Located between a lagoon and the Med and connecting the Canal du Midi to the sea, this southern French working port is a great place to get seafood and sea views. Throughout the summer you can also catch some water-jousting where old-style lifeboats (barque de sauvetage) with multiple oarsmen and one jouster charge at each other and try to unseat their opponent.
Sète is also a must for anyone who wants to pay homage to local lads Paul Valéry and George Brassens, or visit the real-life set of Agnès Varda's New Wave classic La Point Courte.
Highlights
Wander around the old town and eat seafood while looking at the boats that brought in the catch
Watch some water-jousting - speak to the Tourist Information office for this season's details
Visit the Espace George Brassens to learn more about the poet and singer-songwriter, listen to some of his songs and then go to the Cimetière Le Py (known locally as the 'poor' cemetery) to visit his grave
Go to the Le Cimetière Marin ('rich' cemetery) for some great views and to pay homage to enlighten thinker and symbolist poet, Paul Valery. You may also want to visit the nearby museum
Have a wander round the narrow streets and fishermen's cottages at La Point Courte, the setting of Agnès Varda's breakthrough film of the same name (see station stroll below)
Station stroll ideas
If you have an hour or two to spare waiting for a train, why not go for a wander?
Tourist info provide a map here with key sights marked.
I've also made a downloadable PDF and accompanying google map which will give you a feel for the place and take in the sights.
Guided tours
Tourist info provide a calendar of guided tours (mostly in French) which you can find here.
Luggage
If you want to stroll without a care in the world, including your luggage, you could try using the nannybag app to find a place that will take your bags.
If you'd like to find out more about the place before you go, I've made a video below.
A wander around Sète
In this short video I go for a wander around the 'Venice of the Languedoc', consider why Sète needed a name change and visit the final resting places of George Brassens and Paul Valéry,
..and here's a written version.
Getting there
It takes about an hour to get to Sète from Nimes and about two hours to Portbou. The trains are cheap and you don't need to book in advance - ideal for people like me.
Useful links
Tourist info: https://en.tourisme-sete.com/
Where next?
How about Portbou?