Carcassone - from either Sete or Port Vendres

[smurphette]

We have the option of doing Carcassone from either Sete or Port Vendres on our upcoming cruise.  Having been to neither previously I’m wondering which would be the better port to plan this excursion for.  For example is there better things to see or do in one port over the other? Carcassone seems to be a full day from either port so now it’s really down to what else would we be missing out on if I selected the wrong port 🙈

Thanks!! 

[marazul]

@smurphette

Carcassonne is a little bit closer to Port Vendres than to Sete. They are both lovely seaports. However, IMO there is a lot more to see and do in and around Sete.   Take a look at other sightseeing opportunities out of each town and see if anything appeals to you more in one of the two. 

[Hlitner]

Interesting dilemma.  We know the local geography (and roads) but have never ported at Port Vendres.  If this is your first visit to the region than the answer is going to depend on your own wants/desires.  If pushed to make a recommendation I would suggest using Sete as a gateway port into Provence and consider an excursion/tour to Nime, Les Baux and/or Avignon..or one of the other options in that wonderful part of France.  You could than use the Port Vendres day to take an excursion to Carcassone.  

 

Sete is actually a pretty cute village and we have previously just relaxed in that town where we enjoyed a very nice lunch.  There are plenty of decent seafood restaurants within walking distance.  

 

Hank

[Korimako]

When are you in Sète? The water-jousting festival is not to be missed!

[smurphette]

6 hours ago, Korimako said:

When are you in Sète? The water-jousting festival is not to be missed!

Early April - the 3rd or 4th I think.  Water jousting sounds interesting!! 

[marazul]

44 minutes ago, smurphette said:

Early April - the 3rd or 4th I think.  Water jousting sounds interesting!! 

The jousting festival takes place in August for the feast of Saint Louis.  It lasts about a week.  There are other occasions in the summer, usually for Bastille Day.  It is a lot of fun. 

There is also jousting in other places, but the main site is Sete.

Look for the Sete tourist board website to find more about it.  They should also have the joutes (jousts) calendar.

[RTMom]

I think we are on the same cruise. Pursuit? We (2 couples in our group) are also interested in Carcassone. What tour are you doing?

[smurphette]

On 1/5/2024 at 4:07 PM, RTMom said:

I think we are on the same cruise. Pursuit? We (2 couples in our group) are also interested in Carcassone. What tour are you doing?

Yes - Pursuit April 1 out of Barcelona.   I think we may end up doing Carcassone from Sete.  We have alot of OBC that I'm trying to use up on excursions.   I'm finding selecting excursions difficult on this cruise - there are alot of great options.   So much to see, so little time. 

[smurphette]

On 1/3/2024 at 5:38 PM, Hlitner said:

Interesting dilemma.  We know the local geography (and roads) but have never ported at Port Vendres.  If this is your first visit to the region than the answer is going to depend on your own wants/desires.  If pushed to make a recommendation I would suggest using Sete as a gateway port into Provence and consider an excursion/tour to Nime, Les Baux and/or Avignon..or one of the other options in that wonderful part of France.  You could than use the Port Vendres day to take an excursion to Carcassone.  

 

Sete is actually a pretty cute village and we have previously just relaxed in that town where we enjoyed a very nice lunch.  There are plenty of decent seafood restaurants within walking distance.  

 

Hank

Thanks!  We actually port in Marseilles as well so we'll be selecting between Provence/Aix/Avignon from there. If you have any suggestions between those I would greatly appreciate the help - I'm really quite torn.  We like history, beautiful villages & scenery and not too much into going through museums or churches unless there is something really unique (been in a few too many at this point).   

Nime is an option from Sete... ahhhh decisions.  So for Sete we're stuck between Carcassone & Nime and in Port Vendres were torn between Carcassone or Perpignan.

Thanks again!

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, smurphette said:

Thanks!  We actually port in Marseilles as well so we'll be selecting between Provence/Aix/Avignon from there. If you have any suggestions between those I would greatly appreciate the help - I'm really quite torn.  We like history, beautiful villages & scenery and not too much into going through museums or churches unless there is something really unique (been in a few too many at this point).   

Nime is an option from Sete... ahhhh decisions.  So for Sete we're stuck between Carcassone & Nime and in Port Vendres were torn between Carcassone or Perpignan.

Thanks again!

So many choices (all good) and so little time :).  That is why we (and many others) have elected to spend significant time staying in that part of France.   I do not think there are wrong choices, but folks should do their own homework at focus on places that best meet their own desires.  From Marseille, Aix is certainly the most convenient because it is close.  It is a pretty large city with a modern shopping area, plenty of cafes/restaurants, and its own old town area.  

 

If you want to go further from Marseille, many folks enjoy excursions/tours that take them to Avignon and also Les Baux.  What is nice about visiting those two places is that they are complete opposites.  Avignon is a nice size city (tours focus on the walled city part) with something for most folks.  Les Baux, on the other hand, is a smallish hilltop town that is simply cute (although somewhat touristy).  

 

Another option is to stay away from all the larger cities and head to the Luberon region (made very popular thanks to the books by Peter Mayle).  In the Luberon there are many small attractive villages, lavender fields (they do have a blooming season), etc.

 

From Sete, many will opt for the drive to Carcasone, which is another cute town.  A lot of tours that go there will include lunch since this town has an excellent reputation for food.  Of course, the larger excursions do not take folks to the best cafes/restaurants but rather to places that can handle the large bus groups.  Cassoulet is a popular offering on many of those  group lunches.

 

Another option would be Nimes (which you mentioned) which has a decent old arena and is not too far from Pont du Gard (often included on tours that go to Nimes).

