A month in Marseillan port, a gorgeous spot in the South of France; avoiding confusion; cassoulet at Marseillan Plage; Here Come the Campbells… the Baragwanaths and Wendy; out and about in Marseillan; running around L’Étang de Thau; two fêtes worse than death (not really); Marseillan Cheat Sheet; our favourite restaurants; best day-trips from Marseillan
A full year ago, Roy booked us a two-bedroom apartment in Résidence Farenc in the port town of Marseillan, right on the water, for almost the entire month of June. Four weeks might sound like a long time to be in the same place. But when the time came to leave, I felt I could have stayed another month. Roy said he felt the same way.
Résidence Farenc, Marseillan port
Avoiding Confusion
It’s about an hour’s drive from Montpellier Airport to Résidence Farenc at 4 Rue Suffren, Marseillan. Don’t get confused: Marseillan is not Marseilles. Marseilles is the second-biggest city in France, whereas Marseillan is the small port town on the Étang de Thau.
We know Marseillan port because we spent three hot, sticky nights here in August 2017. We loved the place. (That’s another story, which you can find in my blog-post here. You’ll see from the pics there that Roy’s looking a lot thinner nowadays, and I’m looking a bit older, alas.) So we thought it would be a good idea to come back when the weather was less insufferable.
Back in 2017, we were on our replica Dutch barge Karanja (which we’ve since sold), making our way to the start of the Canal du Midi, Paul Riquet’s 17th-century marvel of engineering that connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. (More later on the Étang de Thau and the Canal du Midi.)
Marseillan Plage
Also, don’t confuse Marseillan with Marseillan Plage. Marseillan Plage is a newish town about 10km from Marseillan, especially designed for families on holiday. My German gym friend, Roland, used to go there as a child, and has fond memories of the place.
Roy, after agreeing to a drink at The Mosquito Bar – the sole eatery on the wide, long beach – put on his miserable face until he was allowed to escape from the “tourist tat”. I don’t know, those pavement paellas looked amazing.
Le Cassoulet
He deigned to return to Marseillan Plage only because its relatively humble yet highly rated La Maison seemed to be the only restaurant in the area that currently serves cassoulet.
This addictive casserole of duck (or other poultry), sausage (ideally Touloussain), pork and beans (preferably Tarbais) is widely available in Carcassonne, Toulouse and Castelnaudury, known as the three homes of cassoulet. Find our early encounters with cassoulet here (Chez David, Castelnaudury) and here (Carcassonne).
Spoiler alert: Chez David wins hands down.
Meet the Team in Marseillan Port
Here Come the Campbells, the Baragwanaths … and Wendy
And finally, don’t let your navigator confuse 4 Rue Suffren, Marseillan with 4 Rue Suffren, Valras Plage, which is another small coastal town half an hour away by car. That’s what our lovely Californian friends Ellie and Steve did when they arrived to spend three nights with us… but no matter, they still arrived in time for apéro hour.
Then came our hospitable Singapore friends, Salinah and Paul Baragwanath, who’d been swanning around Istanbul, Athens and Mykonos before popping down from Paris to spend five nights with us. We did a side-trip with them to Arles, another of our favourite towns. (More on that later, in Part 3 of this France trilogy.)
Weekends saw daughter Wendy driving the 150km to and from her home in Aix-en-Provence. She found a handy Airbnb just around the corner from us.
Then came a WhatsApp from our peripatetic buddies, the supreme adventurers, the ever-wandering Gail and Neil Greenfield. South Africans whom we met in Singapore, they made the life-changing decision, well before the usual retirement age, to jump off the hamster wheel and exit the cage forever.
There must be other couples who constantly travel the world, but these are the only ones I know personally; they’ve been at it for over 12 years, and their annual itineraries boggle the brain. (Have a look at their blog here, and you’ll see what I mean.)
We also got to have lunch in Narbonne with Kiwis Trish and Tony, who were staying in Narbonne port on their boat Anneke. We’re friends from Moissac days. (More on Narbonne below.)
Marseillan Port, Out and About
Marseillan is all about the port, which dates back to around 1600 : rive droite (right bank) and rive gauche (left bank). That’s where you find most – though definitely not all – of the restaurants, bars and bistros. It’s also the focus of summer festivities like the annual ceramics fair, La Fête de la Musique and other community events.
According to this informative history panel, the port of Marseillan was officially opened around 1600, and King Louis XIV embarked here in 1642 to much fanfare. Extensive works were carried out in 1680, following the construction of the Canal du Midi.
