Sigean terroir — Port-la-Nouvelle and Sigean
- Port la Nouvelle
- fishing
Port-la-Nouvelle is a popular resort with miles of sandy beaches, lots of entertainments during the summer, and some excellent restaurants. Now France’s third-largest Mediterranean port, it was founded in 1820 as the coastal port for the Canal de la Robine linking Narbonne to the sea — hence the name. It has a couple of unique features: the futuristic windmills of the wind farm, and an extraordinary vigneron, M Fabre at the Domaine de Jugnes, just outside the town. M Fabre has used his winery to house the skeleton of a whale which was washed up on the beach in 1989. The transport, cleaning and reconstruction of the 4-tonne skeleton was achieved by M Fabre and his wife with the aid of a few friends, a Citroen 2CV, a tractor, and some kitchen knives. M Fabre, self-taught and passionately interested in natural history, is now regarded as an expert on the subject of whales.
Port-la-Nouvelle has a Tourist Office on the Place Paul Valéry, tel. 04 68 48 00 51.
The nearby Ile de Sainte-Lucie — no longer really an island as it is joined to Narbonne by the railway and the Canal de la Robine — must have been a busy port in Roman times, as it provided the main access to the sea from Narbonne. Now quiet and deserted, it has been declared a nature reserve, and is a peaceful place for a gentle stroll through the woods. An old farmhouse contains a botanical museum, and you might be lucky enough to spot some deer which have been introduced onto the island.
Sigean
- Sigean Safari Park
- Ostrich
This is the home of the popular Réserve Africaine (safari park), founded in 1974. Absolutely unmissable if you have children, its 300 hectares (660 acres) next to the lagoon are home to more than 3000 animals, reptiles and birds of about 160 different species, most but not all from the African plains. The part of the reserve containing lions and Tibetan bears (there are more of the latter here than there are in Tibet) is accessible only by car, windows and sunroof tightly closed. So try not to schedule this part of the visit for midday! It’s open every day of the year, tel. 04 68 48 20 20.
Sigean Museum houses finds from excavations at the pre-Roman Oppidum (defended settlement) Pech-Maho, dating to 700 BC (the word Pech, frequently found in local place-names, means ’hill’). There is a suggestion that Hannibal passed through here and captured the town on his way to Rome in 218 BC. During the tourist season, guided tours of the oppidum itself are possible — contact the tourist information office (Syndicat d’Initiative), in the Place de la Libération (tel. 04 68 48 14 81.).
