Tourist attractions Nissan-lez-Enserune

This site on the Béziers plain appears to have been occupied since the 6C BC. It grew into a proper fortified town, prospering through trade with the Massaliots. Sacked in the late 3C BC, it was restored to prosperity with the arrival of the Romans i..

The High Gothic chancel was completed in 1332 but to continue it would have been necessary to demolish part of the ramparts, which at the time were still of use. Work stopped there and thus the cathedral is made up of an architecturally pure chancel ..

In addition to its lapidary collection evoking the institutions, religious and commercial practices of Roman Narbonne, the Archaeological Museum has France’s best collection of Roman paintings . Primarily from the archaeological site of Clos de la L..

Built in the place of the walled town, the museum houses objects found here that describe daily life between the 6th and 1st C BBC. «Dolia», cups, vases, amphora, Phoenecian, Etruscan, Greek, Roman and local pottery, funerary articles, and a cup that..

Montady Lake was drained in 1247. The best viewpoint from which to admire it is the Ensérune hill fort. From the viewing tables, the plots of land radiating from the centre become obvious: this is due to the ditches draining the water off into a coll..

The terrace abutting the cathedral provides an interesting view over the region (the River Orb, the Canal du Midi weaving among the vineyards, the Cévennes ridge and the Espinouse mountans).

Perched on the cliff overlooking the River Orb, the cathedral was the symbolic seat of power for the bishops of Béziers from 760 to 1789. The rose window at the west end is 10m in diameter and stands between two fortified 14C towers. The chancel, rem..

Housed in the old barracks of St Jacques, this museum has major collections devoted to the region, taking in archaeology, ethnology and natural history. Terrestrial and aquatic fauna, Greek, Iberian and Roman amphorae, plus Gallo-Roman artefacts such..

The Archbishops' Palace was originally a modest ecclesiastical residence. It includes religious, civil and miltary buildings that were added down the centuries. It is essentially composed of three tall towers - a keep by Gilles-Aycelin , a lovely ex..

Housed in the former apartments of the archbishops, this museum of art and history contains a lovely collection of majolica pharmacy pots from Montpellier, and other examples from Narbonne, Montpellier and Marseille, plus several Flemish and Italian ..

This keep with its bossed walls was built on the vestiges of a Gallo-Roman rampart that used to defend the heart of the town in Antiquity. Constructed at the end of the 13C, it confirmed episcopal force in the face of the viscounts housed on the othe..

The lapidary museum contains 1,300 antique writings, steles, lintels, busts, sarcophaguses, and enormous sculpted blocks. Most of the items come from the ramparts of the walled town and show the prestigious past of the former capital of Gaul in Narbo..

This basilica was built in the place of a Christian necropolis. It has a remarkably high chancel and early Christian crypt that were once part of a necropolis built at the time of Constantine that still contains six sarcophagae.

This little museum houses antique and medieval archaeological pieces, most interestingly finds from the Roman town of Vivios. There are religious works of art on the first floor.

This 14C church is in the southern Gothic style. Under the porch, a stone bears a funerary inscription dating back to the 13C written in Occitan. The baptismal chapel was reconstituted using ancient elements.

On the Canal du Midi, this series of eight locks resembles a 312m-long staircase and spans a difference in water levels of some 25m.

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With its asymmetrical arches, this medieval bridge has since the 13C spanned the unpredictable waters of the River Orb, and forms an iconic scene completed by the cathedral beyond.

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The five-sided 12th C apse, inspired by Antiquity, is remarkable. And the unexpected view from the gardens onto Saint-Nazaire Cathedral is just as impressive.