sète again

I always forget what a good day out that Sète is. Last time there I discovered three new places Les demoiselles du puiy, bar de la placette and Pasta Politie. The first and last in this list are restaurants on either side of the main canal. Bar de la placette is more difficult to find as it is on a more obscure street, Rue des 3 jours.

Demoiselles du puiy is a seafood restaurant decorated in nets and you are served by old sea salt types. Pasta Politie follows in the Itallianite Sètoise tradition so you can expect to see plenty of filling Sète classics like the macaronade which is a pasta dish containing suasage and veal.
Don't forget when in Sète to pick up some tielle (tomatoe squid pie) and zizettes (pointy finger like biscuits). A good place to pick up the tielle is Cianni which has two locations, one towards the market and the other facing the canal. I suggest having many drinks in different parts of the town to drink the ambiance. For a small city Sète is composed of many little neighbourhoods with charm.

In the upper town on the hill I recomend Le Social which is a jouster's bar. "La joute" or jousting from boats on the canal is one of the old sporting traditions of the Bassin de Thau area and Sète is its unofficial capital. La point court is a neighbourhood built around old factories and wharehouses at the edge of the city and it merrits a visit. Le Social can be found in the upper town. Most restaurants are along the main canal. There are also a number of worth while local bars and cafés on the canal stretch. The main comercial street leads partway up the hill and culminates in a square known for its squid statue and just above that is a lovely little park. Nearby is a market which is known as one of the best in France for fresh seafood. The market is a lively place on Saturday morning. If you are arriving by train you will go through a stretch with some interesting cafés and bars with large windows. There is one on either side of the théatre that are perfect for having a mid afternoon muscat or pastis while the large windows afford a view of the old men playing petanque on the opposite side of the street.

If you are a lover of brightly coloured robust artwork you will be in for a treat in Sète because, apart from the portraits of the town's patron George Brassens (mentioned in the "day trips" section of this blog), mad loud paintings and sculptures are the most common visible expressions of art. Many feature the local passion for jousting or oversized women with small heads. The majority of the population seem to be hearty workers but if you stay long enough you will notice there is an intense concentration of artists.

One final tip for Sète. If you are going by car expect slow traffic and difficulty parking. The cars along the canal are the fly in ointment, making what might otherwise be an ideal place into an overly noisy and precarious place to get around at times.