ABSTRACT. – This study provides the first statistical description of significant height, mean period and direction of waves measured at two sites along the French Mediterranean coast of the Gulf of Lions (Sète and Banyuls-sur-Mer). Sea state is generally quiet in this area with wave heights lower than 1.5 m over more than 80% of the study duration. However, the seasonality is marked; from July to September, 95% of wave heights are below 1.5 m, and between April and June, waves with heights between 1.5 m and 3 m treble. From October to March, highly energetic waves (heights of more than 5 m) can be observed. Annual and seasonal statistics for Banyuls-sur-Mer and Sète indicated a spatial variability in the wave conditions for the Gulf of Lions. Large waves (heights above 3 m) are four times more frequent on the Languedoc coast (6%) than on the Roussillon coast (1.2%), possibly due to the filtering of southerly swell in this latter area. Conversely, extreme waves reach greater heights in Banyuls than in Sète, implying they originate from the east.