Sete (France Riviera)

Sete is a Western Mediterranean/French Riviera cruise port and town in France's Herault department (Occitanie region, southwestern France), named until 1928 "Cette". The town has total area approx 24 km2 (9 ml2) and population around 43,000. By sea, Sete is approx 140 km (85 ml) from Marseille and approx 285 km (180 ml) from Barcelona (Spain).

Mediterranean's biggest fishing port and harbor town, the original Sete Island is today linked to mainland France by natural silting. Best-known tourist attractions include Vieux Port (reserved for commercial fishing boats), shaded squares, cobbled streets, many bridges, quays and canals, 11 km (7 ml) of sandy beach coastline.

Sete is also the gateway to Arles, Carcassonne, Les Baux and Montpellier (Herault department's capital city) located to the north. In the 12th-century, Montpellier had Europe's first medical school, which in 1289 became a university. Montpellier was capital of lower Languedoc under Louis XIV (aka Louis le Grand, 1638-1715, King of France between 1643-1715) and rapidly expanded. The ancient city of Nimes is another popular travel destination from Sete featuring well-preserved Roman monuments.

In 2018, the cruise port handled 74 ship calls and around 120,000 passengers, As shore excursions from Sete are offered full-day tours to several historical sites (5 UNESCO-listed). Among the most often visiting large cruise companies are Royal Caribbean, AIDA, Pullmantur, Celebrity, Marella, Viking Ocean, Seabourn, Silversea, Ponant.

As cruise port, Sete is also included (as homeport) 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's 6-day itinerary between Sete and Arles, with prices from ~USD 2000 per person (double occupancy cabin rates).

Sete cruise terminal