Béziers is a beautiful southern French city whose old center is high above the River Orb and the Canal du Midi and only about ten kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea. Béziers was founded in 575 BC, making it one of France’s oldest cities. Later, Béziers became a Roman city with the name Colonia Julia Baeterrae Septimanorum, and an amphitheater and other structures were built in it. The Colonia also exported wine to the capital, Rome.

Throughout the 9th and 12th centuries, Béziers was the seat of the viscounty of the same name, and the city’s viscounts ruled a large area around the city. At the beginning of the 13th century, the massacre in Béziers took place. It was a military operation that happened during the Albigensian Crusades and the massacre was a bloodbath that refers to the mass murder committed to destroy the Cathars. Béziers was defeated in July 1209 by a crusading army led by Arnaud Amaury.

Despite the defeat in 1209, Béziers was repopulated, and the city developed through the next several centuries in relative peace. By the 18th century, the town had once again become a significant wine producer, and trade in Béziers flourished. In recent times, the city has become an important center in the department of Hérault, and every year it hosts the famous Feria de Béziers.

The historic city has many attractions, including the nearly 2,000-year-old amphitheater, the Arènes de Béziers (Rue du Moulin à Huile), which was built to seat more than 13,000 spectators. Today, not much has been preserved of the theatre, which lies as a small green area between some of the city’s homes. In addition to the old arena, Béziers is also known for its modern arena, which was built in 1897 as a bullring. It is this arena that forms the main venue for the Feria de Béziers.

On a trip to the city, you can explore sights and places along the river and in the narrow streets and alleys of the old center. Many breathtaking spots and a fine atmosphere await here. You can see Béziers’ town hall, Hôtel de Ville (Place Gabriel Péri), ​​which was built in 1729 by the architect Rollin, who was from the nearby city of Montpellier. There are also several churches such as the Cathédrale Saint-Nazaire, which was constructed through the 12th-14th centuries, and you can also see another of the city’s landmarks, which is the old bridge over the river Orb, the Pont Vieux (Avenue du Pont Viuex ), which was built in 1134.

A little south of the bridge, the large Canal du Midi edifice emerges from the river, and it is a good opportunity to take a closer look at a small part of the canal, which is 240 km long and which, together with other waterways, was supposed to link the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. You can see some of the engineering work at the Fonsérannes Locks/Écluses de Fonsérannes, which consists of eight lock chambers with a total height difference of 21.5 meters over a length of 300 meters. And in Béziers you can see the Pont-canal de l’Orb as well, which is an aqueduct where the Canal du Midi crosses the Orb.