The café culture of France is world renowned and if you are coming to Montpellier to take in intensive French course for adults you are probably going to want to soak up a bit of this culture as well. You have no shortage of choice that’s for sure. If you type best cafés in Montpellier into google and look at the map you barely see the roads there are so many red dots. So I compiled a little bit of information here for you as a starting point. There are loads of great café’s I’ve left off here so don’t use this as an absolute guide but it should provide a good framework.
Great Places Near the Easy French Language School
First I will start with a few places near the immersion school for you to enjoy a nice lunch or a morning coffee before your French classes start.
Café Bun: We’ll start with this lovely little place that is just one street over from the school. It opens early Tuesday to Friday so you can pop in for some breakfast and then when time to start your French classes comes you can be at the school in 30 seconds. The décor is slightly more modern. I personally prefer the cosy feel to the stylish but there is lots of outside seating so on nice days it’s my favourite to go. You can enjoy really nicely made coffee in all its forms with the artistic barista skills that add that extra touch. The food here is great too with lots of fresh breakfast and lunchy stuff available: eggs, thick toast/ baguettes, salads, fruits, oatmeal etc. and its veggie friendly. The smoothies and fruit juices here are quite impressive especially when enjoyed on the terrace on a hot day.
Fairview Café: Again this little place is just round the corner from the Easy French School. The hot drinks they serve here come with some interesting quirky designs and the place generally has quite an original feel. The food on offer here is definitely hearty; pancakes, eggs, breakfast muffins, bacon and sausages etc. (these last few make it extremely interesting to an English guy like myself). The pancakes are the speciality though and are always nice and thick, cooked beautifully golden available with a variety of extras. There’s plenty of fruit and veg to though if you fancy the healthier option.
HOMECOFFE Ecusson: Pretty much across the road from the language school this is a great place to pick up something if you really are in a rush. It has a bit less of an authentic feel to the previous ones but it’s always cosy, does decent cold food and some paninis which you can heat up. It is very comfy and pretty much always has seating thanks to a big second floor so it’s great to have right on your doorstep.
Best Places in the Historic Centre for Some Coffee
Coffee Club: This is my personal favourite right now. They have a brilliant selections of healthy vegetarian and vegan food and they keep the menu fresh. They do a lovely avocado and salmon on thick toast lunch for a reasonable price that I love and they do fresh fruit and oatmeal pots that make a nice snack. It’s in a great spot as it’s between the French school and the Arc de triomphe and Parc Peyrou so it’s great to get another coffee to go and stroll around after lunch.
Mary Cherry: Located very close to Coffee Club but quite a contrast as this is where you can go to get that sugar fix. The cakes here are the main talking point. They do all the regular teas and coffees including some original stuff but the cakes….. they are sublime. All sorts of just incredible looking stuff all handmade and carefully presented. Take a look at some of the photos online and you will see exactly what I mean.
So there are a few to get you started, we are very lucky at the EasyFrench Immersion School to have so many amazing cafés so close. They are right there for us to enjoy between our French studies and it’s so easy but Montpellier is large and there are tons of places to be explored but hey if you find one you love you enjoy it!