There is a corner in France where, for a little, one would almost feel in Texas. There, the men drive in pick-up trucks, dress according to a codified dress code with boots and hat, and spend most of their time on horseback sorting cattle. The description is a bit of a caricature, but it helps to grasp the character so particular to the Camargue, since this is what it is all about, this sort of French Far West nestled between the two arms of a Rhône that splits before offering itself to the Mediterranean.
A nature of wild beauty
A delta with an American accent, then? Only in the decorum, because here, it is rather Spain that makes its influence felt. Next to the manades, where the leaping bulls of the Camargue race are raised, there are also "ganaderias" that breed the "toros", heavyweights destined for the bullfight, for which the ancient arenas of Arles and Nîmes serve as a showcase. As in the Iberian Peninsula, the cultivation of rice is a strong marker of the work of the land. A land that constantly repels the assaults of a sea that poisons it with its salt, while the nourishing river preserves its fertility. A singular land, therefore, whose wild beauty, so often imagined by its marshes full of pink flamingos, is the main tourist argument. Focus on the landscapes of this unique region.
Aigues-Mortes and the Salins du Midi
To visit the Salins du Midi is to penetrate a striking landscape of wild and preserved nature, to go and meet an exceptional fauna and flora and to discover an ancestral profession, although it has become partly industrialized. The salt marsh comprises 10,800 hectares and is home to some 278 plant species and 200 bird species (157 of which are protected). Its rational management helps to delay the nibbling of the sea on the land. A classic tour will take you in a small train through the salt tables (1 hour visit with a stop at the salt museum), a "Salt and Nature" tour will allow you to penetrate the heart of this land in a 4x4, accompanied by a naturalist guide: really exciting
The ornithological park of Pont-de-Gau, between ponds and marshes
Located 4 km north of Saintes-Maries, on the road to Arles, this park was originally a family creation. Since 1949, when the first aviaries were exposed on 6 000 m² by André Lamouroux, the park is now managed by his son and his children and spreads over 60 hectares. Two walks through ponds and marshes are proposed. One, very wild, called the northern path, offers a complete vision of the diversity of the Camargue. A judiciously placed observatory allows you to discover teal, mallards, shelducks and geese at leisure. One can also see a beautiful density of birds of prey, herons, rails, large and fine beaks migrating or sedentary, accompanied by coypu. The second path winds its way between two ponds occupied by a large colony of pink flamingos that can be approached from very close. Between the two, a large space with a pedagogical and educational character, illustrated with large and attractive descriptive boards, along a succession of aviaries hosting large birds that have been injured or disabled.
Salin-de-Giraud, a unique place
Salin-de-Giraud is not a town like any other in the Camargue. It is advisable to go there as a historical pilgrimage, even if, at first sight, it has nothing particular to attract the onlooker. What makes it a unique place in the whole region is both its history and its particular original urbanism, totally at odds with the traditional urbanism of the South. Salin-de-Giraud, a real boomtown, was created in 1856 by the Péchiney company to house the employees of the Henry Merle company, which was beginning to industrially exploit the local salt for the chemical plant in Salindres, near Alès in the Gard region, which needed it to produce soda. Built on the model of the workers' cities of the North, the town was spatially very hierarchical. In addition to the residence of the director of the Company in its park, there were the engineers' houses, the workers' houses (identical and cramped), a hospital, churches, schools and a cinema, all financed by the employer himself in a very paternalistic spirit. Today, the Salins du Midi operate salt marshes that produce about 350,000 tons of salt per year.
The Vigueirat marshes, exceptional walks
You have to follow a track for a good distance before arriving at the Marais du Vigueirat. This protected natural space, domain of the Conservatoire du littoral, located between the Grand Rhône and the Crau plain, allows you to discover the flora and fauna of the Camargue. An infinite number of discoveries are possible, whether you are a Sunday walker or a nature enthusiast. the "Starling Trails" include several thematic routes over a total length of 4 km, with free access from sunrise to sunset. The Cabanes trail is a 500-meter long fun trail entirely on stilts, allowing you to walk along the water to discover all the secrets of this natural area. The Palunette trail, 2.5 km long, borders the Vigueirat canal: an opportunity to discover the different species of birds through a wildlife observatory. Since 2016, the ethnobotanical trail takes you, on a surface of one hectare, to the discovery of different environments, the plants which compose them and the link with man. Possibility of guided tour and visit by horse-drawn carriage.
Make way for the beaches!
But the Camargue is also the beaches. To get there, first take the road to Saintes-Maries, then turn left towards Salin-de-Giraud, then right on the road to Villeneuve and follow the Vaccarès, then the dike to the sea. 14 km separate Salin-de-Giraud from the beach! The history of Beauduc begins at the end of the 1930's, when the site's frequentation was extended to pleasure fishing and vacationing. If the first huts were established since the formation of this sea lair in the mid-eighteenth century, there were about a hundred installations by the end of the 1960s. The new laws on the littoral being applied to this place, certain destructions were carried out. The immense beach, located in a wild environment still preserved, offers itself after the crossing of many marshes of which that of the Grand Fangassier, with campers, huts, galloping horses, bicycles, kites... A whole disparate and popular universe that creates a unique atmosphere! A very nice site to discover with your family
But did you know that Arles is also a seaside resort? Of course, its city center is located about 50 km from the coast. But the town, the largest in France, still has a beach. Piémanson, as it is called, is located after the hamlet of Salin-de-Giraud. 100% natural, it extends over 7 kilometers. Devoid of any tree (it is better not to forget umbrella and sun cream in the middle of summer!), it is only made of fine sand. A kind of Copacabana, in a way, without the buildings in the background... Cleared of the hundreds of caravans and other ephemeral habitats of bric et broc that had been taking root for several months each year for decades, the beach of Piémanson, whose access is now regulated, is in the heart of the Regional Natural Park of Camargue. And a part of its immense surface is reserved for naturists.
Finally, the beach of Espiguette, located at the edge of the Petite Camargue, forms the end of an immense sandbank totally isolated from the "mainland" and the roads. Whatever the season, this paradise is one of the most beautiful and wildest beaches of the Mediterranean. But beware, paradise, as we all know, must be earned! A hundred meters (at least) of dunes to walk on the hot summer sand, before being able to claim the ten kilometers of fine sand along the sea
Smart info
When to go? The best time to go is on a beautiful day in spring, autumn and early winter
How to get there. By car, Paris-Arles: 588 km on the A7. By plane, direction Marseille or Montpellier and by train, stop at Arles station.
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