 

The first time we visited this region was on a cruise that stopped in Marseille and Sete.  Since that time we have returned several times for multi-week stays (in both Avignon and St Remy) which have been wonderful driving trips.   If we live long enough, I assume that DW and I will find a good excuse to return for another 2 week visit.

 

Hank

[marazul]

4 hours ago, smurphette said:

Thanks!  We actually port in Marseilles as well so we'll be selecting between Provence/Aix/Avignon from there. If you have any suggestions between those I would greatly appreciate the help - I'm really quite torn.  We like history, beautiful villages & scenery and not too much into going through museums or churches unless there is something really unique (been in a few too many at this point).   

Nime is an option from Sete... ahhhh decisions.  So for Sete we're stuck between Carcassone & Nime and in Port Vendres were torn between Carcassone or Perpignan.

Thanks again!

Port Vendres and pick Carcassonne.  Perpignan is not as interesting.

Fron Sète go to Nîmes and stop in Montpellier on the way back if you have enough time. 

From Marseille,  Provence is the entire region.  Good combinations are Les Baux and Avignon or Aix and Avignon. On a long day you could possibly stop at Aix after the other two.  Whatever you do make sure you visit the inside of the Pope's Palace in Avignon, don't look at it just from the outside.

Edited January 9 by marazul

[Hlitner]

On 1/9/2024 at 5:19 PM, marazul said:

Port Vendres and pick Carcassonne.  Perpignan is not as interesting.

Fron Sète go to Nîmes and stop in Montpellier on the way back if you have enough time. 

From Marseille,  Provence is the entire region.  Good combinations are Les Baux and Avignon or Aix and Avignon. On a long day you could possibly stop at Aix after the other two.  Whatever you do make sure you visit the inside of the Pope's Palace in Avignon, don't look at it just from the outside.

We can agree regarding Perpignan.  Once stopped there when driving from Spain into France and was not impressed,  DW and I did find a decent play for lunch, but after exploring some of the town decided to get on our way to Avignon (our destination).

 

Hank

[andiamo76]

On 1/9/2024 at 12:24 PM, smurphette said:

Nime is an option from Sete... ahhhh decisions.  So for Sete we're stuck between Carcassone & Nime and in Port Vendres were torn between Carcassone or Perpignan.

We are stopping in Sete this fall while on the Ovation and I am trying to deicde what to do.  Sb offers transportation to/from Carcassone for around $150 p.p.  I have read one can also take a train.  We wondered about the Canal du Midi also.   Did you hear anyone talk doing about?  We have not heard of Nimes previously.  

I'm curious what you ended up doing on your stop in Sete and what your thoughts are.

Thanks!  Any information would be appreciated and helpful!

[smurphette]

1 hour ago, andiamo76 said:

We are stopping in Sete this fall while on the Ovation and I am trying to deicde what to do.  Sb offers transportation to/from Carcassone for around $150 p.p.  I have read one can also take a train.  We wondered about the Canal du Midi also.   Did you hear anyone talk doing about?  We have not heard of Nimes previously.  

I'm curious what you ended up doing on your stop in Sete and what your thoughts are.

Thanks!  Any information would be appreciated and helpful!

We ended up doing Carcassone on our Port Vendres stop the day before Sete.  We really enjoyed Carcassone - it was a full day/ship excursion.  In Sete we ended up just walking the town and “hiking” up to the highest points for photos - it was pretty and an enjoyable ‘day off’ from touring. 

[marazul]

Sorry.  I answered your question from another thread here.  I reposted the answer.  Sorry for the duplicate.

@andiamo76 - 

I have been to the Canal du Midi on a full week barge cruise that was really enjoyable.  Once with Seabourn we took their Canal du Midi excursion.  They do a segment of the Canal ending up at Marseillan on the Etang de Thau.  Then bus back to Sete. It is a very pretty section of the Canal with a ride on the Etang itself past the oyster beds.  Marseillan is delightful, but you will not spend much time there. It is a large barge where you must sit on deck to really enjoy the views. It will probably be a bit too cool in the fall. 

From Sete, if you are not familiar with the area, you should go to Carcassonne.  It is ideal in the Fall because it will not be as crowded as during the Summer.  We have been there 3 or 4 times on land vacations.  Other Seabourn offerings from Sete, are Montpellier and Aigues Mortes.  Two very different experiences, but both very good. Montpellier is a very large city with a beautiful historical center,  Aigues Mortes is a medieval walled city in the Camargue.  Either one would be great if you don't want to go to Carcassonne.  But, go to Carcassonne. 

Edited July 3 by marazul

[andiamo76]

Thanks marazul!  This has been very helpful.  I just switched our excursion booking to Carcassone.  Now to check on getting a rental car so we can be more independent.   

[andiamo76]

On 7/2/2024 at 7:07 PM, smurphette said:

We ended up doing Carcassone on our Port Vendres stop the day before Sete.  We really enjoyed Carcassone - it was a full day/ship excursion.  In Sete we ended up just walking the town and “hiking” up to the highest points for photos - it was pretty and an enjoyable ‘day off’ from touring. 

Thanks smurphette!  I am saving everyone's great thoughts, since afterall one never knows when they may get to return to an area or be nearby.  It never ceases to amaze me when people (cruisers in particular) say, "oh I've been everywhere now so there is nothing to see".   We have not repeated many ports or cities but those we have repeated we always find plenty to see and do around the area.  This is a great example of that!  Plus we have enjoyed most ever place we have been too and would love to return to many of them.  There is that old problem of the ever ticking clock....  Indeed it is a tickin'