Harbour

Le Grau du Roi

4.0Le-Grau-du-Roi, FranceLanguedoc-Roussillon

Maximum length: 6.9 m
VHF channel: 9
Maximum draught: 0.4 m

Fishing and pleasure harbour at the mouth of the Canal du Rhône à Sète, in Petite Camargue. Berthing in the town quays is limited, most visiting yachts head for the Port Camargue marina 1.3 nautical miles to the south-west.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

From the sea, enter between the two jetties of the Grau, marked by red and green lights. The channel leads into the town canal, crossed by a swing bridge that opens at set hours. Maximum draught 0.4 m on the town quays, deep-draught yachts cannot proceed upstream. Harbour master on VHF 9.

Practical

Fuel pump available. Fishing quays on both sides of the canal are used by the working fleet. All shops, restaurants, fish market and supermarkets within 200 m along quai Général de Gaulle and quai Colbert. Train station at Le Grau-du-Roi with seasonal services to Nîmes.

Ashore

Plage Nord runs east of the canal mouth, a 3 km sand beach. Seaquarium on the seafront boulevard 600 m from the quays houses Mediterranean species and a shark tunnel. Aigues-Mortes with its 13th-century medieval walls and Tour de Constance built by Louis IX lies 6 km north along the canal, reachable by road or by small boat through the lock.

History

Le Grau-du-Roi became a commune in 1879 after separating from Aigues-Mortes. The pass itself opened naturally in 1570 after a storm, giving Aigues-Mortes a new link to the sea as the original royal port silted up.