Part of Provence, sharing its excellent weather and cuisine. As the biggest Mediterranean delta after the Nile, its flats are home to pink flamingos, famous salt, unique red rice producing paddies, bullfighting that doesn’t harm the bull, scenery of grazing pure white horses, and world-famous vineyards.
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We highly recommend renting a bike or e-bike from South Spirit Bike in Avignon and riding the stunning new world-class paved bike path beside and across the mighty Rhone River through extensive vineyards to the legendary wine village of Chateauneuf-du-Pape among other destinations. And best of all there are many great places to stop along the way for lunch and wine tastings!
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The preserved medieval town museum of Vaison la Romaine near Avignon is well worth a visit. It’s up high on its own promontory so the views over the flat countryside are amazing, and every turn of its narrow cobblestone streets will have you wanting to take a photo.
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It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to ride one of the famous white horses which are an emblem of Camargue. We can recommend Promenade a Cheval La Comtesse on a grand French estate where we took their trail ride through vineyards and along a canal. All their horses need is a horn to make beautiful unicorns!
DAY 1
Arrive at the Montpellier-Mediterranee Airport and pick up your rental car for the 22-minute drive to Aigues-Mortes. Aigues-Mortes has movie-perfect ramparts around the city that look just as they did when the 7th Crusade in 1248 was launched from here, and when 45 Templar Knights were held prisoner here in 1307. It is recognized as the best preserved medieval walled city in Europe.
The town is completely contained within its high walls and the houses are all made of the same light-colored stone as the walls and connected to each other making a pretty aesthetic. Though the town is surprisingly spacious inside the walls, the atmosphere is one of cozy snug safety. If you’re lucky enough to be here at the start of their bull festival you can watch bulls run through its streets! For dinner enjoy one of its many excellent cafes and restaurants and after wander its historic and charming streets that are so serene with the stone walls lit up along your way.
DAY 2
After breakfast just a short 10-minute drive away are the Baleine saltworks, which produce the most popular brand of salt in France and whose brand is sold worldwide. Salt has been continuously harvested here since Roman times.
You can choose to walk or ride its mini train, but its grounds are so extensive we’d recommend riding. You will get a chance to view their many salt pools and miles of marsh, their salt museum, mountains of table-ready salt they allow you to climb(!), and to enjoy watching the wild flamingos that live in their pink lagoons.
For lunch back in Aigues-Mortes try some of its local red rice. In the afternoon take a boat ride from the canal next to its ramparts. You can choose to take a scenic river cruise looking out for flamingos or hire a boat to stop at one its many miles of excellent beaches.
DAY 3
The Camargue is justly famous for its scenery of its beautiful pure white horses and longhorned black bulls that can be seen roaming free over much of its 360-square-mile area.
Unlike in Spain, Camargue bulls aren’t killed or injured in the ring but instead compete for a decade, getting smarter and tougher as the years go on. In a Camargue bullfight the goal of the matador (“raseteur”) is to pluck a ribbon from between the bull’s horns. It is extremely dangerous for the men trying to get that ribbon. The dozen or so raseteurs, all dressed in white, crisscross the arena calling out to the bull to attract him. They constantly have to leap up into the bleachers to escape the charging bull! There’s even a ‘Taureau Piscine’ style of bull fight when raseteurs escape being chased by jumping into a pool of water! Each bull fight lasts about 15 minutes. Spanish bulls are bred to be large and heavy in order to be slow and less dangerous for the matador. Camargue bulls are light, quick, and agile, and their long horns are upright better to hold the ribbon rather than forward-facing as on Spanish bulls. There are many different bull festivals in summer throughout Camargue and each commences with a bull run through the village. And almost every village has a statue erected to its favorite bull! Spend the day attending the special Camargue bull shows which the bulls seem to enjoy as much as the audience!
DAY 4
An hour away is Arles, an UNESCO World Heritage Site and Camargue’s most famous city, as well as being the largest city in France by area. It is well known for being a favorite subject of Van Gogh and thanks to the historic salt flats here it also has an impressive collection of Roman buildings from the Baths of Constantine to a well-preserved amphitheater that’s still in use. You’ll enjoy exploring this beautiful city which has so many scenic sights to offer.
DAY 5
Camargue’s storybook white horses are used to herd and round up the bulls, and they are so prized that they are rarely sold outside this region. It’s a thrill to take a trail ride on these gorgeous horses in the local traditional saddle that hasn’t changed since the medieval age.
The fancy saddles have a high wall in front and back that snugly hug the rider in the seat. The stirrups are closed over the toes and its metal is ornately decorated. On our trail ride we were instructed to mount by grabbing onto the horse’s mane and hopping up from the ground! We rode at Promenade a Cheval La Comtesse which is on a beautiful French estate.
After a morning trail ride through vineyards and along canals and lunch, relax on the soft fine sand of a Camargue beach.
DAY 6
Head out early for the one-hour drive to Avignon for an active biking day. Avignon has numerous excellent options for breakfast, and you’ll want to fuel yourself for the ride. We highly recommend renting a bike or if you’re like us an e-bike from Avignon and riding on their stunning new world-class paved bike path beside the Rhone River through vineyards to the legendary wine village of Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
You’ll be able to stop along the way for wine tastings and lunch. Because it is France, it is incredible wine country and biking through it is the best way to appreciate the scenery and the many different small wineries. The bike route is perfect for families and beginners as it’s safe from cars and almost completely flat, but its long length and dramatic bike bridges across the wide and powerful Rhone River appeal to advanced bikers as well.
On the way back into Avignon you’ll be on a bridge next to the famous “Sur La Pont D’Avignon” of song so will get a great view of the medieval bridge which was never fully completed!
If you still have a little energy to walk up a hill, a 15-minute drive away is Vaison la Romaine, a charming medieval city that is preserved like a museum. As you meander its charming narrow stone streets with doors and houses made for people of small stature you will feel you have stepped back in time. You will be happily tired out on your drive home, having had a splendid day of great exercise, scenery, and food.
DAY 7
Sadly, you will be leaving this unique region of France today. The easiest way to fly home to the U.S. is to take a car service to the Marseille Airport and leave from there
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