Things to do in Beziers
Located close to the Mediterranean coast in the southern French region of Languedoc is the city of Beziers. Like many other cities in the region it has a long and frequently violent history centred around the Cathar heresy, but today it is one of the major tourist destinations in the south of France.
Beziers was almost completely destroyed in 1215 by the Crusaders fighting against the Cather heretics. For nearly three hundred years after the sacking of the city it was rebuilt and now boasts a series of examples of fine medieval architecture, many of which were rebuilt on previous sites destroyed by the Crusaders.
One such example of this is the Saint-Nazaire Cathedral. The Cathedral is situated in the highest part of the Beziers and is visible from many miles away. Saint-Nazaire was the scene of one of the most violent incidents in the crusade against the Cather when the Crusaders set fire to the church 
causing it to collapse on the hapless natives sheltering inside.
Between 1500 and 1800 the city was left largely untouched, but in the 19th century there was an extensive redevelopment and rebuilding of Beziers and the surrounding region. The museum of Fine Arts dates from 1859, as does Le Cimetiere Vieux, which is an open air museum with numerous tombs and works of art by local sculptors.
In the same period the Plateau des Poetes were laid out. The Plateau is an enormous English style park with heavy landscaping and dotted with statues and fountains and is a great place to spend an afternoon relaxing in the sunshine.
Built toward the end of the 19th century is the second of Beziers two arenas (the first dating from the Roman era). The arena was built in the style of Spanish bullrings and every August hosts the enormous bullfighting festival known as Le Feria, over one million visitors flock to Beziers each year for the five day event.
Should you happen to be around near Beziers in the summer months another thing you should look for are the famous sea jousts. Sea jousts are like the medieval knightly jousting but done with two teams, each rowing a boat towards the other. The jousts are very popular and something the like of which you are unlikely to have ever seen before.
Beziers is a lovely place to visit, and regardless of whether you’re staying for a day, a week or a month, you could very easily keep yourself occupied. It is also a popular destination for short visits, thus good for both short and long term holidays.
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