Villas in La Grande Motte

About La Grande Motte

La Grande-Motte was largely built between 1960 and 1975 on virgin beachfront dunes, as part of the Mission Racine coastal scheme. The architect Jean Balladur took his pyramid shapes from pre-Columbian examples such as Teotihuacan, and many of the main buildings are stepped like that. Car parks were planned no more than 600 m from the beach, and the resort has both public and private beaches. Our homes lie close together around the resort. They are mostly one-bedroom places for about four, none sleeps more than seven, about a third have a pool and nearly half have air conditioning. The Blue Flag marina has 1,530 berths and nearly 7 km of routes carry the voie verte label for walkers and cyclists. The town lives mainly on summer tourism, and its population drops noticeably in winter. The Étang de l'Or lagoon lies to the north-west.

Is La Grande Motte right for you?

Best for

Families and couples who want a modern seaside resort with a marina

Not for you if

You want old stone streets on the doorstep, because the resort is modern and the old towns are a drive away.

Near La Grande Motte

• Aigues-Mortes

  A walled medieval town in the Petite Camargue, with ramparts about 1,650 m long and the Tour de Constance, built in 1242.

• Montpellier

  The regional city, with its airport at Mauguio about 7 km east-south-east of the centre; Aigues-Mortes is about 20 km east of it in a straight line.

• Étang de l'Or

  A lagoon to the north-west, inside a 7,020 hectare Natura 2000 site, with land held by the Conservatoire du Littoral.

• Camargue

  The wet plains and lakes of the Petite Camargue, where bulls and Camargue horses are raised almost wild in the marshes.

Getting to La Grande Motte

Montpellier-Méditerranée airport is the closest, in Mauguio, with easyJet flying to London Gatwick and British Airways adding seasonal Gatwick flights. Two expressways of about 20 km each link La Grande-Motte to the A9 motorway. A car helps for the Camargue and the lagoons.

When to go to La Grande Motte

The climate gives about 2,600 hours of sun a year, with hot summers and very dry summer air. Tourism is concentrated in summer, with around 2 million visitors a year, so July and August are the busy weeks. Strong winds blow for a large share of the year, so expect plenty of breezy beach days. In winter the resort population drops noticeably.

La Grande Motte villa holidays: questions answered

Nearby towns to La Grande Motte

• Cap d'Agde (123)
• Narbonne-Plage (35)
• Serignan (35)
• Saint Pierre La Mer (21)
• Gruissan (17)
• Valras Plage (11)
• All of Hérault-Aude