Visiting Sète - Tips for the English-Speaker

Visiting Sète, and you don't know French? Here are a few things that may help:

• Arriving: make sure you have the address of where you're staying written down. If you use a taxi, you can hand this to the driver and not worry too much about getting there. If you come by train, see my earlier post about the station. You can take a bus from there, or a taxi. If there are no taxis waiting in front, go back into the train station and try the information desk (usually, someone can speak enough English to help you get a taxi). See my bus post for more info on how they work.
• Fun things to do: once you're settled, your first stop should be at the Tourist Office (look for the flags)! There is always someone who speaks English, and they are extremely helpful. They can help you get tickets, bus passes, bike rentals (either directly or tell you where to go), or simply tell you something about the town. This is true of all French tourist offices, by the way. The office is between the bus stops Passage du Dauphin and Les Pénitents. 

  

  Tourist Office

• Food! 

1. Restaurants in France have their own, seemingly *secret* language... Go with a sense of adventure, and experience something different!
2. Farmer's markets - the big one is Wednesday mornings in centre-ville, all along the street between the Aristide-Briand and Léon Blum (these are not marked as such in Google maps; just (1) look around the "Halles", and (2) follow the crowd! It will be a madhouse of French! Rely on gestures and holding out money :-\
3. Les Halles, since we're there, are the daily covered markets - stalls inside a building where you can buy all sorts of products. You can also sit at a table (first come, so be aware), order a drink, and eat whatever you bring - you can bring your own picnic, buy from the Farmer's market, or buy from one or more of the stalls inside. They are open every morning, but close down about 1:30. Note that fewer shops open are open on Mondays. 

   

   Exterior Les Halles

4. Épiceries, or fruit and vegetable stands, are scattered all over town - just look for the produce displayed! Prices are marked; sometimes it's help yourself, sometimes it's don't touch!
5. Grocery stores - Auchan (across from the Hospital) is the big one, followed by Monoprix (Passage du Dauphin), and several smaller Carrefours. This is the easiest way to get food - you can usually see what it is without worrying about what it's called :-D. In Auchan, (1) you weigh and price-sticker your own produce (unless it's in a package or by piece) - I recommend watching someone else,
   
   (2) you get a ticket for help at the fish and deli sections that are manned - use your "bonjour" and gestures!
   
6. Do not miss out on (1) tielle, a sort of octopus empanada - there are at least 10 places that make this; they're everywhere (just don't get them from the supermarket; those just aren't right), (2) une baguette - the best is from La Pétrisane, inside the Auchan shopping center.
   
   Next is Phénix in the Corniche, then Epi d'Or just off the Rond-point de l'Europe. (3) a chocolate éclair from La Mie Coline just outside the Passage du Dauphin.

• Money: 

1. many places will take an American credit card, but not all! Try it, but if it doesn't work, make sure you have enough cash on hand to cover it ;-) 
2. ATMs are all over the place - look for one that works for you. They work pretty much like ATMs everywhere else - card, code, action, receipt, money. But in French... If you don't understand something on your first try, look up some of the key words and try again.
3. For purchases under 15€, most stores want cash

• Emergencies: there are all sorts of emergencies, of course :-) 

1.  For the life-threatening type, call 112 - this is the European-wide emergency response number (similar to 911 in the USA). If you start speaking in English, they will make sure someone answers you in English; they will assess your situation and send the appropriate help. 
2.  If you need medical attention, but are still mobile, you can go directly to the hospital (many Sète buses have a stop for "hôpital" - see the bus post indicated above).
3.  If you just need advice or a little something for a traveler's maladie, go to a pharmacy - most pharmacists speak English, and are able to do a lot more for you than a US pharmacist. Look for the green plus sign; this indicates a pharmacy all over Europe. 
   

• General advice: 

1.  download the French-English dictionary for Google translate; you'll have it available offline, and lots of people know how to use it.
2.  gestures work surprisingly well! Just remember that "one" starts with the thumb ;-) 
3.  accept that there will be a *lot* that you won't understand! Just go with it :-)
4.  learn a few key words, and use them: "bonjour" (hello) should be the first word out of your mouth - to the taxi driver, bus driver, sales clerk, everyone! "Merci" (thank you), as always ;-). "Au revoir" (sort of good-bye, but not forever) should be said whenever you leave - the bus, taxi, store, etc.