The first time I stepped out of the train station in Sète I gasped and thought to myself, “Did I fall asleep on the train and end up in Venice?”
In front of me there was a turquoise blue canal where colorful sailboats bobbed in the water and pastel-hued apartment buildings lined the shores. Stone bridges were decorated with vibrant flags and flowers, inviting me to cross them and arrive in the historic waterfront town center. I had no idea a city like this existed in France!
I had booked my three-day stay in Sète without knowing too much about the city, and within the first hour I was already planning a return visit for a week… or a month… or the rest of my life… This beautiful city by the sea in Occitanie had everything that I was looking for in a Mediterranean vacation destination, including beaches that are perfect for swimming, a dynamic culinary scene, unique traditional culture and easy access to other destinations in the South of France by intercity train.
In this guide I am going to share some of the highlights from my three-day visit to Sète. I’ll organize this list of the best things to do in Sète, France as a loose itinerary that could be squeezed into one (busy) day in Sète or two days at a more relaxing pace. Even if you’re pressed for time, make sure to read to the end because I saved the most unique activity in Sète for last! Of course, if you’re able to find a few extra days in your France itinerary, I recommend staying a little longer to fully soak in the city’s undiscovered charms.
Take a Scenic Boat Trip in Sète
I’m putting this first on the list of things to do in Sete because you may need to book it before you arrive in the city, or at minimum as soon as you arrive.
For me, the highlight of my trip to Sete was the boat trip I spontaneously booked the night before I arrived in town. I chose one of the tours that departed in the late afternoon and included sailing along the town’s canals and under the many bridges (only one required ducking our heads!), a brief excursion into the Mediterranean Sea, and then a tour of the Etang de Thau lagoon, including a visit to the famous oyster farms.
As a little surprise, our boat captain took us to his friend’s seafood restaurant near Bouzigues. We docked in front of the restaurant and his friend brought out a platter of fresh oysters while the captain popped open a bottle of champagne. This wasn’t advertised in the tour description, so I don’t think it happens on every sailing (but you never know!).
The schedules and routes for Sète boat tours will vary depending on season, with more options in the high season and fewer options during the rest of the year. I recommend checking the options on GetYourGuide or Viator to see what departures are scheduled for the time when you’ll be in town.
Walk Along the Canals
Sète is sometimes called “The Venice of Occitanie”, as I learned after a few hours in the city. The main canal in the city is called the Canal Royale. Running north to south, it connects the Etang de Thau lagoon with the Mediterranean Sea. Several smaller canals intersect and run parallel to the Canal Royal, creating a network of waterways for transporting people and goods around the city.
I spent several hours just strolling along the canals in Sète, checking out all the different types of boats (from bathtub-sized miniboats to huge ferries that sail to Africa), ducking into beachy boutiques and watching the sea birds wait for their next catch.
The canals in Sete are part of a wider network of canals that cross France. Sète is the end point for the famous Canal du Midi, which runs for 240 kilometers from Toulouse to the Etang de Thau. It is also on the Rhône-Sète Canal, which flows west from the town of Beaucaire to the Etang de Thau, just skirting the edges of the town of Aigues-Mortes. If you’re exploring the South of France by bicycle, the local tourist information offices can help you plan a route that follows these famous canals.
Visit the Panoramic Lookout Point
Sète is built around Mont Saint-Clair, a volcanic hill that separates the lagoon from the sea. It’s worth making the journey up the mountain to get a panoramic view of the town and the canals.
If the weather is agreeable I’ve been told you can walk up the hill in about thirty minutes, but since it was nearly 40° Celsius at the time of my trip to Sète I took public bus #5 from the city center to the La Croix Saint-Clair stop. The bus stop gets its name from the white cross monument at the top of the hill, which is just beside the viewpoint where I took the photo above.
See the Naive Art in the Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette
Just across from the panoramic lookout on Mont Saint-Clair in Sète you’ll find the Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette. Named after a supposedly miraculous sighting of the Virgin Mary in the not-nearby village of La Salette-Fallavaux, this 19th-century church is famous for its immersive interior murals, painted in the 1950s by Jacques Bringuier, an artist from Beziers.
