Sigean terroir — Gruissan

Gruissan

The view from the Tour de Barberousse over the lagoon and the Canal de la Robine

Gruissan is one of our favourite coastal resorts. The traditional fishing village itself has not been significantly developed, and has managed to retain its character. Narrow streets curve around the 13th-century Tour de Barberousse, from which you can admire a stunning view over the surrounding lagoon — particularly lovely at sunset. The tower was built in 1246 as a means of repelling approaching Turkish pirates — the name is somewhat fanciful, since as far as anyone knows, Barbarossa never came anywhere near here! This lagoon is the setting for an increasingly popular and spectacular firework display on Bastille day, 14 July.

You may come across some fishermen dragging traditional seine nets up the beach — in fact, in the case of a particularly large catch you might even get roped in to help! Tuna fishing is also popular here — every fishmonger has large and impressive specimens on display and local papers regularly print photos of proud anglers struggling to hold up their catches. If you are up early enough, you can go to the fish market at the port and buy some of the morning’s catch as it is brought in from the boats.

Nearby are the large beachside developments of marinas and holiday villages, which do much to sustain the local economy. The new developments themselves are the usual high-density beach apartments but they have been imaginatively designed in irregular blocks with curves and soft shades of pink and cream, to avoid drab uniformity. The marina is particularly attractive, with many waterside restaurants where you can sample the local seafood and eye the large collection of expensive yachts anchored nearby. If your budget doesn’t stretch to one of these, you can still go on boat trips round the lagoon.

The beaches are long and sandy, and very popular with windsurfers and beach volleyball players; championships for both sports are held here during the summer. The Plage des Chalets, with its cute little wooden beach houses on stilts, is renowned as the setting for the cultish French film Betty Blue directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix.

Driving out of Gruissan along the coast road, you may notice large white pyramids ... of salt. Salt extraction is practised on a large scale here. Water is pumped into the salt pans in spring, allowed to evaporate over the summer, and the resulting salt is harvested in autumn. During the holiday season, you can take a guided tour around the salt pans and buy the natural, untreated product.

A more contemplative excursion takes you to the chapel of Notre Dame des Auzils, perched on a hill with a marvellous view over the coast. A steep path winds through a tree-shaded "sailors’ cemetery" which has the distinction of being a cemetery without bodies ... the 26 memorials lining the path are all to sailors lost at sea. At the top, the 13th century church (open from 3—6 p.m. during the summer) contains sailors’ ex-votos, placed here to solicit safety on their journeys. About 60 of them were stolen in 1968, and the local priest had them replaced by trompe l’oeil paintings. On Easter Monday, there is a procession to the church, where a service is held to pray for those at sea.

This description only scratches the surface of Gruissan’s charms ... contact the tourist information office on Boulevard du Pech Meynaud (tel. 04 68 49 03 25 or 04 68 49 09 00) to find out more. Or visit the town’s official Web site.

Other places to visit in this area:
 Bages and Peyriac-de-Mer, two attractive fishing villages on the lagoon
 Port-la Nouvelle, a classic family beach resort
 Sigean with its African safari park
 Portel, where you can visit a huge underground cavern used to store wine
 Leucate, a collection of beach resorts with differing characters
 Fitou, a wine-making village near the sea.