We Chose Sète in Winter — What It’s Actually Like
We arrived in Sète, France in January with three months ahead of us and no real picture of what winter here would look like.
New to our story? Start from the beginning: https://www.youtube.com/watchv=wUCnnhlKYk0&list=PL4kGiHocVcCi9MpqmybLDHk1F28MLmjqB&index=1
What’s Inside This Episode
We arrived by train from Montpellier — fifteen minutes, six euros, and a canal right outside the station. We decided to walk to the Airbnb and crossed three bridges in wind that was genuinely brutal. Almost nothing was open for dinner on night one so we picked up groceries and cooked at the apartment.
Our Airbnb sits in the center of town right off the Canal Royal in the Rue Gambetta area — a stone’s throw from Les Halles market, bakeries, and the waterfront. Four apartments in the building and we have the whole place to ourselves. Cathedral ceilings, two extra rooms we’re not using, and averaging $1,787 a month because it’s winter.
Sète is not the French Riviera. No sandy beaches, no glitz, nothing like Nice or Cannes. What you get instead is a working fishing port — oysters and cuttlefish at every market, boats in the canal, locals sitting outside at cafes in the cold like it is completely normal. Clean, walkable, and visually stunning even in January.
The volume of closed businesses, the wind, the quiet streets, the fishing industry that shuts down with the weather, and the tourists who simply don’t come in winter. The storm that moved through when we arrived finally cleared. And by the end of week one Sète felt like somewhere we could actually stay.
#slowtravel #sete #southoffrance #franceliving #retirementabroad #earlyretirement #lifeafter50 #expatlife #over50travel #fulltimetravel
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CHAPTERS
00:00 – First Impressions of Sète
01:06 – $1,787 a Month — What You Get
04:01 – The Canals, the Oysters, the Vibe
07:02 – What Nobody Tells You About Winter Here
09:45 – Is Sète Worth Visiting in Winter
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23 Comments
We stayed near Pezenas for a couple weeks last April and did a day trip to Marseillan which looks like a smaller version of Sete. Cute little town but we weren't keen about the local fish soup. We are headed to Bordeaux for a month in a couple weeks then back to Pezenas for the month of September. We have really enjoyed watching your videos, keep up the great work !
Sète in January. The Airbnb: $1,787/month. The bus pass: 10€ for 10 rides. The reality of winter in the south of France.
When you arrive somewhere new, what's the first thing that helps you figure out a place?
Wondering what slow travel actually costs when staying somewhere for months at a time → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wsr_O-0HYHc&list=PL4kGiHocVcChh4Cbx6aVYLS9_7KdsRlC4&index=2
Hello, before you go fishing, check to see if you need a license so you don't get a ticket if you're stopped for a check. Greetings from Alsace
sete has been on my radar as a less expensive spot on the water, merci for sharing
I was there for a month, mid Jan- mid Feb and it was often COLD, windy and rainy. There are 2 lidl stores in Sete, you will likely have to take a bus to both of them. There is also a large Carrefour 332 Av. du Maréchal Juin, 34200 Sète, France. You will come across beaches if you walk or take the bus along the water to plage de la corniche. The nicer Lidl store is at 76 Rue de la Chasse aux Papillons, 34200 Sète and is not far from corniche. I did try the Tiele when I first got to Sete and got food poisoning from it, glad you decided to leave them alone. You can also take the bus (loved the Euro 1 ticket) and get to the mega carrefour and the big mall in Balaruc le vieux in less than 15 minutes. Make sure to walk the entire length of Rue de Tunis to see some pretty amazing street art. Enjoy your stay!
Looks beautiful. The Windy City here taught us a scarf is a key component of your wardrobe. Gloves and a hat help too. The locals probably enjoy having their city quieter. Thanks for sharing.
What a pretty town.
I ❤ Sète
I was there last September and loved it! It was a location scouting trip (planning to move out of the US in a couple of years) and this town definitely made our list. Enjoy it!
Hi Liza & Scott,
Tim and I were in Sete on Wednesday for a day trip from Montpellier. We had a delicious lunch @ La Peniche. It’s located about 15 minutes out of town area, right on the water. It’s a lovely house boat.
