Travel Information
Reaching the Venue
There are two main options to reach La Grand-Motte from Montpellier:
By Taxi: La Grand-Motte is around 25km away from town; a taxi ride will cost you €50-65 and will take around 25 minutes.
By Public Transport: You can reach the “Place de France” bus station using tram line #1. From there, take bus #106 and get off at “Goelands” stop in La Grande-Motte. The venue hotel Le Quetzal is then a 6 minute walk away. The bus cost is around €2.
Public transport of Montpellier is presented with a network of buses and trams. Tickets for both means of transportation cost equally. The cost is about 1.5 Euro. The tickets can be bought in special boxes installed in close vicinity to any public transport stop and directly from a driver. Buses cruise the city till 21.00 meanwhile trams are on the routes till the midnight.
Drivers should keep in mind that the city center features a rather heavy traffic and driving through some central areas can turn challenging. Main roads are often jammed. And a free parking place is a real challenge in the city. Car for rent is reasonable for those tourists travelling with family and kids or looking for visiting city suburbs rather often.
The most popular means of transportation among local folks and travelers is a bicycle. It can be rented in one of the numerous rental centers Velo Magg scattered all over the city. Tourist information offices will surely offer the travelers a special city map with all the cycling lanes and routes marked.
Most hotels, restaurants, shopping centers and filling stations accept international credit cards. Tourists looking to visiting open markets and small shops located far from the city centers should have enough cash by oneself.
Shopping Hours: Most shopping and entertaining centers, public institutions and governmental establishments work from Monday till Friday. Saturday is considered to be a shortened working day. Large shopping centers can operate seven days a week with the working hours considerably extended.
On weekends one should avoid distant tours. The matter is that the public transport runs less frequently than during the week as well as numerous museums and destinations of tourist interest will be closed for weekends.
Restaurants and cafés welcome tips. In upscale establishments the cash reward is included into the total sum of the bill. Otherwise one should add up to 10 – 15% to the total sum of the order as cash reward meanwhile in small cafes and restaurants as well as in eateries one can just round up the total of the order to any convenient sum.
GETTING AROUND
Car & Motorcycle
As in most large French cities, having a car is more a hindrance than a help in Montpellier. The best idea is to leave your vehicle in one of the vast car parks beside major tram stops such as Odysseum; a €5 ticket buys all-day parking and a tram ticket into town.
Tram & Bus
Christian Lacroix contributed designs for Montpellier’s four-line tram system. Single tickets (valid on trams and buses) cost €1.60; a one-day pass costs €4.30. There are ticket machines at most tram stops, or you can buy them at the tourist office or newsagents.
GETTING TO & FROM THE AIRPORT
Montpellier-Méditerranée Airport: known under the name of Fréjorgues Airport is situated on the south of France, 7km east of Montpellier. Apart from being a commercial airport, it also serves as the centre for French civil aviation university. It is country’s 10th busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic. In 2015 the airport marked the traffic of 1.4 million passengers.
Airport shuttle: The bus which takes you directly to and from the airport is called Navette Aéroport. The get on/get off stop is at Place de l’Europe east of the city centre. The bus stop at Montpellier Airport is on your left outside the terminal.
Line 120 runs every 60 min. The journey takes 15 min. A single ticket costs 1,60€.
NOTE: If you wish to go to the city centre from the Place de l’Europe stop, you can either walk for 10 min or take the tram line 1 towards Mosson. The fourth stop is the main railway station Gare Saint-Roch and the fifth one is the city centre Comédie. On board the Airport Shuttle you can buy a combined ticket for bus and tram for 2,60€.
Public transport: The airport is easily accessible by tram or train.
Train: If you want to reach the airport via train, take the line 1 from Montpellier St Roch Railway Station (direction Odysseum).
Get off at Place de l’Europe Tramway Station. From there, take the airport shuttle (line 120).
Tram: Follow the same steps as for the train.
Taxi service: In order to avoid the crowd in public transport, you can take a taxi for a fare of 26€ to reach the city centre. You can book your taxi online.
Transfer: If you don’t like using the public transport and hesitate to take a taxi, consider booking a private transfer which will wait for you on the airport and take you to your hotel or wherever you need to go. The transfer company will send a professional driver to pick you up. You can even pre-order a child safety seat if you’re travelling with a child.
Renting a car at Montpellier airport: For those of you who would like to reach the city and explore the area on their own, the best option is to rent a car directly at the airport. There are several car rental companies there, such as Avis, Europcar, Sixt, Autorapido and few others. Save time and book your car online.