THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN GRUISSAN
THE VILLAGE
Perched 35 metres above sea level on a rocky outcrop, the château provided coastal surveillance for ships heading for the port of Narbonne. For more than a thousand years, it has watched over the village.
L’AYROLLE
Shacks are lined up around a small port dating from the 1980s, where traditional fishing methods are continued. Throughout the seasons, fishermen ply the waters of the lagoon in their colourful boats in search of bass, mullet, sea bream, sole, bearded bass and eels.
CHAPEL OF NOTRE-DAME DES AUZILS
It can be reached along a small, pine-lined road in the heart of the Clape massif. The climb up to the chapel starts on the marine cemetery path that’s also known as the Allée des Naufragés (The Path of the Shipwrecked). The chapel is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the protector of sailors.
THE CHALETS
There’s an air of the American West Coast here, with no fences or enclosed gardens because we’re right by the sea. These stilt-raised chalets were immortalised by Béatrice Dalle and Jean-Hugues Anglade in Jean-Jacques Beineix’s film 37°2 le matin (Betty Blue). There are 1,330 of them within a site that’s globally unique.
THE SALT MARSHES
Le Salin de Gruissan is a place to discover a totally natural product: salt. This raw white gold is transformed into crystals by master salt-makers. The majesty of this place will win you over, just as it already has the thousands of migratory birds that take refuge here.
