dcdee

We will be on a cruise next year that stops in Sete, France for a day. Except for a couple of pages in Lonely Planet, I haven't been able to find much information on Sete. If you've been there:

1. Any suggestions for things to do there?

2. I gather Carcassone is close enough for a day trip. How would we get there?

3. Any other comments or suggestions (lunch, shopping, etc.) would be welcome.

cigalechanta

If you are lucky enough to be there in August there are the Water Jousting sports. Th waterfront is not just tourists. There is a Musée Paul Valéry and for the famous French singer, Gerges brassens

dcdee

Thanks cigalechanta.

Anyone else?

Grandma

We stopped there on a cruise two years ago. Since we'd been to Carcassone we elected to stay in town. I recall it was a prettly little city.. nothing terribly exciting. If you want to go to Carcassone the ship will probably offer tours. However, if you can plan ahead and go independently you'll probably have a better experience. Perhaps on a site like cruisecritics.com (maybe..cruisecritic...)you'd find good information.

bill_boy

We were there for a lunch stop (from Barcelona to Arles) a few years ago. There are lot's of restaurants by the canal with fresh seafood on display on ice. I'm not sure what else to do as we moved on after lunch.

However, we went to Caracassone in the morning it is only about an hour-and-a-half's drive away. We found it too crowded and overly touristy - seen it, done that and will not return.

StCirq

I've been there many times - have a friend who lived there for a few years and before that we used to travel from the Dordogne to Sète every summer because it had some of the only long stretches of sandy beaches on the Med.

It's practically the last of the authentic fishing towns in France along the Med, and has all the gritty earmarks of that. It's smelly and dirty and grimy and full of fish guts and slopped-down boats and rowdy fishermen. It's not pretty, it's not quaint - it's real. There's a nice sort of lagoon right outside of town that's full of flamingos, and the restaurants in the old part of town right along the quais serve some very decent seafood at good prices. But if you're looking for sweet and charming, you won't find it in Sète. There's a place nearby in Bouzigue, however, that serves the best fresh shellfish I ever had in my life.

AnselmAdorne

StCirq, you have no idea how delighted I was to see your post. In early 2001 a colleague visited Sête and subsequently recommended it to me. I forget his exact words, but he did use Sête and Venice in the same sentence ...

My wife and I visited the town that fall and came away with much the same impression that you have. Gritty is a perfect description. Nonetheless, we don't regret taking the time to visit. We had lunch in a little place that filled recycled wine bottles from a tap in the back; the entertainment was provided by "les espagnols,' two buskers who strolled in, played a few songs, and soon had everyone singing. We'll never forget it.

Sête does have canals ... just don't think about Venice.

Anselm

cigalechanta

Anslem, those water jostling events in august happen on Canals as they also do in Isle =sur-la-Sorgue.

dcdee

Thanks to all-- great information I didn't find in Lonely Planet.

StCirq-- As a sometime birdwatcher, I'm intrigued by the flamingo lagoon. We won't be there until early fall and they may have departed by then but if not I'll have to search them out. We don't encounter those on the US east coast.

cigalechanta

dcdee, the Camargue has great bird watching and you can photograph the pink flamingoes,

cigalechanta

Another amazing place we visited (for all you bird watchers) was The Grande -Briere in the department of Loire Atlantique, these marshes there, thousands and thousands of acres that have people who live there who fish for eels and gather reeds. Most of this place is designated as a bird santuary, mostly for waterfowl.

dcdee

cigalechanta, thanks for the additional tips. I'll have to check my maps to see how far these other areas are.

Do you think we can safely assume that we'll be able to find a taxi to take us to whatever out-of-town sights we decide to see?

SHANNON00

Cruise ship passengers enjoy staying in Sète because it is a small authentic french town (according to the Daily Telegraph UK, it is the most fascinating small town on the Mediterranean coast". It is bordered by beautiful sandy beaches on the Mediterranean side and by canals on the the other. The seafood is amazing and most particularly the fresh oysters from the nearby oyster beds. There is a morning market which abounds with fresh produce, 5 musems and 22 art galleries. You should check the tourist information website for the tours available and well worth doing.

annhig

DH and i visited Sete 25 years ago. I don't remember a great deal, but i recall a very nice interesting little town, a long beach with topless bathing [quite a novelty in the UK] and a long traffic jam on a causeway when every time we let even the smallest gap appear between us and the car in front, the one behind would beep at us until we were bumper to bumper again.

we've never been back.

traveller1959

We have been there about a dozen times. I agree that the town is not too exciting. Yes, there is a working fish harbour and there are many excellent seafood restaurants in the port. The beaches are long and sandy, but you have a busy road in your back.

What you can do:

1) You can spend an hour or two at the beach and have an extended lunch in one the port restaurants. In the afternoon maybe a tasting of the very sweet muscat wine from Frontignan. It would be a relaxing day (maybe a waste of precious time).

2) You can rent a car for a day and drive to Carcassonne. Driving time would be over 1 1/2 hours each way. Carcassonne is a beautiful, completely walled medieval city.

3) You can rent a car and drive to Nimes, which would take about one hour. Nimes has the most spectacular Roman ruins in Southern France, including a fully intact temple ("Maison Carrée") and a practically intact arena. On the way back, you may stop in Aigues-Mortes, which is a completely walled medieval city.

4) You can rent a car and drive into the Camargue and ride on horseback through the marshes and see the flamingos.

kerouac

I don't know what ressurected this thread after so many year, but I will point out that I visited Sète last year: http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com...ay&thread=5183

annhig

kerouac- well spotted. I'm always falling for these resurrected threads.