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Beziers

Visit Beziers (Languedoc-Roussillon, France)

Beziers lies in the Herault department of Languedoc-Roussillon between Narbonne and Montpellier. It is an attractive town which rises up a hill from the many spanned old stone bridge across the River Orb, towards the Saint Nazaire cathedral above the town.

Beziers is at the centre of the largest wine-producing region in France and is famous for its wine and its bullfights.

History

The town fortunes have changed dramatically at regular points in history. Beziers was a Roman colony in 36BC and an important point on the route from Rome to Madrid. In 1209 the town was burnt down and its 20,000 inhabitants put to death in the Catholic crusade against the Cathars.

In the nineteenth century the town had its heyday with the growth in the regions wine industry. Fortunes have declined again since then (see history of Beziers for details) but Bezier remains a lovely town and a good base for visiting the Herault region.

Exploring Beziers

The main thing to do in Beziers is simply to wander through the old streets, admiring the architecture, browsing in the shops and stopping at a café to watch the world go by. As you explore you will discover several sights and places of interest.

To make sure you see as many of the sights of interest as possible as possible first go to the tourist office where you can pick up a tourist leaflet offering four different walking routes covering the main sights of the town. Choose from:

- Between Romanesque and Gothic - see the cathedral and cloister, the town’s churches and chapel and St Aphrodise’s basilica.

- Beziers Over the Centuries - passes along the winding streets of the old city of Beziers and some of its historical monuments.

- The Golden Age of the 19^th Century - explores the public and private buildings built during the 19^th century

- A Stroll through the Gardens - wander through a selection of English style landscaped gardens and formal French-style gardens.

Important religious monuments

Saint Nazaire Cathedral dominates the view of Beziers from below. It was built in the 12-15^th centuries and has quite an unusual appearance. It is quite stark from some angles and has some interesting castle-like towers. It also has a lovely 14^th century cloister and a pretty ‘Bishop’s Garden’ with great views over the valley below.

North-east of the cathedral in Place de la Madeleine is the Eglise St Madeleine (St Madeleine’s Church). As the town of Beziers fell to the Albigeois Crusaders, the Catholics in the town, who had remained to fight off the crusade along with the Cathars, fled into the church. However the crusaders showed no mercy even to their fellow Catholics and torched the church and burnt all within.

The Church of Saint-Jacques is an attractive roman style church dating in part from the 12th century. While the church itself is interesting it is the views across the town and down to the river and bridge from the terrace that are the main highlight of the church.

Another important church in Beziers is the Saint Aphrodise Basilica which is built on the tomb of the town’s patron saint who arrived on a camel from Egypt.

Other highlights

Outside the medieval streets one of the main streets in the town is the Allées Paul Riquet which is a long esplanade, shaded by trees, lined with shops and cafes and filled with a variety of street art such as living statues (rather like the Ramblas in Barcelona).

At one end of the Allées is the 19^th century theatre and at the other the lovely garden, the Plateau des Poetes.

Museums and Art Galleries in Beziers

There are four museums...

Le Musee des Beaux Arts (Hotel Fabregat) - a collection of paintings including works by Decamps, Degas and Rodin

Le Musee des Beaux Arts (Hotel Fayet) - a collection of sculptures by local artist Jean-Antoine Injalbert. There is a very pleasant internal courtyard from where you can listen to concerts and theatre productions.

Le Musee du Biterrois - a museum with artefacts ranging from prehistoric to nowadays.

Le Museum d’Histoire Naturelle - diverse collections of natural history.

...and two art galleries in Beziers:

Espace Taurin - dedicated to bull fighting including some works by Goya

Espace Riquet - an ancient convent which is now a contemporary art museum.

Local highlights: Near the town is the Fonseranes Canal Lock, a succession of seven locks allowing boats to manoeuvre a 21 meter level change. This lock is the most remarkable on the Canal du Midi. The Museum and archaeological site at Enserune gives an interesting insight into life in the region dating back more than 2500 years.

Photos of Beziers

Click any picture to start the gallery

Tourist classifications for Beziers

Beziers is classified as a historical protected town centre' (secteur sauvegardé)

Address: Béziers, Herault, Languedoc-Roussillon, 34500 || GPS: latitude 43.3476, longitude 3.21899

Map of Beziers & places nearby



 

Highlights close by

More suggestions: Saint-Chinian 23km; Marseillan 25km; Narbonne 25km; Bize-Minervois 28km; Gruissan 29km; Etang de Thau 31km; Cirque de Moureze 32km; Meze 32km; Aigne 33km; Villeneuvette 33km; Olargues 34km;

See lots more places to visit nearby and a more detailed map at places near Beziers.
See Languedoc-Roussillon and Herault (the region and department for Beziers) for more travel ideas...

Suggested tourist attractions to visit near Beziers, France

• Enserune - national monument (9km)
• Jardin des carrières de Saint-Adrien - remarkable garden (11km)
• Parc et jardin du château de Margon - remarkable garden (17km)
• Pezenas - recommended detour (21km)
• Narbonnaise en Méditerranée - regional natural parc (25km)
• Narbonne - secteur sauvegarde (25km)
• Etangs du Bagnas - site of natural beauty (25km)
• Cirque du Moureze - site of natural beauty (33km)
• Etang de Thau - site of natural beauty (33km)
• Olargues - most beautiful village (34km)

The French version of this page is at Beziers (Francais)