Running around L’Étang de Thau
For my morning walk or run along the banks of the Étang de Thau, I’d either:
a) Turn right, in the direction of Pont Des Onglous and the Canal du Midi:
OR
b) Turn left, pass the small marina called Port de Tabarka, and head for Port Concylicole des Mazets, where the oyster and mussel farmers ply their trade. (All about that fascinating subject coming up in my next post, Part 2!)
La Féte de la Ceramique
This annual ceramics fair over two days was outstanding: the variety of styles, the ingenuity and the top-notch quality of the work needs to be seen to be appreciated. Threatened into near-submission by my luggage handler, I was cowed into settling for just one item to take home: a nifty olive dish and toothpick-holder. Unfortunately, it’s in deepest, darkest storage until we move into our new house.
La Fête de la Musique in Marseillan port
This admirable tradition takes place in practically every French village, town and city on 21 June every year. Organised by local authorities and arts/cultural bodies, it started in 1982 and apparently happens in a number of other countries, too.
In our experience, it consists of free, public, outdoor musical performances in a wide variety of genres. Magical! And, in the South of France, anyway, it’s pretty much guaranteed to be warm and dry. If in Paris, bring your umbrella.
Marseillan Cheat Sheet
#1 Best cocktail
Le Marseillanais – Two measures of Noilly Prat Classic Dry and one Noilly Prat Rouge, served ice cold with a twist of lemon and/or lime, over ice (that’s how I like it, anyway – avec des glaçons). You can order it anywhere, but by far the best we had was at Brasserie Le Marius on the port, left bank.
#2 Best bakery
Maison Garcia, at the first roundabout as you head to the centre ville from the port. Its baguette aux céréales is a big part of why Roy and I put on 4kg – yes, each! – during this trip. Well, maybe the restaurants and bars did their bit.
#3 Best salon
Julie Martin Coiffure, opposite the bakery. Getting your hair colour done is an excellent way to practise your French, as the unfortunate stylist can’t get away from you. The blow-dry, or “brushing” in French, was just OK, though.
#4 Best supermarkets
- the Spar in centre ville, and
-
a big Carrefour, a walkable 1.5km from the port – as long as you’re not stocking up on heavy stuff, in which case you do need a car.
#5 Best wine shop
Les Caves Richemer, 51 Route de Bessan, just out of town; its fabulous Perle de Thau Brut is a methode traditionelle that costs just €12.90
#6 Best day trips
* Agde
Famous for its large, round lock, which we passed through on Karanja in 2017; and for the ancient town (circa 6th century) having been built on a basalt volcano. That’s why its cathedral and the surrounding architecture is black-ish in colour. The trompe-l’oeil murals one block away from it are startling by comparison.
* Beziers
(More to come in Part 3.)
* Mèze
A port town with a Sunday market, a bigger port than the one at Marseillan, and a nice beach. (More to come in Part 3.)
* Sète
A much bigger city with a huge port, and an amazing covered market.
* Narbonne
Also a bigger city, with its port on the Canal de la Robine, which connects it to the Mediterranean Sea. It boasts what’s been called the region’s best covered market.
* Pezenas
An old town with a fixation on Moliére, possibly marketing-driven. It also has a thriving Saturday market and a lot of antiques stores.
* Bouzigues
This quaint seaside town has a narrow pebbled beach and loads of restaurants; so popular is it for Sunday lunch that we twice tried and twice failed to find parking. Hence the absence of photos, sorry.
#7 Market Day
Market day in Marseillan is Tuesday (until 1pm).
#8 Our favourite Marseillan restaurants
* Le Chateau du Port, rive droite
* Upendo, rive droite
* Pap-y J, on the port, rive droite
* La Taverne du Port, rive gauche
#9 Most popular bar
Le Marine Bar, 24 boulevard Lamartine
#10 Top Tours
- L’Étoile de Thau’s promenade en bateau on the Diane 1, leaving from the port; booking recommended. (Lots more about this in my next blog post, Part 2.)
- Noilly Prat cellar tour; booking recommended – ask specifically for an English tour unless you’re actually French; mine wasn’t nearly good enough. (Much more in my next blog post, Part 2.)
#11 Most Interesting Character
The courteous yet somewhat taciturn man who regularly feeds these gulls at the port of Marseillan. He has them trained to wait their turn. You see him on various commercial boats in the port, zooming around in a shiny black Mustang, or parked either in or around the port area. Honorary mayor of Marseillan port? Given another month, I would have found out.
Next up: Part 2, of course… all about oyster farming and Noilly Prat vermouth in the port of Marseillan.
