Etang de Thau (Marseillan Plage & Beyond)

Having experienced warm but changeable weather during our trip so far, we were desperate to get some consistent sunshine. The French Mediterranean was looking good, but where could we go that would also provide us with places of interest to visit?  If you’ve been to that coastline (which we have many times before), you’ll know that it is geared to beach holidays and camping for the masses and doesn’t feature in France’s top ten for architecture and culture!  We pitched up in Marseillan Plage, a camping resort situated on the beach side of the Etang de Thau.

So, where’s the architecture and culture I hear you ask?  Well, the Etang de Thau is a shallow inland lagoon that stretches between the seaside town of Agde and the port city of Sete. It is the largest lagoon in France, measuring 12 miles long and 3 miles wide, and in addition to the two towns, it has interesting villages, a long unspoilt sandy beach, a cycle path alongside the sea, and is famed for its oyster farming.  Knowing my addiction to seafood I bet you can see why this got my vote!

First Stop - A Trip to Marseillan

Travelling with my sister and her hubby, our first port of call was Marseillan, just a short drive around the Etang. The centre of the village is all red tiled buildings packed closely together, forming tight little roads and alleyways leading down to the small port. It was market day so pretty manic in the centre. Most of the buildings have stood there since the seventeenth century, with some dating back to the twelfth.

We headed to the port which is lined with nice bars and restaurants that made it so easy to grab a drink, relax and watch the world go by.  In addition to mooring the small boats that sail the Etang, it is also home to the traditional boats that take part in jousting competitions up and down the coastline. If you ever get chance to see them in action, they are an exciting way to spend an afternoon, we’ve seen it before in Sete.

The village is a stark contrast to its seaside plage, and a must visit in my opinion.  We were pleasantly surprised to find the architecture and culture that we hadn’t thought existed on this coastline in our many previous visits.

Next Stop – A Day in Meze

Meze is situated a bit further around the Etang shoreline and in many ways similar to Marseillan, but with a much smaller centre set back from the shore.  The lovely little port is lined with bars, restaurants, vibrant flower beds and swaying palms.  Despite being on the land side of the Etang, it also has a nice sandy beach and a lovely promenade which we stretched our legs on.  The car park here is huge and right on the port/beach so you can easily park a larger motorhome for the day outside of the main summer holidays.

After an hour of promenade walking in the baking sun, we landed back in the port and took refuge in a lovely restaurant for seafood and wine (water for me as designated driver which I’m more than happy with if you give me my seafood fix)!  Another beautiful place, and there is a campsite around a 5-minute walk from the port where you could easily spend a few days exploring, there was a very easy flat cycle/walking route leading from village to village.

Final Stop - Grau D’Agde

After a couple of days by the pool, we popped to Grau D’Agde which is on the other side of Agde, we’ve been before when we stayed at Vias Plage.  However, we thought it might be nice to show our travel buddies around as it has got a nice sea front and beach.  Only a 15-minute drive, we set off mid-morning, but as we approached the seafront the roads got tighter, and the traffic came to a standstill. Little did we know that we had chosen to go on market day, it seemed we were following it along the coast this week!  So, after much breathing in and squeezing through gaps that even an old fashioned mini would fear to tread, we escaped to the other side of the river to Plage de la Tamarissiere with its huge car park, and a riverside lined with bars and restaurants (there’s a theme here, can you see we like a good walk and lots of food/drink)!

After yet another seafood lunch (the best yet), we caught the little taxi boat (2 euros return each and you can take bikes across for free) and crossed the sparkling blue river to Grau, by which point the market had already packed up and gone home!  We had a lovely walk down the riverside where sis found an amazing vegan chocolate ice-cream (she had gallstones, it had no fat in but gave her a choc fix, win win) and I got a new winter coat in the sale even though it was 28 degrees in the shade haha.

We watched the locals play pétanque at the boulodrome on the seafront. It’s not a game we play in the UK, but it should be, because it’s a lovely social event, where people of all ages turn up, form informal groups and pay nothing to play.  It would cost our councils virtually nothing to build the courts but would provide massive mental and physical health benefits for all involved.

Where We Stayed

We stayed at Les Mediterranees Camping Charlemagne in Marseillan Plage, where our travel buddies camped in their van on a pitch opposite our mobile home, one of the best we’ve rented.  They take ACSI so pitches are very cheap for a superb 4* site.  We’ve stayed before in our motorhome so knew it would be a winner for them.  The campsite is very clean and well set out, with a mix of mobile homes and camping pitches. It comes complete with lovely warm indoor and outdoor pools that we found difficult to tear ourselves away from.

Marseillan Plage is largely a single street village, running parallel with the beach, with bars, shops and restaurants running down either side, and campsites behind them. There was a fantastic boulangerie opposite our campsite gate selling all types of breads, patisseries and our favoured fougasse, with its cheese, olive and lardons toppings.

It’s a busy little place, with a lovely mix of nationalities and cycling is most people’s preferred method of transport once they’ve pitched up. It’s easy to see why because the cycle paths in the region are excellent.

Where We Ate

Marseillan: Fancying a light lunch on a hot day, we decided to have a galette at La Maison de Camille, despite its 4.4 rating on google let’s just say I’ve had better!

Meze: La Maison du Pecheur doesn’t look up to much from the outside, but it was the menu that attracted us. I won’t bore you with what all four of us had, but there was much lip smacking going on and I’d highly recommend it.

Plage de la Tamarissiere: Les Dunes Restaurant on the quayside, OMG it was amazing. My Assiette de l’Admiral (tuna, prawns, mussels and cuttlefish) was outstanding!  Another for the “must go back to” list.

Marseillan Plage: Campsite restaurants aren’t always great, but Restaurant Charlemagne had a nice, relaxed vibe, the food was good with a 3-course Plat de Jour at excellent value, and the staff were friendly.  Sis said it was the best Mojito of the holiday and she’s very particular about them!

Summary

We were looking for sun, a bit of R&R and few interesting places to visit and this region gave us exactly what we were looking for.  So much so that we extended our visit to a week, which means we really liked it. The facilities on the campsite were top notch and having the car helped us to get further afield and opened our eyes to how nice the region really is, but it was equally doable on bikes and local transport.  If you like a mixed holiday, then this is a place to visit.

Enough waffle for this week, if you have been to the area, please drop me a comment on the blog letting me know what you thought of it.  If you enjoy reading my blogs, please like and subscribe to my website so you get notified when the next blog is published.  It’s completely free, I don’t fill your inbox with unwanted spam, and it really means the world to me to know my experience has helped someone else.

Happy Travels