Camargue

I did not spend the night there, but if I were to go back I would try to charming town of Saint Marie de la Mer (sp). Spent time there having lunch and sight seeing and it was the epitome of my idea of a french beach town.
From there we traveled to see the white horses and flamingos. (fyi... on one trip we only saw two flamingos...they are birds and not predictable!)

Lots of beds in nearby Arles, though that's not "in" the Camargue.

We drove over from our B&B between Avignon and Orange. Distances are pretty short.

If it were me, I'd look for a pretty place in the triangle of Arles, Salon-de-Provence and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. I'd stay more than one night and use it as a base for the whole region, as well as for the Camargue. But that's only my opinion... I don't like having to move my suitcase from place to place, just for a night or two ;-)

Tom, I went to provencebeyond.com and they listed a Hostellerie Pont de Gau on the edge of the Camargue. Not really a hotel from what I gather... and they said Arles was the closest village with hotels.

I stayed in St. Remy and we did the day trip to the Carmague, but as I remember it was quite a drive. However, if you have a few days and want a great home base this is it! Beautiful town, great market and shopping and so easy to get around in. Much easier than Arles to drive in.

The Camargue section of the Rick Steves Provence guidebook covers all sorts of hotels and other sleepy places in that area, in various price ranges and amenities. Just by the way, Terry, Arles is a bit more than a village.

Speaking of the Camargue curious whether people think it is worth traveling through, if time is relatively precious. (by that i mean: there is time, but not a lot of it, for other stuff in the roman area of provence.) i ask this because rick's guide makes it clear that he thinks it's primarily of interest only if you're really into the wildlife. so my question is this: if you admire wildlife as much as the next guy but aren't a photographer would you say it's a sight not to be missed? or would you say it's really not something you'd regret never seeing, if you elected not to take that detour?

"curious whether people think it is worth traveling through" I think it all does boil down to whether or not you either like to or want to see and be exposed to flying critterage. We do and we really enjoyed. In addition to the obligatory flamingos we saw and heard all sorts of other water and land birds and insects. It wasn't the best weather that day but boy did we have a great time. In addition to pull offs from the roads and lanes there are also several viewing platforms. We drove in and went on foot. My 2 video cameras and 2 still cameras were gobbling memory cards like popcorn. We saw very very few horses or cattle, or mammals of any sort. The land is delta, and it is delta-like and very nearly completely flat. It is covered in many places in high grass. So, if that's not your cup'o'tea I would not advise it. If it is, yup, certainly.

Villa Mazarin, Aigues-Mortes http://www.villamazarin.com/#/aigues-mortes/3079892

Nancy: Re your "if you admire wildlife as much as the next guy but aren't a photographer would you say it's a sight not to be missed?" I like Nigel's answer to your question. I don't think it's so much a question of whether or not you're a photographer. It's a question of whether you have a strong interest in seeing that which the Camargue has, which is well described by Nigel.

@Nancy... If you are not into the wildlife I would skip it...however, I will investigate it a bit further to see if I can find out exactly where it was, but in the area near St. Remy there was a limestone quarry in the countryside which had been converted to a sort of multi-media theatre. A film maker used the walls, floors and ceiling as a screen for wonderful images of Old Venice. And of course, there was incredible Italian music playing.
It was an absolutely incredible experience.

Thanks to you all re whether Camargue is a good way to use limited time. We'll figure it out! Re the video on a stone wall near St. Remy -- I have read about that. Thanks so much for the recommendation.

FYI - Cathédrale d'images in Baux-de-Provence is no longer operating.:
http://www.cathedrale-images.com/