Nautical jousting

The famous nautical jousting tournaments of Languedoc-Roussillon take place throughout the summer on the canals of Sète, Agde Palavas-les-Flots and Grau-du-Roi.

Dressed in white, their bare feet braced against the boards of their boats, the jousters face each other across the water, a shield in one hand and a wooden lance in the other.

This extraordinary form of combat dates back to the Middle Ages and represents a kind of ritualised battle between married men and youths. The joust in Sète on the Feast of St Louis (25 August) is the best known, and always draws a big crowd. The winner becomes a local celebrity for a year.

Sète Tourist Office
Tél. : 33 (0)4 67 74 71 71
Agde Tourist Office (in French)
Tél. : 33 (0)4 67 94 29 68-
Frontignan Tourist Office
Tél. : 33 (0)4 67 18 31 60
The Grau du Roi Tourist Office (in French)
Tél. : 33 (0)4 66 51 67 70
Mèze Tourist Office (in French)
Tél. : 33 (4) 67 43 93 08