The Seaside Cemetery
Valéry, Brassens and the coded poem
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
Paul Valéry wrote "Le Cimetière Marin" looking at this view. Brassens is buried here. The poem contains coded geographic coordinates. Between Mont Saint-Clair and the canals of "little Venice," Sète guards its poets' secrets.
A cemetery facing the sea, two poets, a poem that hides a map
The Cimetière Marin of Sète overlooks the Mediterranean from the slopes of Mont Saint-Clair. It is here that Paul Valéry, a son of Sète, found inspiration for his most famous poem — a meditation on life, death, and the sea that contains, according to some scholars, geographic coordinates coded within the verses. Georges Brassens, another son of Sète, rests at the nearby Le Py cemetery. Two poets, one city, words that hide more than they say.
A game, a guided tour and a heritage guide — all in one
You're not just buying an escape game. You're carrying a living guide — historical anecdotes, forgotten legends, key monuments, hidden architecture — unfolding as you go.
At each stop, places ordinary guides miss — secret façades, sculpted crests, alleys steeped in history.
Every riddle is rooted in a real historical fact or local legend. You leave with dozens of stories to tell.
Learn to read buildings — flamboyant Gothic, Baroque, Art Deco — like a real art historian, while having fun.
Walk through the city like a novel's character — every alley becomes a stage, every square a theatre.
A voice walks with you at every step, tells the story of each place, reads clues, adds a cinematic feel.
Keep access to the guide & game for 1 year. Come back any time, share it with friends.
« You will not leave this city the way you entered it. »
How does it work?
Explore the city on foot solving puzzles based on real historical facts. No locked room — the city is your playground.
No app to download. Play directly from your browser. Guided step by step, at your own pace.
One purchase per phone is enough. Play with family, friends or as a couple — everyone participates.
Point your phone at the façade: a historical character appears and speaks to you in your language. Golden letters magically write themselves on the wall to reveal the puzzle answer.
Stuck? Progressive personalised hints. The character repeats the puzzle on demand — at your own pace.
French, English, German, Spanish, Italian + 27 other languages auto-translated by AI.
« "This quiet roof, where doves are walking, between the pines pulses, between the tombs." »— — Paul Valéry, "Le Cimetière Marin," 1920
Sète — the singular island between sea and lagoon
Sète was born in 1666, when Louis XIV ordered the construction of a port to serve Riquet's Canal du Midi. The city is built on a rocky islet — Mont Saint-Clair — wedged between the Mediterranean and the Thau lagoon. Its canals earn it the nickname "Venice of the Languedoc." A city of fishermen, winemakers, and sailors, Sète developed a unique culture at the crossroads of Occitania and the Mediterranean.
Paul Valéry (1871-1945) was born in this city of light and water. His poem "Le Cimetière Marin," published in 1920, is considered one of the masterpieces of French poetry. Each stanza is a perfect decasyllable, each image reflects the view from the cemetery — the pines, the sea, the white tombs. But scholars have noted that certain verses contain angle and distance measurements, as if Valéry had coded a map into his poem.
Georges Brassens (1921-1981), another son of Sète, would become the poet of the margins — songs where humor meets tenderness, where outsiders become heroes. He asked to be buried in his hometown, at Le Py cemetery, facing the Thau lagoon. Sète is thus the only city in France to hold the graves of two of its greatest 20th-century poets.
The Route
5 stages through the city
The gameplay: AR, camera, hidden clues
At each stop, open your phone camera: an augmented reality character appears on the façade and speaks your language. Hunt the clue — it materializes as golden letters on the real wall or floats in front of you. When you find it, the phone vibrates, an AR chest opens and reveals your answer fragment. 8 stops, 8 clues to find with the camera, 1 final code.
The stops on your route are a surprise. You'll discover them one by one, guided by your phone, starting from the meeting point.
How does it work with a group?
One phone = one team. Pick the number at checkout (1 to 10).
Solo, or a group sharing the screen. One team, one code.
Family, couple, or 2-3 teams competing. Each phone has its own code and its own score.
Friends, bachelor/bachelorette, small office outing — each their own code, each plays at their own pace. Tiered pricing then €6 flat per phone from the 6th.
- ✓All codes are independent — play at the same time OR separately, each team advances at its own pace.
