Photo spot in Montpellier
The Promenade du Peyrou and the Arc de Triomphe
A royal terrace with Louis XIV on horseback, a temple-like water tower and an aqueduct running away from it.
About The Promenade du Peyrou and the Arc de Triomphe
Get directionsThe Peyrou is the highest point of the old town, laid out as a royal promenade: a long terrace of gravel and lawns with an equestrian statue of Louis XIV in the middle, stone balustrades along the edges and, at the far end, the Château d'Eau, a little hexagonal temple that once received the city's water. From behind it, the Saint-Clément aqueduct sets off on its double row of arches across the Arceaux district.
You enter through the Arc de Triomphe raised to the glory of Louis XIV, and the axis from the arch to the water tower is the classic frame: a couple centred under the arch, or small on the long terrace with the temple behind.
The terrace faces west over the plain, so late afternoon and sunset give warm side light; the arches of the aqueduct are best in the hour before, from the lanes of the Arceaux below.
Best time to shoot
Late afternoon and sunset on the terrace; the hour before for the aqueduct arches
Tips
Shoot the arch from the terrace side so the street behind it stays clear. On market mornings, stalls set up under the aqueduct in the Arceaux — lively for candid pictures, crowded for portraits.
Other spots in Montpellier
Place de la Comédie and the Écusson
A vast pale square in front of the opera house, and behind it a maze of stone lanes and hidden courtyards.
Antigone and the river Lez
Ricardo Bofill's neoclassical district: colonnades, symmetrical squares and a monumental axis that walks down to the river.
The dunes of the Grand Travers
A wild Mediterranean beach between Carnon and La Grande-Motte, with dunes instead of buildings behind the sand.
Ready to book?
Our concierge team will hand-pick 2-3 photographers who know The Promenade du Peyrou and the Arc de Triomphe — free of charge.
