An Escapade to Sete, France

August 13, 2018

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by Mabel Gago

[/x_text][/x_column][x_column bg_color=”” type=”3/4″ style=”padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px; “][x_text]When it comes to summer, the word “escapade” quickly comes to mind.
The sunlight and holidays push us towards little pleasures and adventures often associated with discovering new places with its people and culture. Our friends at RENFE SNCF and Tryptic know how to organize a great escapade.

We all know the coasts of Catalonia and France are beautiful, both close and well connected. But we suggest that you avoid the traffic and become a lucky user of the AVE train. It’s faster, cheaper and extremely comfortable. You have both your hands and senses available to enjoy while traveling. So whether you’re a local or traveling to Spain or France, the AVE is an efficient way to explore.

All Aboard RENFE SNCF

During the brief period in summer from July to September, the village of Sète in France is included as one of the top summer destinations by RENFE SNCF.

Imagine you are in the midst of a crowded city such as Barcelona. It’s a beautiful city, but sometimes you need to go out and embrace the French philosophy “le joie du vivre” — somewhere where time stops and in a place where the breeze of the sea creates the soundtrack of your journey. And, oh là là, Sète is perfect!

So, early on a recent morning, we jumped into the wagon of the train at the Barcelona Sants Station. In just under three hours, the Little Venice of the Languedoc, the village of Sète, was at our feet.[/x_text][x_slider animation=”slide” slide_time=”7000″ slide_speed=”1000″ slideshow=”false” random=”false” control_nav=”false” prev_next_nav=”true” no_container=”false” ][x_slide]

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First Impressions

In life, first impressions are really important. In Sète, we were welcomed by a pair of great ambassadors, Arnaud and Marie-France, as well as by the ancient port and lake Etang de Thau.

The doors of Sète had been amazingly opened for us by Marie-France and Arnaud. They were our wonderful hosts who made us feel so welcome from the second we arrived. We were ready to enjoy this fisherman’s village, also known as the Little Venice. Everyone we met during our visit said hello to Marie-France and Arnaud. That was a beautiful signal that our guides loved their city and its people.

And this is so relevant for the tourist industry. As you know, one of my passions and jobs is customer experience. What Marie-France, Arnaud, Renfe and Tryptic have done, was create an authentic customer experience for us.

We were led by these two amazing hosts for an entire day, actually, a very warm day! Thanks to Marie-France’s attention to detail and thoughtfulness, we were able to face the heat with glamour with a cotton printed fan of Sète which she gifted to each of us.

While we were in Arnaud’s bus, being driven around to explore Sète, Marie-France introduced us to village life. It’s surprising to learn how young Sète is, only 350 years old. At first sight, no one would say that. Every little corner we were seeing from the windows of the bus seemed to be filled with many stories.

The Italian Influence

In the year 1666, the commercial vision of King Louis XIV was to attract businessmen and convince them to invest their money in the creation of the perfect city for the fishing industry.

Visionary Louis XIV thought about the perfect place, a strategic location which would act like a maritime highway between the sea and the French cities. So at the beginning of the Canal du Midi, he started by creating the village of Sète. But at that time, the area of Sète was inhabited by pirates and so he drove them out to create his city.

Many foreigners from Argelia, Spain and many Italians, arrived in Sète to work on the construction of the canals. This is relevant as the Italians made a lasting impact on the heritage, culture, gastronomy and character of Sète. The corners of this Mediterranean village don’t feel like other French sites, instead, the mixture of all these cultures has created a unique place — the strong sense of heritage, roots and values, to the pasta, fish and vegetables, and finally the buildings and the art–all of these are the result of an explosion of cultures which have lived together in harmony.

The Sights, Sounds and Flavors of Sète

We arrived at the Pointe Courte, a very special place filled with colorful fisherman’s houses full of Mediterranean decoration, like an artistic ghetto filled with fishing references and decorated with a very personal touch with some kind of hippy wave. Believe me. It is the perfect place for artists and photographers. Doors opened, people seated outside saying hello to us and a lot of cute cats relaxing and performing a Mediterranean siesta, this was Pointe Courte.

