Agde - on the Mediterranean port

On Tuesday this week we went down to the Mediterranean coast a bit, in dodgy weather, to Agde which is less than an hours drive from Lodeve. It had started to rain in Lodeve and the forecast for the whole area was for 2-3 days continual rain. But when we got to Agde we were surprised to find it fine – very windy and quite threatening but it did not rain at all in the several hours we were there. Another example of the amazing luck we always have with weather when travelling (pity the luck doesn’t extend to the things financial!). The wind referred to is well illustrated in the following images taken at Cap D’Agde which is the more recently settled seaside (and resort ) settlement.

Agde is now very much a holiday destination, and in some of the more recently developed parts is a bit too reminiscent of the Gold Coast (but without the extreme high-rise buildings). As a resort it is apparently very popular with people who like to take their clothes off – it hosts the largest nudist resort in Europe. It is a very ancient, dating back to 550BC (or thereabouts) when it was first settled by the Phoenicians, and later became a major trading port for the Romans. The two millenniums since have seen the whole area silt up so that the original town of Agde is now 15kms inland.