kelly58 Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 In the next couple of weeks we are hoping to head to the South of France to the Camargue Region between Montpelier and Marseilles. We have not been to this area before , we have been around Vias / Vias Plage and Port Grimaud - towards Monte Carlo , have any of you hardened travellers any tips advice ie: places you must see / avoid at all costs , we will be using Aires and the CC/ASCI camping guides . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazooka Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 HIi Kelly58, Arles is worth a visit the ampertheatre,also stes-maries-de-la-mer where you can only park on the air 12e unless you park at roadside about half a mile before the town.Aigues-Mortes walled town with i think 2 aires.we used asci site convenient for the above places. Baz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenkothewanderer Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Hi Kelly if you get the weather and like wild life you will enjoy the area. It is very flat and the scenery unspectacular but yet is very appealing. Aiges Mortes is worth seeing a walled town with a good atmosphere, the aire is near the canal facing the walled town. Saintes Maries de la Mer is a nice place to visit and you can get boat trips up the Rhone and see the wild horses. There are two Aires , one close the centre, a large square motorhome park with basic facilities. The other aire is a long narrow strip of parking on the beach front. They are both pay. We have stayed on both, if you really want to be adventurous, from the beach aire you are allowed to take your motorhome along dirt tracks into the camargue. We have a Hymer and took it approx 1 mile along dirt tracks and stayed overnight at the side of a lagoon watching the pink flamingoes fly in and feed on the shrimps. We were not on our own there were numerous motorhomes scattered along the tracks. If you have bicycles you can cycle along these tracks for miles and look at the abundant birdlife. Hope this helps Jenko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirage Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 We spent about three days near A. Mortes on the way to Antibies our favourite haunt for the past ten years. Mistral blew all the time which admittedly spoilt it anyway. The Carmargue seemed one of those overrated places to us, if you are into horse riding probably OK. Le Grau -de -Roi is a seaside / riverside resort with many restaurants. Ste Maries de-la mer SE of Aigues is a fairly isolated seaside resort although the roads around take you through the "horsey parts" for which the Carmargue is known. Marseilles to Arles passes near Fos Sur Mer more noted for Refineries and Chemical Tankers than tourists. We saw a small part of a Bull Run Festival essentially bulls chasing young men up a street into a ring where they jump in and out of the ring. Nothing like the old Spanish style and its the humans who seem stand a good chance of being injured. We would`nt bother going back prefer Coted`Azur in September. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terry1956 Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 hi, must say the camarque region was boring. when we got ther two days was it, we moved on to more interesting places. sorry but its horse country and unless you like horses go somewhere else. michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 kelly58 - 2011-04-18 7:07 PM In the next couple of weeks we are hoping to head to the South of France to the Camargue Region between Montpelier and Marseilles. We have not been to this area before , we have been around Vias / Vias Plage and Port Grimaud - towards Monte Carlo , have any of you hardened travellers any tips advice ie: places you must see / avoid at all costs , we will be using Aires and the CC/ASCI camping guides . Avoid the whole place, head inland to Provence instead. It is a bit like Norfolk but not as good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickt Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 I stayed at both of the aires in Saintes Marie de le Mer and would not hesitate to go back.Sit at the bar by the roundabout in the town at 5pm and watch the hores come by. Coach parties come to see this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickt Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 I stayed at both of the aires in Saintes Marie de le Mer and would not hesitate to go back.Sit at the bar by the roundabout in the town at 5pm and watch the hores come by. Coach parties come to see this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cattwg Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Hi Kelly 58, We had an interesting afternoon walking the walls of Aiges Mortes and whilst there, in September, we saw bull runs through the streets, I don’t know if this occurs at other times of the year. And of course this being France there were no safety barriers. The bulls were ‘corralled’ by four Guardiens on horseback as they thundered through. There is an aire there (€8 I think) but we did as the French did and overnighted in one of the free car parks outside the walls. This particular one was at the opposite end of the town to the aire. Don’t drive through the walls!! The church at Saintes Marie de le Mer is also interesting. The aire in the centre of Stes M-d-l-Mer was full when we arrived – mid afternoon in September. The aire at the coast is much more spacious. It starts as a tarmaced car park, with facilities but extends to a long narrow hard sand area - €5 in 2009 if memory serves. But be aware that as unlikely as it may look the tide does come in onto parts of the sandy stretch, I had to drive though about a foot of water to leave and it was still rising. Having said that we were just one of about twenty ‘vans of many nationalities on the sand. I must admit that I found the Camargue countryside too flat but we did see huge flocks of pink flamingos. Again I don’t know if they would be there in the spring. Have a good trip. Cattwg :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Camargue is flat, so ideal for cycling. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cattwg Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 malc d - 2011-04-20 8:03 PM Camargue is flat, so ideal for cycling. ;-) I agree that the Camargue is ideal for some not too strenuous cycling but I would suggest you obtain a good large scale map. Or maybe cycling guides from the local Tourist Information Centre. The area is criss-crossed with lanes and I think it would be very easy to get lost - we probably would!! Cattwg :-D :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retread24800 Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Loved the Carmargue, yes its flat, yes lots of Horses, flamingoes, cattle, historic sites, fabulous beaches, good cycle area stay on an Aire and move on daily, see more, the road between cap d'Agde and Sete is great and you can park on the side looking over deserted beaches(at least in February you can!) if thats not your thing then try the beaches at Cap d'Agde :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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