Editor’s Note
As France’s annual search for its most beautiful market continues, we spotlight the Béziers market in Hérault, a vibrant contender from the Languedoc-Roussillon region. With 24 markets in the running for the 2024 title, the question remains: who will follow in the footsteps of last year’s winner, Niort?
For this eighth season, 24 markets are competing for the title of the most beautiful market in France. Today, let’s discover the Hérault market of Béziers, representing the Languedoc-Roussillon region.
Every day except Mondays, around twenty merchants set up in the Béziers covered market on Place Pierre Semard. From 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. (mornings only on Sundays), the stalls are filled with Languedoc specialties. Sète tielles (brioche tarts with octopus and tomato), Pézenas pâté (with lamb and lemon), bull gardianne, stuffed squid, Sète zézette (sweet olive oil shortbread), and oreillettes (a variety of thin, crispy doughnuts). In the aisles, market gardeners, butchers, cheesemongers, and other fishmongers offer products from the Béziers region.
Between the Orb river and the Canal du Midi, Béziers stretches across the west of Hérault. Narrow, winding lanes snake through the old town. On the river, the old bridge has withstood floods since the 12th century (its predecessor even dates back to Roman times). Along the Canal du Midi, the Fonseranes locks form an incredible staircase of nine gates leading to eight oval-shaped basins. They allow navigation over a height difference of 21.50 meters across a length of 312 meters. The ingenuity of the site continues to amaze visitors more than 300 years after its construction.
The Béziers Covered Market, representing the Languedoc-Roussillon region, is in the running for the election of the Most Beautiful Market in France, in partnership with Midi Libre.