nature of that year, I did so much to fill my time.

This article will be an exploration of that very occupation.

A bar, a park and a café.

Can you name a better trio?

They have seen every single type of person, who has too sat there, drinking red wine with their friends, an inebriated glitter shining in their eyes as they wonder: How could I ever be happier than this?

Le Rebuffy

Le Rebuffy is a staple of Montpellier nightlife, a two-euro wine haven with a funky elephant-laden exterior and (the name Le Rebuffy stumped my friends and me for 9 months, is Rebuffy an animal? A person?), an ambient, dimly-lit inside; and cigarette smoke that lightly infuses the room, seeming to be France’s own personal incense.

The owner is slightly grumpy, but we managed to finally befriend him after eight months.

We moved up to fist-bump status on my last day in France.

Every piece of furniture has definitely been there since its opening in 1999. The chairs have seen every possible type of customer. They have seen every single type of person, who has too sat there, drinking red wine with their friends, an inebriated glitter shining in their eyes as they wonder: How could I ever be happier than this?

Le Rebuffy seemed to act as that very question for the 9 months I was in that sunlit city, it was everything I imagined my adult life to be.

Go there, and order a demi-carafe of their house wine.

Find out who Rebuffy is for me.

Grab a pain au chocolat, and a book, and explore these gardens. Climb the monument and sit at the top. Watch the city skyline, and let it exhale the sun

Parc de Peyrou

I came here on my very first day in Montpellier, an afternoon that was full of picnicking and wine-tasting.

I watched the sunset drip into the distance, melt into the horizon as it was ablaze with gold.

24 hours before that moment, I had been terrified to be in France by myself. I was stricken with fear, propelled into a sheer panic of the unknown.

It was only as I sat there that evening, as I felt the wine trickle down my throat, and as I caught my friend’s eye while she burst into a fit of giggles, that I knew that I’d be okay.

That feeling of tranquility followed me as I walked around the park so many more times as the year progressed, as the seasons changed.

Sunbathing in the summer, the Christmas market in the winter, and the beautiful stillness of the twilight seasons.

Grab a pain au chocolat, and a book, and explore these gardens. Climb the monument and sit at the top.

Watch the city skyline, and let it exhale the sun.

It has been very popular for over 10 years now, bringing an Australian brunch-like feel which aligns with Montpellier’s relaxed pace perfectly

Coffee Club

This was a later discovery, from a random whim of mine to find the best coffee in the city.

This café, is a bit off the beaten track, being located on the lovely Rue Saint-Guilhem, a charming road just out of the centre.

But through the cobbled streets, through the reverberations of the tram sounds and the rustic bistros, lies Coffee Club.

It has been very popular for over 10 years now, bringing an Australian brunch-like feel which aligns with Montpellier’s relaxed pace perfectly. This place uses top-quality coffee beans, so your order will be roasted to perfection.

I’ve only ever had their baked goods (matcha cookie and a delicious slice of cake) and consumed copious amounts of caffeine, and never properly eaten here.

Whether it’s a smoothie bowl, or your classic avocado toast, I’m sure what they make is nothing less than how their coffee tastes.

The staff are charming, interesting and inviting. I always used to hear such a mix of accents, a bit of Kiwi here and an American twang there. It is a melting pot of cultures, all uniting under one roof to share the experience of relishing a hot drink.

What a better human experience to choose to indulge in?

Montpellier moves on without me, and will continue to do so. I hold onto the echoes of my time here, a shimmer of a moment that can now exist on a page, forever an inscription of feelings that can only really exist when you know you won’t be somewhere forever.

I hope this article reminds you of a place that is as special.

Hold it close.