Don’t Regret Missing One Day in Beziers, France

After noticing the town of Beziers on a previous trip through the South of France, en route to the incredible Carcassonne, I made sure to see it next time I was there. And I couldn’t have been more pleased that its name stuck with me, as visiting Beziers turned out to be a real delight.

Even with just one day in Beziers, you can cover a lot of the things to do in town. As with nearby Narbonne, the places to visit in Beziers are incredibly diverse, from surprising feats of engineering to gorgeous historical architecture and more. Here’s why I’d happily recommend you travel to Beziers when exploring the South of France.

How to get to Beziers

Having shown you what sights Beziers has to offer, here is some practical information on how to visit this small city in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in the South of France.

For starters, Beziers is an exceptionally easy place to reach by public transport. You can easily take the train from large cities such as Narbonne, Toulouse, or Montpellier to get there.

Additionally, there’s the option to travel there by bus, with routes from big cities and towns in the South of France. This means Beziers is super easy to add to a trip through the south.

Renting a car is also an option, and one that makes it easy combine visiting Beziers with other towns and villages in this region.

Where to stay in Beziers

While it’s not a concern if your one day in Beziers is a day trip, staying overnight in town means finding accommodation.

While I used Airbnb to stay affordably in someone’s spare room — they even picked me up from the station — I know that’s not for everyone. Beziers has an impressive range of hotels and other accommodations available around its historical center, including these well-rated places:

• La Villa Guy & Spa – Teritoria
• Hôtel La Prison
• Hôtel le XIX
• Le Flourens by Paul Riquet 1609 Residences

Things to do in Beziers

While I say that one day in Beziers is enough time to visit, there’s more than enough to see and do here to justify a 2-day visit.

I’ll leave those decisions up to you, but you’ll want to learn first what to do in Beziers to properly plan your visit. The following Beziers attractions take you right around the historical center, and while you may want to explore on your own, food tours and sightseeing tours may help you get more from the experience.

Allées Paul Riquet

Carving right down the middle of Beziers is the tree-lined Allées Paul Riquet, a great place to start a Beziers visit. This main boulevard in the city centre is essentially a wide pedestrian street leading from the city’s cute Ferris wheel up past its stately theatre.

Right along it, you’ll see the kind of spectacular architecture that’s rife in the South of France. It’s really a nice place to go for a walk, especially when it hosts the local market. Roughly halfway along the avenue stands a statue of Pierre-Paul Riquet, after whom the street is named. Riquet was the civil engineer born in Beziers, responsible for the construction of the Canal du Midi. That kind of makes him a big deal.

Beziers Old Town

Having walked along the wide-open Allées Paul Riquet, it’s now time to delve into the narrow streets of the Beziers Old Town.

The historical centre is the part of town to the west of this avenue and features a mess of streets and alleys that’s undeniably medieval. Look at a map of Beziers, and you’ll see the rest of the city with an orderly layout, but not here.

To get the most out of the Old Town, pick a pedestrian lane and go for a wander. Narrow pedestrian streets such as Rue du 4 Septembre are where Beziers is at its most charming, so allow a little time to explore them. Meandering around the Old Town, you’ll see an interesting mix of architecture thanks to landmarks like the Mairie de Béziers and Les Halles de Béziers.

Saint Nazaire Cathedral

Eventually, the twists and turns of the Old Town will bring you to one of two places. You can find your way to either the hilltop Saint Nazaire Cathedral or the Église Saint-Jacques, which offers a wonderful view of the cathedral. Ultimately, Saint Nazaire Cathedral is the star of the show and one of the city’s most important landmarks.

That’s because the Bishopric of Beziers made this cathedral their seat for a thousand years before losing it to Montpellier in 1801. Not necessarily this cathedral; the current building is only the latest iteration of Béziers Cathedral. Before this 15th-century construction, the previous building was badly damaged during the Albigensian Crusade in 1209.

The current cathedral combines elements of its older Romanesque design with the grander Gothic flourishes given during its renovation. But what’s really so striking about the Beziers Cathedral is its sheer size, as it dwarfs everything about it. Unfortunately, I wasn’t really able to admire the cathedral much up close. I arrived as a funeral was underway, so I couldn’t see inside, and they were also restoring the front façade. Great timing, right?

Beziers street art

As you go about exploring the Old Town of Beziers, chances are you’ll spot at least one large mural on the side of a building. That’s because there’s actually a lot of street art around the town centre. Rather than a random mix of pieces across town, the street art in Bezier all has a consistent style and theme.

The murals all have a historical bent to them, often portraying everyday moments on painted balconies. However, there are also old-fashioned storefronts and historical scenes shown, which means every piece deserves a look. It’s a great incentive to head down each street and see what other treasures Beziers has hidden.

Plateau des Poètes

Just down from Allées Paul Riquet and its Ferris wheel lies the gorgeous park of Plateau des Poètes.

Sitting on quite a steep hillside, this park builds up from the train station in various stages. At the very bottom is a war memorial, while further up, you have ponds, statues, a lake, and a small waterfall. All of this is surrounded by lots of greenery and locals enjoying the serenity on its many park benches. A great place to have lunch if you just want to sit in the sunshine.

Pont Vieux

Now it’s time to venture down to the waterfront along the Orb River and see the charming Pont Vieux.

There are several city bridges across the river in Beziers, but none have as much character as this old stone bridge. This medieval bridge dates from the 13th century and is an essential component of Beziers’ iconic view. It especially helps that the river was so still that you could get a perfect reflection of the bridge in it.

Fonserannes Locks

Although it may seem like a bit of a trek from town, don’t even dream of missing the Fonserannes Locks. This is easily the most well-known landmark in Beziers, even if I was oblivious of it before going. And while you may be thinking that you’ve seen canal locks before, I guarantee you haven’t seen them like this.

What makes the Fonserannes Locks special is that it’s a staircase of locks, with eight lock chambers staggered one after the other. This impressive engineering system allowed boats travelling along the Canal du Midi to securely drop 21.5 metres down to the water level of the River Orb. They could then cross the river, rejoin the canal, and continue east.

Anyone who finds the whole idea of canals and their mechanics interesting is bound to find this site fascinating. Visiting the Fonserannes Locks, you get to see firsthand how they work and look down at the hefty gates on each lock.

The Fonserannes Locks are still used today for canal boats, although there has been a small change over the years. The construction of the Orb Aqueduct below allowed boats to cross the river much more easily and stick with the canal. To do this, they now only use seven of the eight chambers, exiting the second last chamber onto the aqueduct.

Orb Aqueduct

Follow the Canal du Midi down from the Fonserannes Locks, and you’ll see another feat of engineering in Beziers. To allow the canal to cross the River Orb, the Orb Aqueduct was constructed in 1858. Aqueducts like this one or the Pont de Gard fascinate me as they show just how clever people can be.

That this aqueduct is designed to carry not just water but boats as well is incredible. Not seeing boats travel across it was disappointing, but that’s the downside to visiting in the shoulder season. A nice consolation prize was having the opportunity to cross the aqueduct on foot and admire it up close. That it gives you an alternative route to return to town from the Fonserannes Locks is an added bonus.

Port Neuf

One last stop worth passing by after crossing the aqueduct is the Port Neuf. This is the local marina of Beziers, where canal boats are moored as they travel along the Canal du Midi.

Even after seeing many canal marinas in the South of France, I never seem to tire of them. Port Neuf was quieter than the others I visited, but its few barges and houseboats were still worth a look.

Have you heard of or ever wanted to visit Beziers, France? Did how much there is to see and do here surprise you? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

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