La Grand Motte

Situated in the heart of the Languedoc-Roussillon region on the coast bordering the Petit Carmargue, La Grande Motte is a seaside town with 6,500 inhabitants which is famous for its striking pyramid shaped architecture interlaced with winding pathways and surrounded by subtropical vegetation.

This is a particularly unique and beautiful protected area with over 150 different species of birds including egrets, sterns, avocets, herons, sheld-duck, gulls, hoopoes, bee-eaters and oyster-catchers. You will see some familiar land animals such as weasels and rabbits, together with some unusual sea creatures such as dolphins, rorquals (blue and hump back whales) and sperm and pilot whales that live in the Mediterranean waters off the coast here.

For the more energetic amongst you there is a marina which has a sailing school and offers lessons in diving, dinghy sailing, scuba diving, jet and water skiing. You can go rowing on the Ponant Lake, or play some golf on the excellent course which has been designed by the American architect Robert Trent Jones who has been responsible for some of the most beautiful greens in the world. There are three courses: Les Louettes is a small and compact 6 hole par 19 course: Les Goelands is 18 holes – par 58 and Les Flamants Roses is an international circuit – par 72. La Grande Motte golf offers a large practice tee, putting green, pitch and putt, training bunkers and golf school. This all covers a total surface area of 135 hectares which consists of 67 hectares of vegetation and 20 hectares of water hazards.

Other leisure amenities include mini golf, a horse riding school and mountain bikes for hire. There is a tennis centre with 39 hard courts (3 of which are covered) and which offers Mini Tennis for children, tournaments, games and competitions. If you want to be pampered then you can spend the day at the Wellness and Thalassotherapy Centre.

There are 8 km sandy beaches which are surrounded by dunes and pinewoods. Behind the dunes there are lagoons with colonies of fabulous flamingos and rare plants such as glasswort and tamarisk which can tolerate the high salinity of the water.

The Espace Grand Bleu water park is situated in the heart of a pinewood on the Plaine des Jeux which is close to the tennis centre. The indoor area covers 600 square metres and has pools for sports, playing and a water chute. There is a solarium, Hamman and Jacuzzi. The larger outdoor park covers 1100 square metres on the beach and offers rivers with circular rubber boats, a wave pool and a play pool with three chutes: one operates from a 12 metre platform, another drags you down an 18 metre slope and the third transports you through a 48 metre pipe. A less frightening way to spend your time here is by playing table tennis or relaxing in one of the quiet shaded areas surrounding the water.