I'll only have 1.5 days in July to explore after leaving Cevennes national park before a flight out of Montpellier. Thinking to try to visit Nimes & Pont du Gard for Roman sites and then drive down to the Camargue for late afternoon and spend the night there. Thinking this sets us up for easy drive to MPL airport with a possible stop in Aigues Mortes. This may be a lot of driving. Wondering if it's better to skip PdG as that is further out and just head straight to the Camargue, rent bikes, etc. Or is there another must see in the area? We'll have already explored Montpellier before going to Cevennes. We like nature, scenic stuff & historical sites over cities. Thank you for any thoughts & suggestions on this.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10192 posts
It sounds good to me. Pont du Gard will have a lot of visitors, so go as early as possible. Nîmes is not a long visit if you aren't going to the Roman museum. Yes, drive through this western part of the Camargue, have lunch or dinner, bring bug repellent from the US bc it's stronger. Unless you get to Aiguës Mortes early in the day or stay overnight, parking and crowds make it difficult, so that's the one I'd drop unless you overnight there. The salt works are nextdoor and can be visited.
It's a fairly quick drive to the airport, depending on the time of day, on departmental roads from Aiguës Mortes, along the beaches and La Grande Motte. You'd have to decide if it's worth going north to catch the autoroute.
FYI You can also rent bikes in Montpellier to ride to the beach. You'll passing marshes with flamingos... but no bull ranches.
Posted by
Paris
6897 posts
The Camargue in July is mosquito heaven, beware.
Also, it is hot, so maybe not the best time for biking.
The prime sight, in my opinion, is the Pont de Gau nature reserve, with the flamingos. It is a 2-hour visit, roughly. You could head there from Nîmes in the late PM (check hours), and spend the night in Aigues-Mortes.