Sète or Cette? Yes.

June 28, 2017

Sète: The Venice of Languedoc?

Don’t take the bus to Sète from Montpellier. The TGV goes through Sète, but the local trains (TER, or Transport Express Régional) are more frequent, and it’s only a 20-minute ride. I left my flat at 8:15 and walked to Montpellier Station, printed out the ticket I bought on the SNCF app on my iPhone, and still had plenty of time to spare.

Sète’s port dates back to Louis XIV and Jean-Baptiste Colbert, who financed its creation in the mid-1600s. Sète was a major export point for Languedoc wines, which were mostly fortified. The phylloxera outbreak in the 1870s devastated much of

Languedoc’s vineyards, and Sète became a major import hub for foreign wines. Later, the port began bringing in petroleum, and tropical fruit.

Sète was written as “Cette” until 1928. Why the spelling change? I can’t find a ready explanation other than Sète appears to be the Occitan spelling. Locals are called Sétois.

Since its creation, Sète has hosted water jousting, held in August, when it’s brutally hot. Two large boats powered by rowers approach each other, and a lone jouster standing on an elevated platform at each boat’s stern tries to

Poster for water jousting

knock the other jouster into the water. If you walk past the tourist office, toward the sea, you can see the local water jousting school next to the marina.

I went to Sète hoping to see an arts festival, but I failed. I made up for it by photographing some amazing street art and visiting several art museums. However, by virtue of proximity to the cafe where I ate breakfast, I began my tour with a visit to the Musée de la Mer.

If you’re into model ships and watching a video of water jousting in action, this is the place for you. I learned how to identify a

Model ships at Musée de la Mer

typical sailboat from Sète with the boom crossing the mast at an angle, and I got to see quite a few decorated jousting shields.

Further up the hill, past the Maritime Cemetery and around the corner to the left was the Musée Paul Valéry. It was the first Sunday of the month, and that meant entrance was free. Next to the Musée Réattu in Arles,

Maritime Cemetery. Paul Valéry is buried here.

the Paul Valéry was a close second in its relaxed atmosphere and beautiful surroundings.

Paul Valéry was one of France’s foremost 20th century poets and a native of Sète. His most famous poem was about the Maritime Cemetery, so it’s fitting his museum is immediately next to it. Inside the museum, you’ll find a large collection of paintings of the area around Sète by well-known artists,

Painting by Raoul Dufy

as well as some by not-so-famous local artists. There are even paintings by Valéry himself, and they’re quite good. I was happy to find three works by Raoul Dufy, and I was impressed by a painting dedicated to assassinated journalists.

I returned to the marina area to look for a seafood restaurant, but I had missed the window to find a place not overrun with

tourists. Along the Quai Générale Durand, every establishment seemed full. For no reason whatsoever, I chose randomly Les Délices de Jade. The Maître D’ sat me at a table for two near the door, and I enjoyed fish soup, grilled whitefish, and fromage blanc with berries for 21.50 euros.

By now, it was early afternoon, and I made my way back to the train station, but not before stopping by the uniquely-named

Glass box display at Museum of Modest Art

International Museum of Modest Art. Like the Paul Valéry, this too was free admission on the first Sunday. It’s basically a large, high-ceilinged room with a two-level balcony. The open wall is full of provocative paintings and mixed media, and the mezzanine had large glass boxes full of artfully arranged keepsakes and nicknacks from France’s past. I imagined how the installation made French people feel nostalgic.