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What to do in Pezenas, see Moliere Monument

What to do in Pezenas, France: Follow the Moliere Trail

Luxury travel blog » Places to Travel » Europe Travel » France » What to do in Pezenas, France: Follow the Moliere Trail
May 12, 2016 by Carol Perehudoff

This post may contain affiliate links.

Pezenas is a honey-hued town in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of the South of France. Once considered the Versailles of Languedoc, it’s filled with historic mansions, winding lanes and one-of-a-kind shops – and if you’re wondering what to do in Pezenas, France, you can follow the Moliere trail.

Pezenas, France

Pezenas, France – the Moliere town

“Pezenas is the Moliere town,” said our guide, Matthieu, as our group from the Athos barge cruise stood in front of the Moliere Brasserie, just down from the closed-for-renovations Moliere Hotel. “They say if you stand still long enough in Pezenas, someone will hang a Moliere sign around your neck.”

Pezenas, the Moliere town

 

Who was Moliere?

France’s answer to Shakespeare, Jean-Baptiste Molière was a 17th-century playwright and actor who excelled at comedy and farce – and wasn’t above poking fun at society or the church, to their horror.

Moliere in Pezenas

While Moliere only spent three summers in Pezenas, the town is inordinately proud of this connection. This is despite the fact that Moliere was, for all intents and purposes, chased out of town after his patron, the licentious Prince of Conti, who was also the governor of Languedoc, turned to religion.

(Some say the Prince turned to religion after he contracted syphilis from a courtesan, but of course I wouldn’t want to pass on unconfirmed gossip like that.)

Moliere the French playwright
Moliere

Following the Moliere-in-Pezenas Trail

If you’re wondering what to do in Pezenas, you can’t go wrong with a self-guided Moliere tour, a tour, I hasten to add, of my own creation. I decided to check out as many Moliere sites as I could because I’d read Dr Faustus in university, and it affected me deeply.

Scenovision Molière

My first stop after Matthieu’s tour was the Tourism Office to see the Scenovision Molière, an interactive multi-media show of the playwright’s life.

“The first one doesn’t run until 2 p.m. today,” said the very nice man behind the counter.

Rats, I thought. By then I’d be leaving town. Oh, well. There are plenty of other Moliere sights to see in Pezenas, and searching for them would give me a chance to explore the town in more depth.

What to do in Pezenas, France
The old town

Exploring Pezenas

Pezenas is a wonderful town to wander in, full of cobbled lanes, atmospheric old doors and wrought iron balconies. The highlight, however, are the elegant medieval mansions called hôtel particuliers.

Hotel Lacoste Pezenas, France
Hotel de Lacoste

We interrupt this Moliere in Pezenas broadcast to talk about hotel particuliers

Hotel particuliers are not hotels, but they are particularly interesting, especially in Pezenas, which was once the capital of the Languedoc region and therefore very wealthy.

You can walk on into the courtyards. One not to miss is the Hôtel de Lacoste at 8, rue François-Oustrin, where the medieval arches and 17th-century carved stone staircase are so atmospheric I half expected unicorns and troubadours to glide out of the shadows.

Pezenas, France, statue
Carved statue in the street

Moliere at the Hotel d’Alfonce

At another hotel particulier, the Hotel d’Alfonce on rue Conti, Moliere debuted his play Le Médecin Volant (The Flying Doctor) for the Prince of Conti in 1655. Of course this was before the Prince, and I quote from my tourist brochure, ‘turned to bigotry.’

The Moliere Monument

Next I aimed for the river where, according to my map, the Moliere Monument sits on a grassy riverside promenade. I ended up on a bridge looking down at a dry cement bed.

“Er, where’s the river?” I asked a young woman passing by. “Ou est la rivière?”

She said something in French then switched to English. “There was innovation. You understand innovation? And then it became dangerous, you know?”

“Ah,” I said, nodding as if I understood anything at all. “I’m searching for the Moliere Monument.”

“Oh, yes. It’s by the bus station, just there.” She pointed. “And I live across the road from it if you want to have tea,” she added, laughing, which made me like Pezenas very much, even if I wasn’t having much luck with Moliere.

