Thézan les Béziers is a village of 2,543 inhabitants lying to the north west of Béziers in the wine growing plain of the Languedoc, between the Méditerranean and the Cévennes, on a site which has been lived on since prehistoric times.

The village has kept its mediaeval character. The village houses were built in a circular fashion around the old castle, (La Bastille) and the church.

The allyeways and the cul de sacs allow you to wander through the streets which until a few decades ago were busy with many shops (grocers, bakers, cafés, draperies) and craftsman (butchers, carpenters, cinema...)

In the course of a pleasant walk you can spot the vestiges of medieval buildings and old shops. You will also notice the sad state of repair of certain buildings which have been abandoned, but there are also restoration work sites, undertaken by the municipality and private individuals.

After this visit come back down towards the Town Hall square which the people of Thézan call "Le Bassin"

Here you can admire the imposing Town Hall built in 1900, also the statue of the "Marianne" by the Béziers sculptor Injalbert; near to the Town Hall you will find shops, (baker, caterer, haberdashery, tobacconist, grocer, newspapers, beauty salon, cafes...) but also doctors, dentists, nurses and a physiotherapist. 

The presence of people in Thézan since historic times can be explained by the pleasant and welcoming nature of the site.
The river Orb irrigates the Thézan plain where it is joined by a large stream, the Taurou.

These two waterways are at one and the same time a wealth and a threat for the people of Thézan because the mediterranean climate can change them briefly but violently into raging torrents.

It is for this reasons that the village was built on the hills above the Orb plain. These hills the people of Thézan call "pechs". The word "pech" in occitan means hill.
There are several of these "pechs" in Thézan.
 1 - The church "pech" in the centre of the village.
 2 - The cemetery "pech" or " pech of Saint Peyre, where you can see the remains of an old church.
 3 -  The "pech" of Laval where there is a view point whith a panoramic table which enables you to locate different places on the vast Orb plain.
 4 - And finally "the pech". This "pech", know only as such, is a magnificent wooded area of large trees all around the Asties side of the village countryside , for generations it has been a vast adventure playground for the people of Thézan as it continues to be today for the youth of the village and for nature lovers.

(Thanks to Ann Marie Cairns Higgins for her translation)