From there, we were taken to the Monte Saint-Clair. The top of its 183 meters offered a magnificent view of Sète and its surrounding countryside.

Our route continued through the village was full of beautiful facades painted by local artists. It was such an eye-opening experience to enjoy this street museum first hand. Then, the perfect time for embracing the life and tastes of Sète arrived.

Les Halles, the principal market, is a festival of local and fresh products from oysters, fish, lobsters, olives, wines, colorful vegetables… and all so well presented, thus Les Halles seems like a gastronomic haute couture show. The life around Les Halles made it also the perfect place to meet and enjoy the quotidian French lifestyle.

Gastronomy is like a religion in France and Les Halles is the perfect place to sit down, open a bottle of local wine and taste the fresh shellfish and the typical tielles filled with octopus. This is the perfect setting where flavors flow with conversations–a gastronomic spa. Here, you can easily see the culinary heritage of Sète–an explosion of seafood, colorful vegetables and pasta–because the Italians’ roots have happily remained around the local gastronomy of the village. And what fresh pasta!

What about the wines? It’s a paradise for wine lovers. The diverse range of grape varieties has created the unique personality of the wines of the Southwest. These are native varieties, exclusively local, which have been part and parcel of the Southwest for centuries. Braucol, duras and loin de l’œil in Gaillac; négrette in Fronton, malbec in Cahors, mansoï in Marcillac, etc., this richness generates an original range of aromas and a uniquely distinct character for each and every wine.

After our visit to Les Halles, we were taken to the beach. Sète also has sandy beaches with 12 km of beaches stretching almost as far as Marseillan Plage. This breathtaking landscape was accompanied by another gastronomic experience–The Cabanon de la Plage. This was the chic maritime corner chosen by Marie-France for our lunch.

A vintage boat welcomed us. The smooth breeze of the sea accompanied us while enjoying another gastro experience composed of sophistication, fresh products and excellent service surrounded by a magnificent view. Save space for desserts because you cannot leave France without tasting its sweets. We felt so good that none of us wanted to leave. But, more discoveries were awaiting us.

We arrived to the ancient port and from there, climbed the circular, never-ending stairs of the beautiful village lighthouse. This was another place to get the best views and breathe in the air of the sea.

A snack was our next surprise. A tourist boat was awaiting us. An excursion that would lead us to navigate through the port, the maritime canal and Royal Canal, passing under 9 bridges and the Pointe Courte. But you have to be careful. Passing under these bridges requires your attention because the more we advanced, the lower the bridges were and so we needed to exercise caution so as not to lose our heads.

The Royal Canal is the epicenter during the main festival of the village. During the 23rd-28th of August, Sète celebrates Saint Louis. The Canal acts as the scene of a curious and rare battle. Imagine King Arthur’s knights, then add a scene with gondoliers. Finally, add in regattas. This is the introduction of the spectacle and folklore around the festival of Saint Louis.

What’s more. This celebration is the perfect excuse to hold a magnificent street exhibition of the pleasures, arts and gastronomy of the city.

After the boat, we had enough time to explore in the midst of the village. The shopping offered is quite interesting and worthy. We don’t know how, but we were lucky in finding a pasta paradise, Maison Politi. Like a haute couture atelier, Julia and her husband run this Italian corner where you can see how they prepare a wide variety of fresh pasta.

The salamis, cheeses, olive oil, desserts and coffee are top notch. We had the chance to enjoy these culinary treasures thanks to the warm hospitality of Julia and her team. It was that kind of scene where the mamma does not stop in offering you her best creations. Plus, the views from Maison Politi over the canal make it a perfect place.

As you can imagine, such paradise also comes with a large offering of activities like concerts, festivals and art galleries, as well as restaurants and many artisans. That’s why I strongly believe that Sète deserves our undivided attention and hope RENFE SNCF will allow us to go deeper into the DNA to explore more hidden treasures of this unique fishing village.

To discover more unique destinations aboard RENFE SNCF, dive into our Summer Travel Issue and read about Narbonne, France.