4 Best Sights in Toulouse and the Languedoc, France

At the far-east end of the city loop, Montpellier seems to transform itself into a futuristic metropolis designed in one smooth, low-slung postmodern style. This is the Antigone district, the result of city planners' efforts (and local industries' commitment) to pull Montpellier up out of its economic doldrums. It worked. This ideal neighborhood, designed by the Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill, covers 100-plus acres with plazas, esplanades, shops, restaurants, and low-income housing constructed out of stone-color, prestressed concrete. Don't miss Place du Nombre d'Or—symmetrically composed of curves—and the long vista that stretches down a mall of cypress trees to the glass-fronted Hôtel de Region.

When peace arrived in the late Middle Ages, the town prospered and many rich residents built pink-sandstone Gothic-style houses—a sizable number of which still line the main street, Grand-rue Raymond VII. Today, many are occupied by painters, sculptors, weavers, leatherworkers, and even creators of illuminated manuscripts, whose ateliers and stores lure the summer crowds.

To see some interesting medieval buildings, walk along the Petite Rue des Fabriques d'En Nabot—near Le Castillet—to the adjacent Place de la Loge, the town's nerve center.

Place Picasso is the heart of Old Céret, and the sardana dancers and castellers (human tower troops) who perform here are evidence of the pride locals take in their Catalan heritage. While in this pretty quarter, stroll around Place de la Fontaine des Neuf Jets (Nine Fountains Square). Drop into the church, wander out to the lovely fortified Porte de France gateway, then leave the historic town center and head toward the single-arched medieval Pont du Diable (the Devil's Bridge) on the perimeter of town, said to have been built by the Devil himself in a single night.