Camargue Attractions

In spite of the enormous amount of tourism, parts of the Camargue are still completely isolated and flat. The Camargue (Provençal Camargo) is an area with a thoroughly individual and often quite melancholy character. Over many centuries the Rhône has deposited detritus, sand and soil in its delta, pushing it ever further out into the sea. As a result, the old port of Aigues-Mortes has receded some 5km/3mi from the coastline in the course of some 600 years. While this has been happening in the western part of Camargue, the very opposite has occurred in the southeast; Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer, which was some miles inland during the Middle Ages, is now on the coast!

The part nearest the sea, around the lagoon of the Etang de Vaccarès, consists almost entirely of lagoons and reed-infested marshes or dry salt expanses and dunes on which, in places, umbrella pines, juniper bushes and tamarisks thrive.

Waterfowl - in recent years there has been a considerably increased colony of flamingoes, heron etc. - and even birds of prey are numerous; turtles and beavers can also be found. In winter especially, men on horseback round up half- wild herds ("manades") of sheep, small black cattle and light gray horses. After spending much of their young lives in freedom these well-known Camargue horses are sold for riding or hired out in the holiday season - in many places there are centers with Promenades à Cheval (horse-riding centers).

Camargue has been used for agriculture since medieval times. It was probably at the end of the 13th century that the Arabs from Spain introduced rice to the marshy lands of the Camargue. After 1942 rice-growing intensified, but subsequently went into decline as a result of competition and increased draining of the land. In recent years it has been revived, mainly in an attempt to help neutralize the salty nature of the soil. In 1985 50,000 tons of rice were grown here, equal to 18 per cent of France's requirements. The traditional rearing of beef-cattle and horses, together of course tourism, all play an important part in the economy of the region.

After reaching La Palissade, the return journey of the Camargue drive can be made considerably more quickly on the D36, the course of which is parallel to the Rhône and which shortly before reaching Arles joins the D570. Alternatively, the Grand Rhône can be crossed by ferry near Salin-de-Giraud on to the D35, or the road via Martigues and the Chaîne de l'Estaque to Marseilles can be followed.

The Pont de Gau bird sanctuary covers more than 12ha/30acres of marshland. Numerous species of birds, either native to the Camargue or resting during migration, can be observed here. Keen naturalists can obtain information from a building which looks rather like a beach-hut. Many species which are difficult to observe in the wild can be seen here in aviaries constructed to be as near as possible to their native habitat.

In the marshy area of Camargue near Le Paradis, some 16km/10mi south of Villeneuve, a little road branches off to the right. The path to the lighthouse, the Phare de la Gacholle, has to be negotiated on foot. There is a fine view from here, with a telescope for bird watching. From there the road leads past the dike known as "Digue à la mer" as far as Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer (about 20km/12.5mi). To the south lie more than 30km/19mi of beaches of fine sand.

The most favorable starting-points for a drive through the Camargue are Arles and St-Gilles. Road D570 coming from Arles - which is joined after 15km/9mi near Albaron by the D37 from St-Gilles - leads southwest and ends in Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer. Initially the road runs through acres of sunflowers and rice-fields; as it nears the sea the landscape becomes more steppe-like and halophytes - plants well suited to the salty soil - take over.

Near Albaron (13th C. tower, remains of a fort; pumping station for fresh-water irrigation) the D37 branches off from the D570; a signpost reads "Etang de Vaccarès". On the far side of Méjanes this road runs close to the Etang de Vaccarès surrounded by a girdle of reeds. This lake, which has an area of about 6,000ha/14,800 acres - varying according to the water-level - is by far the largest in the Camargue, but its average depth is only about 50cm/20in.

Near Villeneuve the D36 B bears off to the right; this is a charming scenic stretch. It follows - often with fine views - the eastern shore of the lake which towards the south gives way to a number of level lagoons dotted with sandbanks.

Some 10km/6mi southwest of Arles, on the marshy Plaine de Meyran, by the D570 just before Albaron, lies the Mas du Pont de Rousty. An old sheep farm now houses the Nature Reserve Center and the Musée Camarguais, which provides information about the history of the region and way its inhabitants lived. A walk lasting some 1.5 hours along a 3.5km/2mi path will provide instruction on peasant life and rural conditions.

In La Capellière the Ministry of the Environment provides information regarding the Camargue National Park. There are also walkways with instruction boards and hides and observation huts.

The Camargue road runs south between the embanked Rhône and the salt-pans. Where the road leaves the river stands the La Palissade estate, a museum displaying flora and fauna from the Camargue. There are exhibitions, slide shows, a herbarium and and aquarium. The road ends near the Plage de Piemançon, a broad beach of fine sand with no tourist facilities, forming the eastern end of the Golfe du Lion.

The Camargue Regional Nature Park was set up in 1970; covering an area of 820sq.km/320sq.mi, it takes in roughly the whole of Grande Camargue. The aim is to preserve the traditional landscape, provide natural surroundings for the flora and fauna and foster tourism.

The southern part, the Etang de Vaccarès and the adjoining coastal area have been nature reserves since 1975.