Things to do in Pezenas

The scandalous history of Moliere

As I walked toward the bus station I tried to recall what I knew about Moliere. Something was bothering me about the play, Dr Faustus, but I couldn’t quite bring it to light.

Moliere was no stranger to scandal, I knew that. In 1662, long after he’d left Pezenas, he married 18-year old Armande Bejart, the younger ‘sister’ of his former mistress, Madeleine. His enemies (who might have been right) insisted Armande wasn’t Madeleine’s sister at all, but her illegitimate daughter.

Portrait of Moliere
Moliere

 

The plot darkens

Armande’s father was rumoured to be the Duke of Modena or worse, Moliere himself, which would have made Moliere his own father-in-law. It’s quite unbelievable, frankly, but since when do enemies stick to the truth?

Luckily, Moliere also had plenty of fans, the most important being the King of France whose patronage saved him time and time again.

What to do in Pezenas, see Moliere Monument
I found it!

The Moliere trail continues

When Moliere was in Pezenas, however, he was still an unknown and moderately scandal free (though he had spent a night in jail when his Illustrious Theatre company went bankrupt).

The monument does him justice. Carved by the Béziers-born artist, Jean Antoine Injalbert in 1897, it’s got a satyr crouched on one side, and Lucette, a Languedoc peasant girl from one of Moliere’s comedies, on the other. She’s holding up a bust of Moliere, who was evidently very handsome and had long curly hair – and I began to understand why both Madeleine and her ‘sister’ fell for him.

What to do in Pezenas, France, Place Gambetta
There’s Moliere!

Place Gambetta

After I’d admired the Moliere Monument sufficiently, I went to the Place Gambetta. Here I found a plaque marking the site of the barbershop run by Moliere’s friend, the barber Gelys. Apparently Moliere would sit in the barbershop making character sketches of the patrons to use for his plays (until, a secret source tells me, people got annoyed and told the barber to make him stop – but that’s just more unconfirmed gossip so never mind).

The site is now a museum. Not, oddly enough, to Moliere but to Boby Lapointe, a popular French singer and comedian.

Pezenas, France, Place Gambetta
Place Gambetta

Moliere’s Chair

The barbershop story led me to track down the biggest prize on the Moliere-in-Pezenas trail. The wooden chair Moliere used to sit on in the barbershop.

My brochure said the chair was in a Pezenas museum, but not which museum. The Door Museum was closed so I tried the Musée de Vulliod Saint Germain, a 16th-century mansion filled with period costumes, furniture and striking Aubusson tapestries. And if you’re wondering what to do in Pezenas, I highly recommend this particular hotel particulier.

What to do in Pezenas, visit Musée de Vulliod Saint Germain
Musée de Vulliod Saint Germain, hard to spell but lovely to see

The Musée de Vulliod Saint Germain

“I’m searching for Moliere’s chair,” I told the woman behind the desk, expecting her to send me somewhere else like another dry river bed.

“First floor,” she said.

Score! I marched up the stairs, into the Moliere Room and there it was, the chair owned by Moliere’s friend the barber. It was as if I were seeing Moliere himself, or at least a ghostly impression of his buttocks. And as I was looking at it, it suddenly struck me that it wasn’t Moliere who wrote Dr Faustus, but Christopher Marlowe, who wasn’t even French.

Things to see in Pezenas, Moliere chair
The famous chair

 

In the future, I told my brain, it would be helpful if you could recall things more accurately. Then again, maybe I had read something by Moliere. The Misanthrope? 

Yes, I’m quite sure I did, and I’m sure it affected me as deeply as Dr Faustus, only possibly so deeply it lies buried in my subconscious, just as entrenched in my psyche as Moliere is in the wonderful town of Pezenas, France.

 

 

Travel guide for what to do in Pezenas

The Pézenas-Val Tourist Office of Hérault and the Scénovision Molière are located in the the Hotel de Peyrat in the Place des Etats du Languedoc. There are plenty of signs on the street that will take you there.

The Scénovision Molière normally runs all day, but it was a holiday when I was there, so I assume that’s why it didn’t run until the afternoon. This interactive show takes place in different rooms of the Hotel de Peyrat and lasts for 55 minutes, and if you’re lucky enough to see it, please report back. Adults 7 Euros, children 6 Euros.

