La Camargue, the broad salt-marsh delta of the Rhône River, extends south from Arles for over 30 km (19 miles) and covers 85,000 hectares (328 square miles).

Now protected as the Parc Naturel Régional de Camargue, it teems with birds and other wildlife, and is famous for its local breed of horses of a lineage stretching back to prehistoric times. These distinctive horses are still seen roaming about the Camargue.

You can visit La Camargue on a day-trip using Arles as a base, or spend a beach holiday at Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer on the southwestern coast of the delta. Here's how to get there.

A Bit of History

Founded, according to legend, by Mary, the mother of James (St Mary Jacobé), Mary Salomé, Mary Magdalene and other refugees from Jerusalem in the first decades of Christianity, Les Saintes-Maries has a venerable church reputedly built on the tombs of these early saints. It's a place of pilgrimage as well as a holiday site. More...

Street scene in Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer...

Here's a delightful short story about a visit to the Camargue.

About Those Bulls...

As you ride through the flat landscape of the Camargue, whether in car, bus, bicycle or on horseback, you'll see huge black bulls grazing in the fields. These strong animals are bred here for the bullfights and the Course Camarguaise (traditional Camargue bull races and games) still staged in Arles, Nîmes and other Provençal towns, and in Spain and Portugal.

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