Must-see attractions in Camargue

  • Amphitheatre in Arles.

    Les Arènes

    Arles

    In Roman Gaul, every important town had an amphitheatre, where gladiators and wild animals met their (usually grisly) ends. Few examples have survived,…

  • Facade of art museum Foundation Vincent van Gogh in Arles, France.

    Fondation Vincent Van Gogh

    Arles

    Housed in a listed 15th-century manor, now twice repurposed (its other incarnation was as a bank), this Van Gogh–themed gallery is a must-see, as much for…

  • Parc Ornithologique du Pont de Gau

    Camargue

    Flamingos are a dime a dozen in the Camargue, but this park is one of the best places to see the many other migratory and seasonal species that thrive in…

  • Domaine de la Palissade

    Camargue

    This remote nature centre, 12km south of Salin de Giraud, organises fantastic forays through 702 hectares of protected marshland, scrubby glasswort,…

  • Musée Réattu

    Arles

    This superb 150-year-old museum, housed in an exquisitely renovated 15th-century Hospitaller priory by the Rhône, might be assumed old-fashioned, yet its…

  • Église St-Trophime

    Arles

    Named for Arles' semi-mythical first archbishop, this Romanesque-style church, built over a 5th-century basilica, was a cathedral until the bishopric…

  • Église des Stes-Maries

    Camargue

    Built on the potential first site of Christianity in the Camargue, this fortified church is of uncertain vintage, but probably hails from the 12th century…

  • Parc Naturel Régional de Camargue

    Camargue

    Enclosed by the Petit Rhône and Grand Rhône rivers, most of the Camargue wetlands fall within the 850-sq-km Parc Naturel Régional de Camargue, established…

  • Manade des Baumelles

    Camargue

    Located on the Petit Rhône, this manade (bull farm) lets visitors enter the world of the gardians ('cowboys'), watching their strenuous work from the…

  • Musée de la Camargue

    Camargue

    Inside a 19th-century sheep shed 10km southwest of Arles, this museum evokes traditional life in the Camargue, with exhibitions covering history, culture,…

  • Les Salins du Midi

    Camargue

    Glowing a peculiar pink in the sunlight, the vast, flat salt pans that stretch southwards from Aigues-Mortes have for centuries produced the region's…

  • Musée Départemental Arles Antique

    Arles

    This striking cobalt-blue museum perches on the edge of what used to be the Roman chariot-racing track (hippodrome), southwest of central Arles. The…

  • La Digue à la Mer

    Camargue

    This 2.5m-high dyke was built in the 19th century to cut the delta off from the sea, making the southern Camargue arable. A 20km-long walking and cycling…

  • Fondation Luma

    Arles

    Arles' already-bulging cultural landscape avidly awaits this new cutting-edge gallery and arts centre, rising inexorably at a defunct railway depot in the…

  • Théâtre Antique

    Arles

    It's easy to admire the grace and engineering of this theatre – built at the behest of the unofficial first Roman Emperor, Augustus, in the 1st century BC…

  • Cryptoportiques

    Arles

    The origins of these fascinating underground chambers, now sitting below the current city centre, go at least back to the first Roman colony in Arles in…

  • Réserve Nationale de Camargue

    Camargue

    One of the oldest nature reserves in France (first delineated in 1927 and given official protected status in 1975), it covers 132 sq km of wetlands,…

  • Place du Forum

    Arles

    Just as social, political and religious life revolved around the forum in Roman Arles, so the busy plane-tree-shaded place du Forum still buzzes with life…

  • Les Alyscamps

    Arles

    Testament to the significance of Roman Arles, this grand processional avenue of tombs and sarcophagi holds more than 1500 years of corpses (which Roman…

  • Église Notre Dame de la Major

    Arles

    Complicated restoration projects mean this 12th-century church, dominating Arles from the highest point in the city, can only be admired from outside…

  • Thermes de Constantin

    Arles

    These partly preserved Roman baths were built for Emperor Constantin's private use in the 4th century. While much of the complex has been built over…

  • Town Walls & Tour de Constance

    Camargue

    Scaling the ramparts of the picturesque town of Aigues-Mortes rewards you with sweeping views. Head to the top of the 13th-century Tour de Constance (in…

  • Espace Van Gogh

    Arles

    The 16th-century hospital where Van Gogh had his ear stitched on and was later locked up hosts the occasional exhibition (which attracts an entry fee). At…

  • Hôtel de Ville

    Arles

    Completed in 1676, and still the seat of Arles' government, the handsome Town Hall is also the entrance to the subterranean Roman Cryptoportiques.

  • Museon Arlaten

    Arles

    Arles' cultural museum, founded all the way back in 1889 with the intent of documenting regional culture, styles and creators, is closed for renovations…