Le Moyen Age is Alive and Well - part 1 Beziers

Languedoc-Rouillson (this region of France, for which Montpellier is the capital) is a very ancient part of France with a strong sense of its particular history and its identity. As a result, many of the cities have survived in remarkable condition from their heyday in the Middle Ages (Le Moyen Age).
The most obvious remnants of this survival are the number of walled cities still in existence, the narrow winding streets in all the towns that are called the "historical centre" of the city and of course the churches that are still being used today. We have raved about the historical centre of Montpellier several times and will continue to do so. It is such a delight to wander along streets that at their widest are only about 5 people wide, have no footpaths, have buildings that seem to lean inwards and almost touch at the top, that all have these old wooden shutters to cover the windows and have washing hanging out to dry. The closest Melbourne has is the arcades, lanes and Little Bourke, Collins, Lonsdale Sts. etc but they are very different in character, architecture and style. They are also straight, whereas there are very few straight Medieval Streets!
There are only 2 gateways left of Montpellier's old city wall, but in our recent touring around, we have been to three walled cities, all very different from each other. The first trip was to Carcassonne, which hopefully you have already read about on the blog and seen our video & photos.
The 2nd trip and the first of the more recent trips was to Beziers, a largish town about an hours drive south west from Montpellier. We went on a Saturday to experience a day of their weekend Medieval Fete. We had an excellent day watching some falconry, jousting skills, Medieval games for kids, dancing, and of course the final parade at night by by flaming torches. Think Moomba parade without the floats and with a Medieval theme. Lots of photos attached; mostly of the fete, as although we walked through a lot of the medieval streets, we were either on our way to the fete or walking back at night and hence didn't do my usual frequent photo stops (I need to go without Alan!). I don't think the photos need labelling - they will be self explanatory - except for a couple of photos that show a small segment of dancing and singing where everything was signed in the deaf language while performing - most impressive.
Also there is a photo of a plaque about the liberation of France from the Nazis in 1944. Obviously this is not Medieval, but it is of note, because all the larger towns in this area have similar plaques and there is one in Montpellier about 5 minutes walk from our place. The liberation for France in WW2 is obviously of high value here!
This is a walled city, but the "newer" parts have grown around it in such a way, that you don't really see the wall until you walk or drive out of town in a particular direction; and unfortunately we didn't do that until very late at night on our way back to Montpellier and were therefore unable to stop and take photos. But the Medieval influence is still strong in celebrations and the feel of the town centre.
The other walled city was to Aigue Mortes on the edge of the Petite Camargue and due to the number of photos, I will write about it in a new blog post! Enjoy the Beziers Photos.