Narbonne-Plage and Gruissan are the nearest proper beaches, both around an hour by road. Gruissan is the more interesting of the two, with an old village wrapped around a ruined tower and a district of stilt houses on the sand that looks like nowhere else on this coast.
Behind the beaches sit the lagoons, shallow saltwater étangs full of birds including flamingos for much of the year. They are worth as much of your attention as the sea and get almost none of it. The regional tourist board keeps a good overview of the coast and the reserves at the Aude tourism site, including which paths are open in nesting season.
The wind is the variable nobody warns you about. The Tramontane blows down from the northwest, often for days, and it turns a hot beach into a sandblasting. It also makes this coast one of the best in Europe for windsurfing and kitesurfing, so the same forecast is good news or bad depending on your plans.
August is the month to avoid if you can. The French take their holidays and the coast fills accordingly, with traffic to match. June and September are warm, quiet by comparison, and the sea is at its best in September after a summer of heating.
Take the train to Narbonne and a bus onward if you would rather not drive, though the timetable rewards planning and the last bus back is earlier than you would hope.