- ✓Leaderboard between your teams + global game leaderboard — each score appears in the public ranking.
- ✓More than 10 phones or need a personalized quest? Discover custom tours.
Ready to live this adventure?
Get my code · 12€No calendar booking. Code sent immediately by email.
🔒 Secure payment · Code in 5 min · Free cancellation
Practical info
Why this route?
Coded poetry
Decipher Valéry's verses and Brassens' songs to find hidden coordinates.
Sea city
Canals, port, Mont Saint-Clair — Sète is a labyrinth between land and water.
Brassens & Valéry
Two of the greatest French poets of the 20th century, born in the same city.
Mediterranean panorama
360° view from Mont Saint-Clair, from the Pyrenees to the Cévennes.
The sea, the sea, always beginning anew.
Decipher the poets of Sète facing the Mediterranean.
9 features nobody else has
OddballTrip combines gamified play, augmented reality and AI. All our competitors deliver 1 or 2 of these angles. We deliver all 5.
AR treasure chest
A golden chest floats in front of the monument. Tap → opening animation → reveals a secret message.
AR narrator character
Point your phone at the façade: a knight, witch, monk, sailor, detective or ghost appears full-screen and speaks to you in your language with their dedicated ElevenLabs voice (each character has their own unique voice) — your living guide.
Magic golden letters
At the puzzle climax, golden letters magically write themselves on the real wall — that's the puzzle answer. An unforgettable visual effect.
Written + audio narration
Every puzzle available as text AND voice-over: read at your own pace or listen eyes-free while walking. Great in groups and for accessibility.
360° radar + vibration
A mini-radar shows the target even behind you, and the phone vibrates when you aim in the right direction.
Heritage storytelling
Every puzzle weaves in real historical facts (architecture, era, anecdotes). You learn by playing — like a gamified audioguide.
Progressive AI hints
3 levels of AI-generated help: vibe → where to look → answer format. You're never stuck.
AR selfie memento
At the end of the game, capture a selfie with OddballTrip banner + mascot, shareable on Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok.
Zero app to install
PWA technology: open the link, it plays in your browser. Same quality as an app, no App Store hassle.
Frequently asked questions
Q01Do I need to download an app?
No, never. You get a link, you click, it plays in your browser. That's the point of a PWA: same as an app, without the hassle.
Q02Does it work offline?
GPS yes (handled by your phone). Maps yes (tiles cached). AI and hints need an intermittent 4G connection.
Q03How long does a game take?
1 h 30 to 2 h 30 depending on your pace. The timer runs but only for the leaderboard — you play at your own tempo.
Q04What happens if I'm stuck?
You get 3 levels of hints per puzzle (increasing penalty). If truly stuck, you can skip the step (45-min penalty but you keep going).
Q05What's the age range?
From 12 without an adult, from 6 with an adult reading puzzles. Works for families, couples, friend groups, companies.
Q06What if my city isn't in the catalogue?
Pre-register or contact us — we'll email you as soon as your city is live.
Q07What is augmented reality exactly?
Point your phone at the façade: a historical character appears full-screen and speaks to you in your language. At the puzzle climax, golden letters magically write themselves on the real wall — that's your answer. After each puzzle solved, a treasure chest floats in front of you. Seeing is believing.
Avis des aventuriers
Soyez le premier à partager votre expérience.
Did you play le cimetiere marin? Check the email you received after your game to leave a verified review.
Your turn to play
From the Seaside Cemetery to the Theater of the Sea, from the canals to the heights — unlock the poetic secrets of the Mediterranean's most literary city.
1 purchase = 1 phone. Play several on the same device.
No calendar booking. Code sent immediately by email.
🔒Secure payment · Code in 5 min · Free cancellation
🪙+15 TripCoins granted with your booking
Other escape games in France
View France→More destinations, tours & urban treasure hunts across the country
Explore other cities in France
Montpellier
Medieval medical school and secret old town
Aigues-Mortes
Medieval crusader city, between ramparts and salt marshes
Narbonne
Walk the path of Roman Narbo Martius
Nîmes
The French Rome, between arenas and garrigue
Les Baux-de-Provence
Citadel of Provence's warrior lords
Vallon-Pont-d'Arc
Chauvet Cave and natural arch of the Ardèche gorges