The Port - The Five Beaches - The Lakes - Circular Village - Barberousse Tower - The Chalets - La Clape - The Chapel "Les Auzils" - The Occitan Language

The Tourist Information Office is on Bd Pech Maynaud
tel: 04 68 49 03 25 email

Gruissan offers a delightful combination of the traditional France, the picturesque village life, the vineyards, with the more modern attractions of the beaches and watersports.

Languedoc has the highest annual sunshine average in France and with more than 300 days of sunshine per year. The summer heat is moderated by a northern breeze providing an agreeable climate.

The Port, or Marina

Gruissan is a major yachting centre of the western Mediterranean.

The marina is particularly attractive, with many waterside restaurants where you can sample the local seafood.

You can stroll round the quais and admire the yachts or hire a boat and learn to sail.

Excursion boats are available throughout the season to take along the coast.

The five beaches of Gruissan

The beach of Grazel is in the town, a hundred yards from the port and the supermarket, and facing the Isle of Birds. It is sheltered and ideal for young children.

The beach of the Chalets (also called Gruissan Plage) is equipped with other shops snack bars and amenities as well as showers for bathers and there are often entertainments and beach sports. The beach is popular with beach volleyball players and championships are held here during the summer.

The beach of Vieille-Nouvelle (also called Plage des Salins) is the furthest west. It is not monitored and has no facilities. It retains its wild natural state and is more favoured by the windsurfers.

The largest beach is Mateille beach, a long stretch between the salt-water lake and the sea.You can drive your car onto the beach to reach your favorite spot. The background scenery of the Massif of the Clape which completes the picture. It is monitored but without amenities or organised games and there is section designated as the naturist beach.

The beach of Les Ayguades is a prolongation of Mateille beach at the extreme east of Gruissan, the two together offering a seashore promenade of several killometres.

Gruissan, the circular village

The narrow streets of the village form a circle around the ruined Tower of Barberousse, named after a pirate. Unique in the Mediterranean, the village is classed among the most beautiful of France.

Narrow streets curve around the 13th-century tower, from which you can admire a stunning view over the surrounding lagoon - particularly lovely at sunset. With its narrow alleys and old houses it is a spot much appreciated by artists.

There is a colourful village market three times a week with local produce and regional specialities. The old village is on the edge of the salt water lagoon, a sanctuary for the ducks and pink flamingos. The fishermen bring in their catch in the morning and the traditional fishing village itself has not significantly changed, still retaining its charm.

The Chalets built on stilts at Gruissan-Plage

A village of rows of chalets built on stilts, with dusty dirt roads evocative of a wild west town, the chalets featured in the 1986 film of Jean-Jacques Beineix, "Betty Blue" ("37.2 le matin" in French).

The first chalets appeared at the end of the 19th C, built on stilts to escape the periodic flooding, at the time of the first sea-bathing. Built of wood, these holiday homes were only occupied during the summer; the route of access being impassable in winter.

Later a dyke along the seafront was built to protect the chalets from the high water levels of winter, and now many ground-floor levels of the chalets have been made habitable. The 1300 chalets today show a variety of decoration and the personal preferences of their owners.

The Lakes of Gruissan

are salt-water lagoons or "Etangs", home of the pink flamingos. Driving out towards the Chalets you can see the white pyramids of salt off to your right. 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.

Behind the town is the rugged beauty of the the hills of the Clape

La Cité de la Vigne et du Vin : visite éducative et ludique autour de la viticulture et la vinification. 04 68 75 22 62
domaine INRA de Pech Rouge, "Les Ayguades" email

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