Off season in South of France

[smert]

Just mulling options at the moment but we have a general plan to head down to the Med via the canals in the next couple of years.

We are wondering about south of France out of season. What's it like out of season? We're currently in Argeles sur Mer (land based) and even this early lots of places are closed already, but obviously we'll not be eating out and doing the full tourist experience while living on the boat, but having some life to the place would be good!

 

[dpb]

We have been based in Gruissan last 4 years, and spent many holidays on the Marseille to Menton coast before that.
What you are seeing at Argeles is similar to what happens all along from there to Port Carmargue in varying degrees with the exception of Sete and and a couple of other places that have significant permanent populations.
To the east of Marseille, most (not all) of the ports are in established towns which are not deserted in winter.

 

[westernman]

We have been based in Gruissan last 4 years, and spent many holidays on the Marseille to Menton coast before that.
What you are seeing at Argeles is similar to what happens all along from there to Port Carmargue in varying degrees with the exception of Sete and and a couple of other places that have significant permanent populations.
To the east of Marseille, most (not all) of the ports are in established towns which are not deserted in winter.

That is true here for the coastal resorts like Carnon Plage, Palavas les Flots and la Grande Motte. La Grande Motte does retain a bit of activity though.
However, go just 5 miles inland you have Montpellier which never stops.

 

[Bouba]

I prefer the SoF in the off season......some winters are glorious. To be fair some are lousy and some is mixed weather....so you take your chances. But I consider myself an off season boater....easy to find a place in a port....no crowds. The downside is fewer restaurants open and no matter how nice the weather is...you always wake up to a soaking wet boat. Swimming in the sea in winter is obviously only for the brave and foolhardy.....but those quiet anchorages are truly worth it. Another subtle point is that because it’s further south, the days aren’t ridiculously short. I am not sure about all areas...for example around the Camargue (as beautiful as it is) the wind might just be too much too often.
I hope I sold it ....I think it’s worth trying

 

[Adrian]

We love off season SoF, we're based in Port Grimaud which, being a mainly second home place is, pretty quite off season but either side, St Trop and St Maxime still have plenty going on all year round. St Maxime in particular is great all through the winter. If you are eating out, lunch is often a better option than dinner.
As Bouba says harbours and anchorages are quite just keep an eye on the weather.
Oh and don't tell everyone!

 

[Koeketiene]

Just mulling options at the moment but we have a general plan to head down to the Med via the canals in the next couple of years.

We are wondering about south of France out of season. What's it like out of season? We're currently in Argeles sur Mer (land based) and even this early lots of places are closed already, but obviously we'll not be eating out and doing the full tourist experience while living on the boat, but having some life to the place would be good!

Argeles s/Mer is not the liveliest place at the best of times.
In the immediate surroundings Saint Cyprien or Canet might be a better bet.
Banyuls s/Mer is the only town on that stretch of the coast with all year 'activity' - largely due to the Sorbonne faculty.

 

[ashtead]

Recall camping at Angeles and sampling the local wines To answer question in Antibes you can have a pleasant lunch in autumn months on the beach restaurants if you choose right date/clearly storms can occur but then you can spend day collecting firewood from the beach .

 

[westernman]

Recall camping at Angeles and sampling the local wines To answer question in Antibes you can have a pleasant lunch in autumn months on the beach restaurants if you choose right date/clearly storms can occur but then you can spend day collecting firewood from the beach .

We have had a bit of rain this weekend......

 

[Bouba]

We have had a bit of rain this weekend......

It rained heavily last night and the electric storm lasted hours…there were flood warnings but luckily no flood this time,
And next morning it was sunny ….that is the one thing I really appreciate about the weather here, it feels like it’s always trying to be nice . There’s never day after day of gray or misery