- Event dates 17 October 2026
- Place Marseillan
- Theme Food & wine
- Area Thau lagoon
- Published
On Saturday 17 October, from 10 am to 9 pm, Place du Théâtre in Marseillan-Ville hosts the 11th Eel Festival, with traditional recipes (Provençal style, with parsley, bourride, ravioli) to eat on the spot or take away. Entry is free, as are the eel-smoking workshops (1 pm and 7 pm) and the boat trips that leave the harbour every hour from 11 am to 5 pm.
Organised by Sète Agglopôle Méditerranée since 2015, the festival celebrates a species that is emblematic of the lagoon yet little known. At the stalls, eel also comes as a salad, in tempura, with Thai sauce or panko-style, alongside shellfish, tielles, mussel skewers, onion fritters and griddled tuna.
Ten local winegrowers pour their wines (AOP Picpoul de Pinet, Muscat de Mireval and Languedoc, IGP Côtes de Thau and Pays d’Oc, including organic wines): €6 for 3 tickets or €2.50 per ticket, with a printed glass included. New this year: a priority queue at the ticket stalls for people with physical or invisible disabilities and for pregnant women. The Bella Ciao peña band provides the music.
In the Thau lagoon, eels are caught with fish traps (nasses) and capéchade nets. Long one of the lagoon’s main resources, before oysters took over in the 1920s, the eel is now a fragile and closely monitored species.
Source : icisete.fr →