A Day in Béziers

Ooh, how exciting, that title rhymes.

After a long day of a long walk, I happily slept in a bit this morning. I had the entire Béziers spring day to do whatever I pleased, until my 4:45pm Flixbus departed back to Barcelona.

I began the day with what I WOULD have done yesterday, had my stupid battery not been dying. I took a victory walk down Bézier's famous Allées Paul-Riquet promenade. The last time we were here (NOT counting yesterday's panic-run), the entire Allées was cordoned off for construction with very ugly chain-link fencing. But today, as I walked up the slope of the Plateau Des Poètes park, its entry gates framed the gorgeous promenade. A flea market was in progress on the Allées, and I spent a happy thirty minutes browsing Frenchie treasures.

Also, fun fact! Allées Paul-Riquet is named for Pierre-Paul Riquet, a Béziers native, who just happens to be the engineer and creator of the Canal du Midi. I love it when it all comes full circle, don't you?

While walking along the pavement, I looked down and saw a Camino de Santiago shell (called "Chemin de Saint-Jacques" in France) embedded in the road. I had forgotten- Béziers is on one of the French Camino routes! Charlemagne built one of the first temples to Saint James here, in 967 AD (FYI, Béziers is one of the oldest cities in France- people have lived here since NEOLITHIC times. It's mind-boggling). On our first visit here in 2022, we didn't visit the church- so I decided it was a good time to pay a visit to the ol' Apostle.

The 10th century Church of Saint James is on a gorgeous outlook over the River Orb. The church is so old that people aren't allowed inside anymore- but the city provides viewing access through plexiglass, behind the church's iron gates (the iron gates feature shells, of course).

My stomach was rumbling by then, so I set off in search of The Perfect Last Meal in France. I ended up back at Les Halles at Le Johane, one of a small group of bistros ringing the market terrace. Its menu was so intriguing that I didn't even mind being the only lunch customer at the uncivilized hour of 11:45am. And color me gloriously happy to report that lunch was possibly even better than my dinner at Mare Nostrum in Agde.

My first course was incredibly simple, yet one of the best things I've eaten all year: A salad made from fresh market strawberries, red bell peppers, and basil. I cannot explain why the angels sang as I ate this simple salad. Second course was a duck tournedo with roasted potatoes. Also, I learned what a "tournedo" is (a cut of meat formed into a round steak). It's also insanely delicious.
For dessert I had a simple chocolate mousse with chantilly créme, and like all French food, the most simple is often the most amazing.

After lunch, I had a bit over three hours before my FlixBus departed, so I walked out of Bézier's Old Town onto the Canal du Midi path, which has been recently refurbished and pedestrianized. The viewpoints provided from the path are simply spectacular. I captured a postcard-perfect photo of the Béziers Cathedral and Le Pont Vieux (The Old Bridge, from the 12th century) over the River Orb, without using any camera filters or trick angles. It really is that beautiful.

About 2km outside of Béziers Old Town, along the Canal, is the crown jewel of the Canal du Midi: Les Écluses de Fonseranes, or the Fonseranes Locks. This is an intricate staircase of eight locks, that rise up a slope to allow boats to reach a height of 22 meters/71 feet. No joke, these locks are the third MOST-VISITED tourist site in the Languedoc-Roussillon region, after the Pont du Gard Aqueduct in Nîmes and the town of Carcassonne. And Béziers is all-in with this tourism- they've rebuilt a wide Canal path with shady trees, a bar and café at the top of the locks, and a gift shop with a 3D "immersive" theater experience. I was absolutely amazed with how the 18th-century technology has been updated and advanced for modern boat travel (the Canal and its locks are very much in use), and with the government investment in the beauty, history, and functionality of the site. I could have stood on the banks and watched the boats travel through those locks all day.

The Canal du Midi forks at the Fonseranes Locks; I came from one direction, and the other fork leads to Béziers's OTHER marvel of hydroengineering- the Orb Aqueduct. Now, I will admit that I have yet to find anyone who feels the same level of glee as I do regarding this aqueduct. But I do luvs me some cleverness and ingenuity, and here's the problem that faced the 18th century engineers: When passengers and goods arrived by the Canal, they were forced to cross the Orb via a ferry shuttling between the banks. However, the ferries ran cross-current, and the river often flooded, which backed up ferry traffic. A better way to cross the River Orb was needed.

The brilliant solution: Don't make PEOPLE cross the river. Make the CANAL cross the river. And voilá, the Orb Aqueduct was built, measuring 240 meters/787 feet long, 28 meters/92 feet wide, and 12 meters/39 feet high, with seven arches. And it's crazy to look at: Boats on the River Orb pass under the arched aqueduct, but up on top, there's a canal with walking paths. It's like a rooftop swimming pool.

I was in engineering geek heaven.

The Béziers train station sits nearby the River Orb and the Aqueduct, so at 4pm, I bade good-bye to my canal, and walked over to catch my FlixBus for the four-hour ride back to Barcelona. It has been a spectacular few days, actually exceeding my expectations. I can't wait to return and continue the walk to NarbonneBaca lagi