L’Espérance 1881, histoire d’une renaissance — Musée agathois Jules Baudou, Agde

L’Espérance 1881 is an Agde fishing boat of the bateau-bœuf type, listed as a monument historique. After 150 years it was rebuilt at the marine carpentry yard of the Parc naturel régional de la Narbonnaise en Méditerranée, work that finished in December 2025. The Musée agathois Jules Baudou now tells the whole story — the boat’s own, and that of the fishery it belonged to.

The exhibition opens with the origins of the bateau-bœuf and the way this method of fishing was practised in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, then follows the singular career of this particular hull: from Agde to the canals of northern Europe, by way of Sète, Nice and Monaco. The last part is given to the restoration itself, stage by stage, with the emphasis on the traditional shipwright’s skills the yard had to bring back into use.

Practical details

• When: 10 July – 31 December 2026
• Where: Musée agathois Jules Baudou, 5 rue de la Fraternité, 34300 Agde, France
• Opening hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 10am–12.30pm and 2pm–6pm; daily in July and August. Closed Sundays and Mondays, except the first Sunday of the month
• Admission: included in museum entry — €6 full, €4 reduced, free for under-18s and disabled visitors, and free for everyone on the first Sunday of the month

Full details are on the museum’s own site. Cultural Heritage Online lists this exhibition for readers planning a visit to Agde; admission is handled directly by the museum.