The Centre is the historic core of Béziers, built on a promontory overlooking the Orb. It is organised around the Saint-Nazaire cathedral, a Gothic fortress visible from afar, and the allées Paul Riquet, a broad esplanade planted with century-old plane trees that links the theatre to the plateau des Poètes. This five-hectare garden, laid out by the Bühler brothers, closes the esplanade to the south.
The district concentrates the town's heritage and services: the Baltard-style covered market halls, the shopping streets of old Béziers, the museums, the religious and administrative buildings and the station, which links the town to Montpellier, Narbonne and Spain. The buildings looking onto the allées Paul Riquet are among the most sought after in the town. The old centre is the subject of long-running renovation work.
A market of older buildings, the Centre remains one of the most affordable areas of Béziers, despite its heritage, because of the condition of some of the older blocks awaiting renovation. Demand focuses on the apartments of the period buildings, sought after as main homes and as investments, with scope for capital growth linked to the renovation programmes.
