Pure France - Holiday rental homes and villas in France

The Camargue

One of Europe's premier nature reserves the Camargue has cowboys, fighting bulls, horses and 20,000 flamingos

Black fighting bulls herded by men on white horses? Clouds of pink flamingos against the setting sun? These Camargue clichés are true but there's much more to this special place.

Flamingos in the Camargue 3Photo: Flamingos feeding at the Parc Ornithologique de Pont de Gau

Here the River Rhone splits in two, the main current in the east maintaining its relentless course straight to the Mediterranean near Marseilles while the Petit Rhone wanders away to the west for a while before finally reaching the sea. Between the two lies 930 square kilometres of low lying wetland of global importance.

With its unique ecology, the Camargue ticks all the environmental boxes regional and national nature reserve, listed by the Ramsar convention as a wetland of international importance and may soon be a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The mixture of freshwater and seawater environments make this one of nature's rare jewels. While the 20,000 or so breeding flamingos attract all the attention, the Camargue is an important refuge for many other species.

Flamingos in the Camargue 2Photo: The Camargues is home to around 20,000 flamingos

For birds migrating between Africa and Europe, it's a vital service area, allowing them to feed and rest before or after the long Mediterranean crossing. In winter, these large areas of open water are home to over 200,000 geese and ducks from northern Europe.

People have been farming here since ancient times, long before the Greeks or the Romans arrived. Humans introduced a complex system of dykes, canals and ditches to regulate the water levels during the year. Fields can be flooded or drained at will. The rice paddies around the lagoons produce a quarter of the rice consumed in France.

Camarguais bullsPhoto: Camarguais bulls trying really hard to look fierce and ready for a fight

The famous Camarguais bulls are bred for fighting. A few feature in the arenas at Arles, Nîmes and Béziers but most are exported to Spain. Known as the “Guardians”, the herders ride white Camarguais horses.

Camargue horses relax at the end of the dayPhoto: Camarguais horses relax at the end of the day

Now some ways to experience the magic of this place.

Driving around the Camargue, it's hard to miss the horse ranches which offer accompanied rides across the marshes. Your guide will assume that you've never ridden before and lead at a very gentle walk while offering a running commentary on life, the Camargue and absolutely everything.

1 Horse riding in the CamarguePhoto: Horseback - the ideal way to really see the Camargue

Boat rides depart from Saintes Maries de la Mer and Aigues Mortes to tour the lagoons and the Petit Rhone. Many bridges over the river have canoeing companies nearby.

Flamingos feed and in springtime breed in large flocks at the waters' edge often visible from the roads and the many tracks which traverse the marshes. They are visually stunning at sunrise and sunset when the sun's orange glow enhances their fluorescent pink colour.

Flamingos in the Camargue at dawnPhoto: Flamingos at dawn

As usual, we include below a selection of links to useful sites in the Camargue and a choice of nearby Pure France homes.


Related links :



Pure France in the Media


The Media Pages
Articles in the National Press & Media...