Hérault is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault River, its prefecture is Montpellier.

Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Languedoc which recently was absorbed into Occitainie.

At the beginning of the 20th century, viticulture in the wine-growing region was devastated by a slump in sales combined with disease affecting the vines. Thousands of small scale producers revolted. This revolt was suppressed very harshly by the government of Georges Clemenceau.

The catastrophic frost of the winter of 1956 damaged the olive trees, and the olive-growing regions did not recover until the late 1980s. Many of the olive-industry co-ops closed.

During the second half of the twentieth century the Montpellier basin saw some of the most rapid population growth in France.

Popular tourist attractions include:

• 87 km of beaches
• 3 World Heritage Sites : Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert Abbey, Canal du Midi and Causses and Cévennes
• 2 Great sites in France : Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert and Gorges de l'Hérault and Cirque de Navacelles
• 1 Regional nature parks : Haut-Languedoc Regional Nature Park
• 2 Towns and Lands of Art and History : Pézenas and Lodève
• 3 villages listed in the Most Beautiful Villages of France : Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, Olargues and Minerve
• 2 coastal resorts classified Heritage of the twentieth century : La Grande-Motte and Cap d'Agde
• 3 Spa town : Balaruc-les-Bains, Avène and Lamalou-les-Bains
• 19 marinas
• 541 sites classified or listed as historic monuments

Part of Cap d'Agde is a major nudist resort.

Cruising along the Canal du Midi and walking or cycling along the tow paths is a popular holiday option.

Feel free to Email me any additions or corrections

LINKS AVAILABLE TO YOUR SITE