We liked Sete a lot. It’s a great little fishing town. I was also surprised how clean it was. I was expecting Gloucester MA, French style. 😂
There is a nice beach in Sete. We didn’t go because the wind kicked up around 3pm and it got cold!! Our train back to Montpellier was at 4:00. We had just enough time to explore. We are headed back to Nice today, Friday 3/27. It’s too bad we didn’t have time for a meet up. If you’re in Nice again, reach out. We are there for a year exploring all of France and Europe. We are heading to Berlin at the end of April and Malta in May.
Take care.
Jackie & Tim
Boston Strong 😊
Scott and Liza, thanks for sharing your adventures in Sete. When you mentioned Auchan, I had a flashback about the one that I shopped at in Lyon. It was huge, but the best part was the patisserie section. Enjoy your travels!
Thanks for sharing. It's a great city, but indeed, anything west of about St. Tropez is suspectable to the really strong Mistral winds which can be bone cutting cold in the winter and quite disruptive in the summer as well. I think a lot of people don't realize this, hence the real Cote d'Azur doesn't suffer as much from this and has a better climate, esp. in winter.
Wait till the Mistral wind hits in Fall — that's another very cold wind in that part of the south. Otherwise, it's a beautiful region. Enjoy! Do you plan to settle there or are you just scouting out the area for now?
Yes… the WIND!!! That's something they rarely tell you about the south of France… But it is definitely a thing and not just in winter. 🤷🏼♀️
French here living in Texas. I know the region very well. Sète is indeed bustling during late spring and summer time. But winter has its charm. Sète was home to a very famous singer called George Brassens. You might want to listen to his songs while walking through the city or sipping coffee at the terrace of a café.
Tièle is a very local recipe and it’s really good. Please try it.
Beach (plage) wise, plage des Aresquiers and plage de Frontignan are worth it but a bit far.
Enjoy!
You should definitely try a tielle. They are delicious. Have one with a salad and you have a great lunch! Sete is fun place to explore but not sure I'd want to be there in winter! You're a lot more brave than me!🙂🙃
Wondering if you’ll get over to Les grands buffets in Narbonne while you’re in the area. Haven’t been, but it sounds like it would be a fun experience. Would love to see you do a video of that!
The little pies as you call them are tielle setoise, the fish used is octopus
Séte is beautiful-I've been there several times-I'm glad you're enjoying it-but you're right it isn't anything like the Côte d'Azur-which is a world unto its self. I know you just posted this but some of the shots had to be taken in January or February-in the shot of the boulangerie they were selling galette de rois-and that ended med February-and some of the trees were budding. I don't know where you came from but I don't find the winters here cold-it's more like the weather you'd find in early spring. Bienvenue et profitez!
Gosh, you arrived in January & I didn't notice until today? I even commented on your other video last week-duh!
Trust me – that's not at all "dead". I landed in Agde in mid-Feb and I haven't seen more than 8 people gathered in one place anywhere in the last month. (ok, maybe at the Grocery and the kids at mcDonalds) Love to come over and meet you, buy you both a coffee or drink ! I'm right between Sete & Bezier.
Thanks for the video ! I hope you'll have a good time there. I am surprised by what you said about sandy beaches : there is a huge one just after the city and you can easily reach it by foot ! 🙂 Check on Google Earth.
A quick information : Sète used to be the city where Venetians settled in the XVII° century, called by Louis XIV. That is why Sète has this original identity – and the famous tielle pie is part of it !
We know Béziers but not Sète, but they’re close to each other. We have a friend who used to run a restaurant in a canal house on a canal chock full of canal boat vacationers. You’re better off there in colder months. The canals attract mosquitoes in shocking numbers. And, the French don’t use window screens! 🥺.
Not a great deal….I own a bnb and rent a two bedroom off season by the month for much less. (€1.000) Oh fellow native Bostonian here 😉 Les tielles are delicious….try them ! Bouzigues and Sete are well known for their mussels and oysters. Stuffed oysters are a spécialités. Not the Riviera….gorgeous beaches in the Camargues. The "tour boats " are most likely the shuttle boats that take you into town from a big parking lot across the canal.