Montpellier's main square — vast, oval, paved in white stone, and lined with belle époque cafés and the grand façade of the Opéra Comédie at one end. The square has been pedestrianised since the 1980s and now functions as the city's outdoor living room, where students, tourists, and skateboarders share the same space all day.
The Three Graces fountain in the centre — Aglaea, Euphrosyne and Thalia from Greek mythology — is the meeting point for the city. From here the Esplanade Charles-de-Gaulle stretches north toward the Corum conference centre and the Fabre Museum; west, the pedestrian Rue de la Loge climbs up into the medieval Écusson; south, the Polygone shopping centre and the postmodern Antigone quarter begin.