The Musée de Vulliod Saint Germain is at 3 rue Albert Paul Allies. Entrance fee is only 1 Euro.

The Moliere Festival. Each June Pezenas holds a Moliere Festival, officially called Molière, Theater in all its Glory. Check the Pezanas Tourism website for dates.

Where is Pezenas, France?

Pezenas is located in the Herault department of the Languedoc-Roussillon region in the South of France. It’s about an hour’s drive from Montpellier, and 20 km northeast of the town of Beziers. The nearest train station is at Beziers.

A good cruise stop

Pezenas makes a great day trip if you’re cruising the Canal du Midi. I was on a hosted trip on the Athos hotel barge, and we stopped in Carcassonne, Minerve and Narbonne, all great day trips. Check out the Athos website for tour ideas and barging info.

Visiting the South of France? Read my travel blog post on What to do in the South of France.

 

 

 

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Category: France, One day in

About Carol Perehudoff

A former freelance travel columnist for the Toronto Star, Carol has won more than 30 writing awards and honours. A spa and luxury travel expert, she’s written for top travel publications around the globe.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Carol Perehudoff

    I’m glad you enjoyed Pezanas, Theodore. It’s definitely an unsung destination in France, and you can learn so much about Moliere. It sounds as if you did dived right in to all things Moliere.

  2. Theodore Swetz

    My stay in Pezanas was a wonderful mix of everything Moliere. We stayed in the beautiful and welcoming Hotel Moliere and the Moliere Museum is a gem that has a wonderful program that takes you through Moliere’s life in a moving theatrical way. The town is filled with history, terrific restaurants and charming people. My wife and I are planning our next trip to France and we are looking forward to another week in Pezanas.

  3. Jenna

    Pezenas does look like a great town to wander in–it is adorable!! I’ve always loved following the footsteps of movies, books and influential people, so this would be really interesting to me. Plus, it’s fun that you got invited over for tea! :)

  4. Carol Perehudoff

    A lot of people reading this clearly have better literary memories. It took a trip to Pezenas to set me straight.

  5. Carol Perehudoff

    Hi, Jackie – I still can’t believe I did that – I went through the entire town thinking he’d written Faustus. Strange how the mind works (or doesn’t work).

  6. katja

    What a fun self-guided tour! I read some Moliere at school and I couldn’t remember ever reading Dr Faustus so I laughed when you realised you had the wrong author. Nevertheless, I think this sounds like a really enjoyable way to explore Pezenas.

  7. Brenda Tolentino

    What a character Moliere was, I’d love to visit Pezenas one day soon and discover his trail. The town itself also looks just wonderful. It also sounds like the people were lovely.

  8. elizabeth

    I love you put together a tour based on Dr Faustus. It looks like a fun filled day with plenty to keep you entertained! If we ever make it to Pezanas I am on the trail!

  9. Alana

    I agree with Jackie, even if you aren’t on the Moliere trail, it looks like a beautiful city and definitely has some fascinating history. I think a lot of travelers will find your guide very helpful in planning their own tour. I’ll be sharing via Pinterest.

  10. Jackie Sills-Dellegrazie

    Ha, Carol! I knew Christoper Marlowe wrote Dr. Faustus but you had me completely doubting myself. Pezenas looks like such a quaint town with lots of nooks and crannies to explore. Love the lascivious gossip! Whether on the trail of Moliere (or Christoper Marlowe), it looks like the perfect place to explore, find a little cafe, and people watch.

  11. Nisha

    Ha Ha Fun post!

    Didn’t know about Pezenas at all. I am coming there for tea and all those fun. :-)
    I love those cobbled streets & alleys. Much love.

  12. Carol Colborn

    Great little guide at the end…plus all the gossip for an afternoon tea!

  13. Vanessa

    Tantalizing gossip and invitations for tea? Yes please! This is everything I want in a travel experience and tracking down the footsteps of a famous (or infamous) character from yesteryear is such a great way to see a city.

  14. Stefan

    I didn’t know Pezenas was the Moliere town – I’ve a very good friend who’s surname is Moliere so am sharing with him. Riddled with gossip this chappy is – all those affairs…

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