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.
Canal du MidiThe Canal du Midi (kanal dy midi; Canal del Miègjorn ka'nal del mjɛdˈd͡ʒuɾ) is a long canal in Southern France (le Midi). Originally named the Canal Royal en Languedoc (Royal Canal in Languedoc) and renamed by French revolutionaries to Canal du Midi in 1789, the canal is considered one of the greatest construction works of the 17th century. The canal connects the Garonne to the Étang de Thau on the Mediterranean and, along with the long Canal de Garonne, forms the Canal des Deux Mers, joining the Atlantic to the Mediterranean.
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.
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.
CarcassonneCarcassonne (ˌkɑːrkəˈsɒn, also US-ˈsɔːn,_-ˈsoʊn, kaʁkasɔn, kaχkaˈsɔnə; Carcassona kaɾkaˈsunɔ; Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, region of Occitania. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the Aude between historic trade routes, linking the Atlantic to the Mediterranean Sea and the Massif Central to the Pyrénées. Its strategic importance was quickly recognized by the Ancient Romans, who occupied its hilltop until the demise of the Western Roman Empire.
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.
SeptimaniaSeptimania is a historical region in modern-day Southern France. It referred to the western part of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis that passed to the control of the Visigoths in 462, when Septimania was ceded to their king, Theodoric II. During the Early Middle Ages, the region was variously known as Gallia Narbonensis, Gallia, or Narbonensis. The territory of Septimania roughly corresponds with the modern French former administrative region of Languedoc-Roussillon that merged into the new administrative region of Occitanie.
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 .
French ResistanceThe French Resistance (La Résistance) was a collection of organizations that fought the Nazi occupation of France and the collaborationist Vichy régime in France during the Second World War. Resistance cells were small groups of armed men and women (called the Maquis in rural areas) who conducted guerrilla warfare and published underground newspapers. They also provided first-hand intelligence information, and escape networks that helped Allied soldiers and airmen trapped behind Axis enemy lines.
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.