Explore the Cemetery by the Sea
If you take the bus back down the hill (or if you descend on foot) you’ll want to make a stop en route at the Cemetery by the Sea, or Le Cimetière Marin.
This seaside cemetery is well-known to French readers, as it was the inspiration for a famous poem by Sètois poet Paul Valery called Le Cimetière Marin. Written in 1925, the poem is a philosophical reflection based on his memories of visiting the cemetery and is referenced in several other well-known French works.
Today, Paul Valery is buried in the cemetery here, with the path to his tombstone well-marked. Behind the cemetery there is also the Musée Paul Valéry, an Le Corbusier-inspired art museum exhibiting modern and contemporary works connected to the city’s artistic history.
Check out The Museum of the Sea
Normally I would skip over a museum about sailing, but the girl at the tourist information office circled it on my map of Sete about ten times and said pointedly, “It’s free and it has air conditioning.” So, since I was nearby, I popped into the Museum of the Sea in Sete, which features several floors of exhibits about the city’s maritime history.
Visit Les Halles de Sete
Seafood lovers will want to make a beeline for Les Halles de Sète, the city’s bustling covered food market. Although the city has had a food market since the 1800s, the current building near the Canal Royal was constructed in 2011 (and yes, the steel mesh on the facade is part of the design!). Les Halles are open daily from 7:00 to 14:00 and are consistently packed with locals who come both to shop for groceries and to dine at the many food stalls inside the market.
The most typical local dish to try at Les Halles de Sète is called a tielle Sétois. This is a small pie that is stuffed with octopus stew. Sometimes it’s shaped like an empanada that could fit in the palm of your hand, while other times it looks more like an individual quiche. As a vegetarian I had to skip this regional specialty, but based on how many stalls at the market were selling it I can attest to its popularity!
Spend a Day at the Beach in Sete
Although there are no beaches right in the center of Sète, it’s easy to hop on a public bus (or jump in your car) to reach the countless beaches lining the coast between Sète and Agde. Here, a thirteen-kilometer stretch of sand dunes separates the Mediterranean Sea from the Etang de Thau and its salt flats, with the best beaches being located on the Mediterranean side.
With my limited time in Sète I visited three beaches near the city center: Plage de la Corniche, Plage de la Fontaine and Plage des Quilles. The three are all within a ten-minute walk of one another, and all have wide stretches of sand leading into calm, protected bays for swimming. At the time of my visit in August there were jellyfish at the beaches on the Etang de Thau side, but not on the Mediterranean side.
Watch a Traditional Water Jousting Tournament
When I was in the Museum of the Sea I noticed an exhibit about water jousting, a sport that actually dates back to Ancient Egypt. Known locally as les joutes, this sport sees two competing teams sail their boats towards one another, while a dedicated jouster aboard each boat protects themselves with a shield while trying to knock their opponent into the water using a long lance. Some of the boats will have a trumpeter or drummer on board as well, adding to the excitement.
Today, France is the country with the most water jousting teams, and Sète is considered to be the sport’s home base. The first water jousting tournament was held here in 1666, and the tradition continues today… as I happened to see when I was visiting Plage des Quilles! Bleachers were set up in the port area, where it was free to watch the teams compete in a friendly match against one another. (I mean, I assume the matches were friendly as half seemed to end in handshakes or high-fives rather than anyone being pushed off the boat!)
The main water jousting season in Sète runs from June to September, but you may be able to catch an exhibition match outside that time frame. During the tournament season the municipal government will post a schedule of dates, times and locations on their website – just search for sete joutes calendrier and it should be near the top of the search results.
If you’re heading to the South of France, you’ll also want to read these guides to nearby destinations:
🎨 The Best Things to Do in Collioure, France
🏰 The Best Hotels Inside the Medieval Walled City of Carcassonne
⭐ How to Stay Inside a Former Prison in Beziers, France
🦞 Les Grands Buffets de Narbonne: My Honest Review
💕 15 Things to Do in Perpignan, France
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