Southern France is synonymous with superyachts, star-studded film festivals and swanky beach towns – but look beyond the French Riviera (200 km west, to be exact), and it’s another story; one of pink salt lakes, rice paddies and cowboys. Characterised by its sand dunes and marshes, the Camargue is a 150,000-hectare wetland area in Provence, sandwiched between two arms of the Rhône delta and the sea. It’s somehow both quintessentially French and another world entirely, as vineyards, rice paddies, cattle ranches and quaint market towns – their cobbled streets dotted with boulangeries and gîtes – contrast with the glorious wilderness of untamed marshes.
It’s as biodiverse as it is historic. The Petite Camargue area to the west is under environmental protection and home to some 400 wild bird species, including flamingos, great egrets and storks. The best place to see them in their natural habitats is at the (€8/£6.
70 for a guided tour). The Romans were the first to settle here, in what is now Aigues Mortes (literally “dead water”, after the stagnant swamps found when humans first settled there), introducing rice cultivation in the 13th century in order to soak up some of the swamp water and make the land viable for farming. It’s now a staple export of the region, as are rosé “sand wine” (wine from grapes grown in the marshlands) and olives.
A road trip through the Camargue is a pleasant enough way to discover its delights – but, as one-third of th.