Self Catering in Marseillan
The old town & port of Marseillan is now an ideal location to find a Holiday Home near Agde, and especially Self-Catering Holiday Accommodation in Marseillan, and as the town is close to the Mediterranean, and at the southern end of its Départment, where better than here to find Holiday Accommodation in the Languedoc Region
The Canal Du Midi is an outstanding, and very early, example of commercial civil engineering was constructed to link the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean, and was built by Pierre Paul Riquet between 1665-1681. The canal passes through Beziers and its eastern end terminates in the Bassin de Thau only a couple of kilometres from Marseillan, and as a result, the town grew & prospered with the brisk commercial traffic, in both directions, along the Canal. This activity peaked by 1857 with the coming of the railways, but remained important, albeit at a slower pace, until 1980. Whereafter, the Canal du Midi & its environs have became more and more important as leisure & tourist destinations for those seeking Holiday Accommodation in the Languedoc. In fact, the Canal du Midi is now the most popular pleasure waterway in Europe, and Marseillan is its eastern terminus.
Marseillan grew and developed inland from its port, the layout of which is a small version of that found at Marseilles. The town is centred on its covered market in Place Carnot , the Parish Church of St Jean-Baptiste, and the Town Hall (Hotel de Ville) The town is now well established as a destination for holiday rentals for visitors seeking to relax with walking holidays among the vineyards that crowd the slopes inland from Marseillan, also for those seeking Self Catering Accommodation or Holiday Apartments there is a wide choice. Our own holiday home is situated only some 100 metres from the port and Marina of Marseillan, and roughly the same distance from the Old Town to the north.
The Port
Marseillan originally developed as a trading and shipping post for goods and food products, such as wine & vine products, oysters and seafood produced on the shores of the Etang de Thau and in its hinterland and which were exported through the port of Marseillan, via Sete, and then to elsewhere on the French Littoral, or otherwise throughout France & the Mediterranean coast. Marseillan has, therefore, grown up as an essential link between the productive areas of land behind the town and along the borders of the Etang de Thau, and the sea-borne access for commerce into, and out of, the town.The port has developed into a centre for sailing and wind-surfing, aided by the construction of a Port de Plaisance by the western entrance of the original Quai. The port also hosts larger motor vessels which use the Canal du Midi as a holiday route and destination.
Food
Marseillan has more than a dozen restaurants of every standard including two (Chez Philippe & La Table d’Emily) mentioned in the Red Michelin Guide. Locally cultivated oysters and mussels are freely available and with Marseillan as the home to the caves of Noilly Prat and a number of good local wines it’s a favourite for lovers of the best of authentic regional cuisine.
Climate
Marseillan and the Languedoc have an exceptionally mild climate with nearly 2700 hours of sunshine annually. The average temperature in the shade in July and August is around 23 degrees Centigrade, with between 315 and 316 hours of sunshine in each of those two months.By the way, the photo above was taken in April 2011 from the end of the harbour only a couple of hundred metres from our holiday home, and shows the view to Sete in the distance.
A Colourful bar in the town centre - The Marine Bar.
Adjacent to the church in the town centre is a lively bar, called the Marine Bar, whose exterior painting always make us smile. The bar is now equipped with free wi-fi.Next Page Click Here
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