curious whether people think it is worth traveling through the camargue on way from carcassonne to arles, 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?
Posted by
Dallas
1021 posts
The Camargue is beautiful and interesting. Aigues-Mortes is well worth a visit. Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer has a very interesting old church and beautiful sandy beaches. And there are the flamingos, white horses and black bulls, of course. In the end, only you can decide whether you have the time to see it, but if you go I don't think you'll be disappointed. Here's a link of interest Camargue
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
The Camargue is not a big as a lot of people think - - it's just the delta between the two branches of the Rhone. Driving from Carcassonne to Arles takes a couple of hours along the freeway (which misses all but a tiny part of Camargue south of Nimes); cutting across the Camargue by leaving the freeway north of Montpellier toward Aigues Mortes and then through the national park adds only a half hour. The major wildlife attraction is the flamingos. There are gazillions, but you can't get very close to them. They migrate, so they might not be there when you are. If they're around, you will have spotted them by the west side of Aigues Mortes, so you can cut back up to the freeway and save a tiny bit of time. Aigues Mortes (formerly a walled port, but now a walled city due to delta silting) makes the cut worth your while, not the wildlife. My druthers would be to swing through Aigues Mortes, then cut back straight north to the freeway to catch the stuff at Nimes enroute to Arles if time were going to be limited - - this would skip the all but the little bit of the Camargue near Nimes, but it would put you through the same terraine and wildlife.