Patricia

We will be spending 3 nights in Sete in July. Can anyone recommend a good hotel or B & B. Thanks in advance.

rex

I stayed at http://www.sete-hotel.com a number of years ago. It was a little bit long in the tooth, as a hotel - - but the restaurant was very, very memorable. Maybe it was one of those times when it's been a long day, you're by yourself, and you're aren't expecting all that much - - and poof! I got treated like a prince, and very affordably (as I recall in a dim memory of details), despite it being a weeknight, with almost no other customers there at that hour.

Best wishes,

Rex

Patricia

Thanks Rex, this was the hotel we had in mind, there doesn't seem to be too many choices. What did you think of Sete itself as a place to stay for a few nights? Thanks again.

StCirq

There's really only one nice hotel right in Sète - Le Grand Hôtel - and since it's right on the quai, depending on which way the wind is blowing it can be rather "fishy." It has a nice old elegance to it, though

Sète is actually an interesting place in that it is probably the only real remaining Mediterranean fishing town in France. And, relevant to that, the center of town along the quais is a rather seedy and often smelly place.

It also has miles and miles of nice sandy beach - a rarity on the Med.

I suppose it depends on what you're looking for - we used to go to Sète from the Dordogne for a couple of days each summer so the kids could have some beach time. But as a general traveler, I don't think I would ever choose Sète as a base for a trip. Three days will be more than adequate.

If you want to stay in the upper town or on the beaches, there are decent hotel choices, though the upper town is rather dominated by the large - and loud - casino. There's a nice, but tiny (9-10 rooms) hotel called Les Terrasses du Lido at the rond-point de l'Europe - the restaurant is very good.

In fact, the best thing about Sète is the seafood - but you can get as good or better elsewhere. In Bouziques you can stop in the tiny Le Petit Bouziques and eat six of the reshest oysters you've ver had followed by a mound of mussels slathered with aïoli for a mere 12 €.

rex

You're welcome, Patricia. I guess I should have typed in the name of Le Grand Hotel, and not just its website URL.

And as I said, it was a very long day; I started in by spending the whole morning in Seu d'Urgell (Spain), crossed over the Pyrenees via Andorra, drove down the roller-coaster drive to Perpignan, turned down my rented car, and took the train to Sete. It was supposed to be just a place to sleep. It was the restaurant that makes me remember it at all. I left early the next morning,so I cannot really tell you anything about Sete.

Patricia

Thanks,Rex and StCirq,
We will finish our trip down the Canal du Midi in Montpellier and have 3 spare days before flying out from there. We don't particularly want to hire a car so Sete looked an easy option but would welcome other suggestions.

SalB

If you're in Sete when they have their gondola jousting, you would have a great time. They set up stands and have all kinds of foods and, of course, the jousting. There must be a web site that lists things like that.

Have a good time.