The Lydia

The Lydia was a cruise ship built in 1931 in Denmark and initially named 'Moonta'. Until 1955 it cruised the southern oceans operating under the Australian flag. Then it cruised Mediterranean under the Greek flag. The cruise ship was retired in 1967. Today, the Lydia is grounded on the beach of Barcares, and has been transformed into a museum, restaurant, club and casino. The Lydia is the only cruiseship stranded in the sand in the world.  After it ceased cruising, the ship was bought by promoters with the intention of transforming it into a symbol of the new seaside town of Barcares. A channel, 600 meters long, was built to move it to its present place on a concrete base.  The cruise ship was sold in 1973 to Kuniko Tsutsumi, a Japanese business woman, who converted it into a club and luxury casino. The french chief cook Georges Landriot was in charge of the cruise ship's kitchens until the mid 70`s.  In 1997, the ministry of the interior closed the casino due to poor financial management. In 2011, the town council of Barcarès bought the Lydia and now uses it for exhibitions.
There is a very interesting video (in French) of the beaching of the vessel here.