Mr & Mrs Smith

At 2 rue de la Carbonnerie, L’Heure Bleue is a trifold temptation, rolling a tearoom, art gallery and antiques shop into one (+33 (0)4 67 66 41 05). Carnivores and/or oenophiles should head to Le Comptoir de l’Arc at 2 rue Hôtel de Ville, which serves an exquisite steak tartare au pesto (+33 (0)4 67 60 30 79). Close to the Musée Fabre at 39 boulevard Bonne Nouvelle, Insense is famed for its foie gras crème brûlée (+33 (0)4 67 58 97 78). Make sure you book in plenty of time if you want to go gastro at La Maison de la Lozère at 27 rue de l’Aiguillerie; it’s one of the finest restaurants in town, and accordingly popular (+33 (0)4 67 66 46 36).

Make time for the facelifted Musée Fabre. It may not be the place for Picassos or Monets, but is well endowed with art gems from the 1600s to the 1900s. The Halles Castellane, on the corner of Rue Saint-Guilhem and Rue de la Loge, is a covered food market, selling fresh fruit, flowers and, crucially, bread and saucisson. Montpellier is eminently flâneur-friendly: once you’ve explored the Ecusson (the lovely old centre), stroll further afield to grittier Cours Gambetta, the neoclassical housing estates of Antigone or studenty Rue de l’Université.

August Strike out for the nearby fishing port of Sète, home to Paul Valery, and witness the implausible but impressive Languedoc sport of water-jousting during the Fêtes de la St Louis.