La Playa

Camargue


East of Stes-Maries, towards the Digue à la Mer on sandy Plage Est, is La Playa, the chic choice, with a particularly vibrant apéro and after-dark scene, shoals of fresh fish cooked up à la plancha (grilled), and great daytime buzz revolving around tasty lunches, free wi-fi and super-comfy sun-loungers on the sand.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Camargue attractions

1. Église des Stes-Maries

0.76 MILES

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…

2. Parc Ornithologique du Pont de Gau

2.99 MILES

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…

3. La Digue à la Mer

4.95 MILES

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…

4. Manade des Baumelles

5.65 MILES

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

5. Parc Naturel Régional de Camargue

11.26 MILES

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…

6. Réserve Nationale de Camargue

11.66 MILES

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,…

7. Musée de la Camargue

12.44 MILES

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

8. Les Salins du Midi

14.77 MILES

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…