Villa Turquoise, a villa rental in the South of France

Seafront Mediterranean Modern

Rising boldly from the sands at Frontignan Plage, this contrasting modern house stands as a window onto the Mediterranean. With beach-facing terraces lined with sun chairs and its art-splashed, upper-story living room enclosed in floor-to-ceiling glass, the house frames the wide open, turquoise views.

Four bedrooms (two doubles and two twins) each access waterfront terraces and share two bathrooms with walk-in showers. The upstairs living and dining areas flow out to a generous sea-facing terrace too, and glass railings mean uninterrupted views. There’s an outside shower for rinsing salt and sand after a day on the beach, and there’s a garden gate that opens directly onto the sandy shores.

Around

Frontignan Plage is a seven-kilometer sandy crescent that’s perfectly "under the Mediterranean radar." Located just north east of the seaside resort town of Sète, the beach has been a Blue Flag destination for decades, offering Mediterranean Sea adventures with fewer crowds. Beyond the sea, the waterfront land is cut through with ponds and garrigues (draws), and it includes sandy shores, pebbly coves and pretty marinas. Frontignan Plage offers a water sports center for sailing and catamaran instruction, windsurfing and diving, or SUP and sea kayaking adventures. There are also beaches along the sandy stretch that feature beachclubs with bars and restaurants, as well as wilder sands, such as the undeveloped Aresquiers Beach, closed to traffic (except bicycles), for those seeking seafront seclusion.

Frontignan Plage is located in a unique ecosystem, the Thau Archipelago, tucked between the Mediterranean Sea, the Gardiole hills and the Thau basin. The latter is a lagoon-dominated area, fed by garrigues, or draws, that spill seasonally from the Gardiole hills, and many of the area’s ponds and waterways are protected landscapes with regionally unique fauna and flora. The small city of Frontignan is renowned for its Muscat wines, and the city is crossed by the Rhone Canal and marked by its Saint-Paul church, dating from the 12th and 14th centuries, and a small port. Festivals bring merrymakers to the city each summer, to celebrate Muscat wines, regional foods, independent cinema, fitness, and more. Tours from Frontignan around the Thau lagoon are a must, to explore the small, scenic villages of Mèze and Bouzigues and experience the cures at the wellness spas in Balaruc-les-Bains.