Montpellier Shopping

For me, Montpellier shopping is divided into three main areas;

1. The boutiques dotted throughout the back streets of the city

2. The Polygone shopping centre just off the Place de la Comedie

3. The hypermarkets of all shapes and sizes on the outskirts.

It would be easy to while a way an afternoon and a considerable amount of money shopping in the little boutiques that line the cobbled streets of Montpellier. If you're looking for designer clothes, a pair of sparkly new diamond earrings or even some chic new shoes then it's definitely the place to visit. At least that's what my wife tells me.

The best way to find these boutiques is to make your way to the Place de la Comedie and go from there. It´s very simple to find your way from this Montpellier parking into the centre so don´t worry. When you're standing in the Place de la Comedie, look for the golden arches of Mc Donalds. I know it's not very "South of France" but it's an easy reference point.

When you're standing in front of Mc Donalds, with the Opera house on your left, walk up the side street that leads away from you up the left hand side of Mc Donalds. This is called "Rue de la Loge".

This is the gateway to a lovely part of the town with all sorts of shops and boutiques, even a Virgin Megastore. When you're standing in front of McDonalds, Rue Massane (next road over to your left) is also a good starting point. This area of small, cobbled streets is an ideal place to lose yourself in some Montpellier shopping, with bundles of attractive clothes, jewellery and other consumer goods outlets.

Also leading off the Place de la Comedie is the Polygone shopping centre. Three floors, 120 shops and 2000 parking spaces, all air-conditioned and all easy to find. Just head for the opposite end of the square, away from the Opera house, then follow the crowds off to the right. You can't miss it. If you're not sure, just ask, and anyone will point you in the right direction.

Then there's the hypermarkets, full of legends about unbelievably cheap wine and beer. Because Montpellier is a fairly large place, there's more than one cluster of "Out of town" Montpellier shopping areas. The one we use, and in my opinion the easiest to find, is near the airport.

• Exit the A9 motorway at junc 29 and follow the signs for the airport.

• Take the first exit you come to. The one with "Decathlon" (a large sports shop) on your right.

• Either stop off to pick up some great bargains on all sorts of sporting goods from Decathlon or follow the road until you join the dual carriageway ahead, heading right.

• Follow this road until you see yet another Mc Donalds ahead of you on your left.

• Turn left, just before Mc Donalds, into the car park for "Carrefour". Carrefour is one of the largest, if not the largest chains of hypermarkets in France, and a good place to start.

• If you didn't turn off before Mc Donalds, you'd come up to a roundabout.

• Turn left at the roundabout and work your way along noting all the superstores along on your right.

• Eventually you'll come to a set of traffic lights with "Auchan" (another very large chain of hypermarkets) on your right.

• Turn right at the lights noticing "Alinea" (a kind of mini Ikea) on your left.

• As soon as you've turned right, bear right into the Auchan carpark. This way you can check out Auchan and then walk across the road to Alinea.

This whole area is teaming with megastores, so your best bet is to just drive around and see what you can see. Hopefully this will give you a bit of a starting point for some serious Montpellier shopping.