Aigues Mortes - Camargue Gardoise Get a change of scene in the Camargue

Remparts d'Aigues-Mortes

Remparts d'Aigues-Mortes, A.Cougnenc

Salins d'Aigues-Mortes

Salins Aigues-Mortes, Deschamps

Petite Camargue

Petite Camargue, A.Cougnenc

Why visit?

  • The fortified town of Aigues-Mortes and salt marshes.
  • The Camargue Gardoise, approved as a French Grand Site and Natura 2000 area.
  • The UNESCO-listed Saint-Gilles Abbey due to its importance on the Santiage de Compostela routes.
  • The Pointe de l’Espiguette and its lighthouse in Le Grau du Roi.
Expérience Gard - Camargue, carte.

Expérience Gard - Camargue, carte.

Aigues-Mortes

Medieval Camargue

Aigues-Mortes was the French kingdom's first port in the Mediterranean and is now surrounded by land. When you get here you'll be struck by how well-preserved the 1.6km long city walls are. Take a tour all around them on the wall walk. Great views of the salt marshes and Camargue. Bring a hat in summer.

Visit the majestic Tour Constance where King Louis IX lived and where he left for the crusades. Then wander through the town brought to life by countless artist studios and craft workshops.

Aigues-Mortes, la Tour de Constance

Aigues-Mortes, la Tour de Constance, A.Cougnenc

Great ideas for Aigues-Mortes & la Camargue Gardoise

Visit Aigues-Mortes, in the Camargue Gardoise, #GrandSiteOccitanie to discover its vast lagoons and historic ramparts. See the top tips for visitors recommended by Nicole Lafisca, a bull breeder from Le Cailar.

Parking

You can visit Aigues-Mortes on foot. There are 8 car parks, including a free one, just outside the citadel.

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Camargue Gardoise

A unique landscape in France

Visitor trail, outdoor museum, exhibitions: head to La Marette, the French Camargue Gardoise Grand Site centre. From here you can soak up these unique French landscapes. They have been sculpted by centuries of differences in sea level and changes to the Rhône river bed. Salt water lagoons, marshes, freshwater lakes: this vast damp area is packed with exceptional biodiversity famous throughout Europe.

One of its crown jewels is the Scamandre Regional Nature Reserve.

Sentier découverte petite Camargue

petite Camargue, A.Cougnenc

Worth the detour

Tour Carbonnière: a former 13th century toll booth 5km away from Aigues-Mortes. It has fantastic views of the Camargue. You can walk, cycle or drive here (free car park with limited space).

Camargue traditions

Paddy fields and manades

The Camargue's residents knew how to make the most of the marsh and created paddy fields in the 19th century. Camargue rice is now an IGP product (Protected Geographical Indication). "Manades" are also signature features of the Camargue landscape: bull and horse ranches. You'll meet cowboys leading their herds. You can visit a "manade" to learn about techniques worthy of the Wild West, take part in a gypsy night or a Camargue bull fight in one of the many village arenas: the atmosphere is simply indescribable. 

Manade en Camargue

Manade en Camargue, G.Zimmerman / CRT

Don't miss

The Aigues-Mortes salt marsh covers the equivalent of around 10,000 rugby pitches! You can visit on the tourist train, by bike or on foot.

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Abbatiale de Saint-Gilles

Abbatiale de Saint-Gilles, Andy Messens

Saint-Gilles

A hotspot on the Santiago de Compostela routes

Visit Saint-Gilles Abbey 40 mins north east of Aigues-Mortes. It's still a major stage on the Arles trail. You'll be amazed by its sculpted exterior, a Roman art masterpiece.
Step inside and gaze in wonder at the huge crypt where the saint's tomb lies and in the old choir you'll find the spiral staircase: a rarity celebrated the world over!

Pick up the booklet published by Tourist Information in the old town to find the mansions, rampart ruins, the river port on the Rhône Canal in Sète and more.

Our favourite

Visit the Camargue Gardoise's wine cellars and estates to sample delicious IGP Sables de Camargue wines. What's unique about the rosé, gris and gris de gris wine is the very pale colour.

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Our favorite

The Camargue by boat is the best! Take your pick from a boat cruise, barge or catamaran: cruise with a stop at a manade or to the sound of gypsy guitarists, a trip past the Midi Salt Marshes, Le Grau du Roi fishing port, a sea excursion etc.

How to get there

Aigues-Mortes is based in the Gard, 35km from Montpellier.

  • By car: on the A9 motorway from Lyon, Nîmes, Montpellier, Toulouse etc.
  • By plane: from Montpellier-Méditerranée Airport (25km) or  Nîmes Alès Camargue Cévennes Airport (42km).
  • By train: You can take a TER regional train to Aigues-Mortes for 1 €: the station is a stop on the Nîmes/Le Grau-du-Roi line.

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