Travel Guide Besan

The site of Monédière, located south of the village, was occupied as early as the Iron Age. Archaeological excavations attest to the fact that the village has been occupied for a very long time, even if this occupation was irregular with periods of desertion. For example during the Roman conquest. The villagers left this place to join sites, closer to the agricultural cultures. Finally, towards the end of Antiquity, the inhabitants gathered in a single place which corresponds to the territory of the current village of Bessan. Around the year 1000, the village was fortified. Bessan is protected behind imposing walls whose silhouette can still be guessed thanks to the survival until today of a tower and the door Saint-Pierre. After the Albigensian crusade in the 13th century, the village became the property of Amauryde Montfort. In 1460 Jeanne de Lévis, heiress of Montfort, married François Bastet de Crussol. The city remained the property of this noble family until the Revolution. The appearance of Bessan changed shortly before the Revolution, with the destruction, in 1777, of the surrounding walls which had become useless. Located on the alluvial plain of the Hérault River, Bessan draws its wealth from its vineyards. This wine-growing area is particularly known for its rosé wine. Nowadays, Bessan values its traditions, under the protective gaze of its totemic animal, the donkey. In summer, residents and tourists meet at the Guinguette on the banks of the Hérault. Nearby, a landing stage allows fishing and the launching of small pleasure boats