Tower of the Pines

To admire another remarkable piece of Montpellier’s history, just walk 120 meters from here and you’ll find the Tower of the Pines, quietly nestled in a small square. It’s one of the last surviving towers from the medieval ramparts built in the early 13th century under Lord Guilhem VIII. Back then, 25 towers guarded the old city — today, only two remain: the Tower of the Pines and the Babote Tower. Given everything they’ve endured, including the Wars of Religion and the Catholic Counter-Reformation, their survival is quite something. The Tower of the Pines originally stood 29 meters high, but today reaches 25. After it lost its defensive role in 1592, it went through many lives — a prison during the French Revolution, a convent for repentant young women in the 1800s, then a city archive from 1886 to 2000, housing over 4,000 documents. Since 2003, it’s been home to the Barons of Caravètes, a local brotherhood that honors Montpellier families with deep roots in the city. But beyond its history, the tower is also at the heart of a local legend — and one that explains its name. If you look closely at the top of the tower, you’ll spot two trees peeking out. According to tradition, Nostradamus, who studied medicine in Montpellier in 1529, was fascinated by the sight of two pine trees growing from its roof. He supposedly predicted, “When the pines disappear, the city will perish.” So you can imagine the alarm when one fell in 1828! Nothing happened, thankfully, but the city took no chances and replaced the trees with cypresses in 1960. So far, Nostradamus has been wrong — and Montpellier is still standing strong.