Go behind the scenes of the Montpellier medical school

Salle de conseil Mila Thiebault – Mila Thiebault

This is the most requested guided tour of the tourist office, the Faculty of Medicine of Montpellier, the oldest school in the Western world that has never stopped functioning. The next visit is scheduled for this Saturday. 

It is at 2 rue de l’Ecole de Médecine that the visit begins, to the sound of the bells of Saint-Pierre Cathedral, and under the serious gaze of the statues of Lapeyronie and Barthez, two great prides Montpellier buildings which prestigiously frame the entrance to the faculty. On the program, a guided tour of the boardrooms, proceedings room, honors courses and even part of the anatomy conservatory, in order to understand the history of Montpellier medicine and the life of the faculty from yesterday to today, classified as a historic monument since 2004. 

In the footsteps of Rondelet and Lapeyronie 

"This faculty speaks volumes, it speaks to us of all the eras that have succeeded it". Formerly a monastery in a southern Gothic style, then a bishop's palace, the building has been the faculty of medicine since 1795 linked to Saint-Pierre cathedral which was knows. Full of history, its walls contain busts and paintings of emblematic figures of medicine whose names sound familiar to Montpellier residents, recalling certain neighborhoods and streets of the city. Rondelet , Lapeyronie, Rabelais, or even Chaptal, resonate in the streets of Montpellier, symbol of Montpellier's greatness in terms of medicine. 

Delmas Orfila Rouvière Room Mila Thiebault – Mila Thiebault

"What is incredible is that Montpellier students still defend their theses in these places"

Dressed in Rabelais' red robes – typical of Montpellier – current medical students still come to defend their theses in the large proceedings room. Proud to follow in the footsteps of the great figures of medicine, as the guide points out, it is here that they take the famous Hippocratic Oath. From Glafira Ziegelemann, the first student of the faculty, to the analysis of the papier-mâché skins, including the story of Rondelet's student years in Montpellier, the visit is punctuated by anecdotes and information on the specificities of Montpellier medicine, making this faculty the most requested visit to the tourist office. 

Bruno Martinez, tour guide, next to the bust of Barthez Mila thiebault – Mila thiebault

Practical information

2-hour visit, from 12 years old, 15€ per person
Every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. until March 9, 2024