Marseille or Montpellier?

[MarkusN123]

Hi folks! I am planning my exchange semester in the spring and is wondering about the best places to bring my road bike. My school gives me the option between Marseille or Montpellier in the south of France - but any information about the road scene seems scarce. I am quite the enthusiast and ride about 12 000 km in a year.

If you have any information about the road cycling conditions in either cities, I would really appreciate it

 

[Sciatic]

Hi folks! I am planning my exchange semester in the spring and is wondering about the best places to bring my road bike. My school gives me the option between Marseille or Montpellier in the south of France - but any information about the road scene seems scarce. I am quite the enthusiast and ride about 12 000 km in a year.

If you have any information about the road cycling conditions in either cities, I would really appreciate it

If you’ll be taking long rides that leave the city center to outlying areas the car& truck traffic will be much more challenging in Marseille a larger city), if that makes a difference for you.

Hope you have a great experience whichever you choose.

 

[L'arriviste]

Hi folks! I am planning my exchange semester in the spring and is wondering about the best places to bring my road bike. My school gives me the option between Marseille or Montpellier in the south of France - but any information about the road scene seems scarce. I am quite the enthusiast and ride about 12 000 km in a year.

If you have any information about the road cycling conditions in either cities, I would really appreciate it

Marseille is a sprawling city, not really ideal for cycling unless you're prepared to spend a lot of time navigating in and out and/or you're close to the edge already but the surrounding region does have some great roads once you're out there, particularly deep in the garrigue northeast of town.

I spent a month in Montpellier some years ago in a northern suburb close to the centre and I really enjoyed it. I was there late-Jan to late-Feb and I think I saw perhaps two or three rainy days. It could be cold at times but not normally less than 10 deg C. Also Montpellier is situated between the Tramontana and the Mistral so it doesn't really get any of those high winds for which the littoral is infamous.

The cycling infrastructure's very good. There are dedicated bike paths on the big axes of the city so it's easy to get in and out and you have lots of options from there. No really big cols but some good climbing in the area (e.g. La Taillade, Pic Saint Loup), smooth and quiet roads and you can always come down to the coast for some flat riding.

As for the social aspect I didn't join any group rides but there were a lot of other cyclists on the road even during the weekdays and I seem to recall one of the local bike shops having a couple of organised rides a week.

 

[MarkusN123]

Marseille is a sprawling city, not really ideal for cycling unless you're prepared to spend a lot of time navigating in and out and/or you're close to the edge already but the surrounding region does have some great roads once you're out there, particularly deep in the garrigue northeast of town.

I spent a month in Montpellier some years ago in a northern suburb close to the centre and I really enjoyed it. I was there late-Jan to late-Feb and I think I saw perhaps two or three rainy days. It could be cold at times but not normally less than 10 deg C. Also Montpellier is situated between the Tramontana and the Mistral so it doesn't really get any of those high winds for which the littoral is infamous.

The cycling infrastructure's very good. There are dedicated bike paths on the big axes of the city so it's easy to get in and out and you have lots of options from there. No really big cols but some good climbing in the area (e.g. La Taillade, Pic Saint Loup), smooth and quiet roads and you can always come down to the coast for some flat riding.

As for the social aspect I didn't join any group rides but there were a lot of other cyclists on the road even during the weekdays and I seem to recall one of the local bike shops having a couple of organised rides a week.

Wow! Thank you so much for your insights! This really sold me on Montpellier!

 

[DoYouEvenRideBruh]

I spent my summer holidays frolicking around southern France on a bike, and would also recommend Montpellier over Marseilles from a pure road cycling perspective.

Given the time and occasion, there is also the Canal du Midi cycle path stretching from Sète, a town just outside Montpellier, all the way to Toulouse. It's full of pretty cool sights, and totally doable on a road bike.