Sète

Tivoli bridge

Coat of arms

Sète

Location within Occitanie region

Sète

Coordinates: 43°24′19″N 3°41′51″E / 43.4053°N 3.6975°ECoordinates: 43°24′19″N 3°41′51″E / 43.4053°N 3.6975°E

Country

Sète-1 and Sète-2

Bassin de Thau

Government

• Mayor (2014–2020)

François Commeinhes (UMP)

Area¹

24.21 km² (9.35 sq mi)

Population (2008)²

42,786

• Density

1,800/km² (4,600/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

INSEE/Postal code

34301 /34200

Elevation

0–176 m (0–577 ft)
(avg. 4 m or 13 ft)

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

²Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Sète (French pronunciation: [sɛt]; Seta in Occitan), known as Cette until 1928, is a commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Its inhabitants are called Sétois.

Known as the Venice of Languedoc and the singular island (in Paul Valéry's words), it is a port and a seaside resort on the Mediterranean with its own very strong cultural identity, traditions, cuisine and dialect. It is also the hometown of artists like Paul Valéry, Jean Vilar, Georges Brassens, Gregory Del Piero, Hervé Di Rosa, Manitas de Plata, and Robert Combas.

Built upon and around Mont St Clair, Sète is situated on the south-eastern hub of the Bassin de Thau, an enclosed salt water lake used primarily for oyster and mussel fields. To its other side lies the Mediterranean. And the town has a network of canals which are link between the Étang de Thau and the Mediterranean Sea.

2005 : creation of a new neighbourhood called Villeroy.

In 1703, when the Saint-Louis church was consecrated, Louis IX, patron of the port, also became the patron saint of the town. He has been celebrated every year on August 25, with canal jousting competitions, music and fireworks, except during wartime.

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Wikipedia