BéziersBéziers (bezje; Besièrs) is a subprefecture of the Hérault department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hosts the famous Feria de Béziers, which is centred on bullfighting. A million visitors are attracted to the five-day event. The town is located on a small bluff above the river Orb, about from the Mediterranean coast and southwest of Montpellier. At Béziers, the Canal du Midi passes over the river Orb by means of the Pont-canal de l'Orb, an aqueduct claimed to be the first of its kind.
AudeAude (od; ˈawðe) is a department in Southern France, located in the Occitanie region and named after the river Aude. The departmental council also calls it "Cathar Country" (French: Pays cathare) after a group of religious dissidents active in the 12th to 14th centuries. Its prefecture is Carcassonne and its subprefectures are Limoux and Narbonne. As of 2019, it had a population of 374,070. Aude is a frequent feminine French given name in Francophone countries, deriving initially from Aude or Oda, a wife of Bertrand, Duke of Aquitaine, and mother of Eudo, brother of Saint Hubertus.
HéraultHérault (eʁo; Erau, eˈɾaw) is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault River, its prefecture is Montpellier. It had a population of 1,175,623 in 2019. Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Languedoc. At the beginning of the 20th century, viticulture in the wine-growing region was devastated by a slump in sales combined with disease affecting the vines.
FranceFrance (fʁɑ̃s), officially the French Republic (République française ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz), is a country located primarily in Western Europe. It also includes overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, giving it one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in the world. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean.
AgdeAgde (aɡd(ə); ˈadde, ˈate) is a commune in the Hérault department in Southern France. It is the Mediterranean port of the Canal du Midi. Agde is located on the Hérault river, from the Mediterranean Sea, and from Paris. The Canal du Midi connects to the Hérault river at the Agde Round Lock ("L'Écluse Ronde d'Agde") just north of Agde, and the Hérault flows into the Mediterranean at Le Grau d'Agde. Agde station has high speed rail connections to Paris and Perpignan, and regional services to Narbonne, Montpellier and Avignon.
Orb (river)The Orb (ɔʁb; Òrb) is a long river in the department of Hérault in the south of France. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea at Valras-Plage. The river flows through the towns of Bédarieux and Béziers, where it is crossed by the canal du Midi on the Orb Aqueduct. In ancient times, the Orb was crossed at Capestang by the long Roman Pont Serme. The Orb flows through the following communes: Ceilhes-et-Rocozels Avène Le Bousquet-d'Orb La Tour-sur-Orb Bédarieux Hérépian Lamalou-les-Bains Le Poujol-sur-Orb Roquebrun Cessenon-sur-Orb Lignan-sur-Orb Béziers Sauvian Sérignan Valras-Plage File:Pont de Cazouls.
Étang de ThauThe Étang de Thau (etɑ̃ də to; Estanh de Taur) or Bassin de Thau is the largest of a string of lagoons (étangs) that stretch along the French coast from the Rhône river to the foothills of the Pyrenees and the border to Spain in the Languedoc-Roussillon. Although it has a high salinity, it is considered the second largest lake in France. It is about long and 8 km wide, with an area of . The mean depth of the lagoon is , but in the central navigation channel it can be deep. Near Bouzigues is a deep depression with a diameter of .
NarbonneNarbonne (nɑːrˈbɒn, also US-ˈbɔːn,_-ˈbʌn, naʁbɔn; Narbona naɾˈβunɔ; Narbo ˈna(ː)rboː; Late Latin:Narbona) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was historically a prosperous port. From the 14th century it declined following a change in the course of the river Aude. It is marginally the largest commune in Aude, but the capital of the Aude department is the smaller commune of Carcassonne.
History of ToulouseThe history of Toulouse, in Occitania, southern France, traces back to ancient times. After Roman rule, the city was ruled by the Visigoths and Merovingian and Carolingian Franks. Capital of the County of Toulouse during the Middle Ages, today it is the capital of the Midi-Pyrénées region. Archaeological evidence dates human settlement in Toulouse to the 8th century BC. Its location was advantageous; the Garonne River bends westward toward the Atlantic Ocean, and can be crossed easily.
LanguedocThe Province of Languedoc (ˌlɒ̃ɡ(ə)ˈdɒk; lɑ̃ɡ(ə)dɔk, lãŋɡəˈdɔkə; Lengadòc ˌleŋɡɔˈðɔ(k)) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately 42,700 square kilometers (16,490 square miles). The Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis fell to the Visigothic Kingdom from the 5th to the 8th centuries.
