La Grande motte White pyramids by the sea

La Grande Motte

La Grande Motte, Gérard Rey

Le port de la Grande Motte

La Grande Motte, Alain Cougnenc

Le golf de la Grande Motte

La Grande Motte, Gérard Rey

Why visit La Grande Motte?

  • The only French town to be approved as "20th century heritage" in its entirety.
  • Its avant-garde architecture is still unique in Europe.
  • 7km of fine sand beaches and countless water sports. > The wealth of its natural setting (Le Ponant and L’Or lakes) and focus on plantlife in the town.
  • Close to Montpellier (30 mins).
La Grande Motte carte

La Grande Motte at first glance

A journey to wonderland

Experience a unique futuristic town by the Mediterranean. La Grande Motte is the work of a visionary architect: Jean Balladur. He was commissioned to design a sea resort on a marshy wasteland in the 60s. He built an exceptional site with pyramid residences inspired by Mexico's Pre-Columbian temples and the sea world.

Venture into this creation step by step. Walk or cycle on 25km of dedicated trails linked to the great Méditerranée à Vélo bike path (EuroVelo 8).

La Grande Motte

La Grande Motte

Great ideas for La Grande Motte

Head to La Grande Motte, #GrandSiteOccitanie, for a relaxing, natural destination! Professional kite surfer Thomas Lombardo tells us his top tips.

Did you know?

La Grande Motte is a leafy sea resort that's buzzing all year round. The town is home to 70% of tree-filled green areas and over 8000 permanent residents.

Guided tours

Decipher the symbols of a utopian town

Get a real insight into La Grande Motte with the many Tourist Information guided tours. You'll learn that "La Grande Pyramide" building is based on the Pic Saint-Loup's inverted reflection.

You'll also learn things like distinguishing Le Couchant,  the "feminine" neighbourhood with seafront curvy buildings on the one hand. And Le Levant on the other hand, the "masculine" neighbourhood in the town centre with short pyramids and straight buildings.

Immeuble La Pyramide

La Grande Motte, Olivier Maynard

Don't miss

Golf and thalassotherapy are what La Grande Motte is famous for and are part of its history. The Floridian-style golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones was opened in 1986 followed by the thalassotherapy centre.

Biodiversity

La Grande Motte's wealth

La Grande Motte is surrounded by an incredible wealth of nature.

Le Ponant Lake (280 hectares), the mouth of the Vidourle and the lido, a dune belt between the sea and L'Or Lake, are home to incredible biodiversity. Signs provide information about orchids and bird species including the area's iconic flamingoes. Don't be surprised to meet a loggerhead sea turtle as they sometimes surface in summer.

Orchis des marais

La Grande Motte

With children

There are children's workshops to observe sea turtles in the process of reacclimatising at Le Ponant Lake. Find out more at Tourist Information

Plages de la Grande Motte

La Grande Motte

Sun, fun and entertainment

Long live La Grande Motte's beaches!

7km of fine sand beaches! Le Grand Travers beach, a favourite among people from Montpellier, is packed with beach huts. Le Couchant beach is your go-to for windsurfing, stand-up paddling, canoeing, kayaking, kitesurfing, diving... anything in terms of water sports.

Along the town centre's beach there are children's games whilst adults can enjoy the restaurants and shops on the seafront promenade. Continue towards Le Grau-du-Roi and you'll reach Point Zéro Beach, protected by dunes.

Parking

You can't drive to La Grande Motte's seafront but you can go through the resort. There are lots of shaded car parks on the outskirts so you can make the most of the town on foot or by bike.
 

Soar over La Grande Motte

When La Grande Motte appeared in the decade between 1965 and 75, it was heavily scorned. It is now a model that architecture colleges worldwide study. Watch it appear from the air with its long fine sand beaches lapped by the Mediterranean Sea. Vidéo © Drone Réalisations.

How to get there

La Grande Motte is 20km from Montpellier in the Hérault.

  • By car: 2.5 hrs from Toulouse on the A61 then the A9 (junction 29). 30 mins from Montpellier on the D66.
  • By plane: from Montpellier Méditerranée Airport (15km): regular connections to/from Paris and thirty-odd destinations in Europe and North Africa.
  • By train: Le Grau-du-Roi station is the closest (8km). It costs 1€ to get to Nîmes by TER regional train. You can also take the TGV to/from Paris at Montpellier Saint Roch station 21km away.

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