Palavas-les-Flots (France)

Palavas-les-Flots (aka Palavas) is a Lez River (Rhone River) and Mediterranean cruise port and resort town in France's Herault department (Occitanie region) with population around 6,000.

Palavas is located approx 8 km (4 ml) from Gulf of Lion (Mediterranean Sea), on a strip of land (sand dunes) separating the lakes Arnel and Mejean from the sea. Downtown is where Lez River (via man-made canal) flows into the Mediterranean. The settlement was established as fishermen's village serving the markets of Montpellier (Herault department's capital city). Palavas developed tourism and seasonal leisure activities since the early-19th-century. Seaside resort tourism started to develop in late-19th-century. Via Rhona (long-distance cycling path along Rhone River) links Palavas with Gallician.

As cruise port, Palavas is included in the regular schedule of the luxury hotel barge Anne Marie. The boat is owned and operated by one of Europe's largest river cruise companies - CroisiEurope. Next table shows the ports sequence of barge ship's 6-day itinerary between homeports Sete (on the French Riviera) and Arles, with prices from ~USD 2000 per person (double occupancy cabin rates).