La Camargue
In the South-west of the Provence you find the beautiful natural park called La Camargue. It is a flat and raw landscape, you really experience being in the wilderness. Would you like to visit the Camargue with kids? You are more than right. In this blog I will give you some kid-friendly recommendations, like visiting flamingos, making a boat trip or going to a large beach. If you are lucky, you will spot some beautiful wild Camargue horses.
Parc Ornithologique Pont de Gau
Ever since the fifties, the Camargue holds this beautiful little park where you can admire birds. All types of pretty birds have found their home here. The one type that your child will probably love the most is the pink flamingo. Wow, what an intriguing and elegant bird that is. You can spot the flamingo crew all year long, because of the sufficient amount of good food the flamingo doesn’t emigrate during winter. More info about the park is on their website (https://www.parcornithologique.com).
Taking the boat
Nearby the ‘flamingo park’ is the little town (with the long name) Saintes-Marie-de-la-Mer. It is located near the sea and is famous for being a place of pilgrimage for the Roma. We stepped onto a boat in this village, called the Tiki III. It was a boat trip of 1,5 hour on the Petit Rhone. Quite a long time for kids to sit still, but somehow my kids liked it. The boat itself is very special, the view is sometimes a bit similar as what you saw just before. Nevertheless we saw some interesting things, like a flying fish, flamingos and bulls. During the boat trip we had a set up encounter with a “cowboy” (as my son said) and his bulls, quite touristy, but the kids were very impressed.
Aigues Mortes and the pink lake
Aigues Mortes is a fortified little town which is interesting on its own. If you have some fans of the color pink among your family, you might be interested in a little train ride. This ‘petit train’ takes you to the pink colored lake Salin d’Aigues Mortes. With older kids you could also rent a bike. Ever since the antique era people extract the famous salt of Camargue from the Salin. Due to algae the lake has its surreal color. You could spot lots of birds around the lake, as well as the flamingo. Make sure you make a reservation to visit the Salin up front. We didn’t do it and we had some sad kids in the back of our car after quite a drive. Oops…
La Grande Motte or Grau du Roi
These are two famous beaches in the Camargue. Both have a large and wide amount of sand, so beautiful. So it appears that this spot is perfect for kite surf lovers. Or for people, like me, that like to watch. As the beaches around Marseille are not so wide, these are interesting places if you prefer more privacy and view. Especially La Grande Motte is famous for its special urban buildings that were created by the architect Jean Balladur. When I visited La Grande Motte as a teenager I really disliked it, but now that I am more mature I really see the beauty in it. Grau du Roi is also known for it sea aquarium. Never been there, but I don’t want to hold it back from you :-).
Last but not least I would like to share an insider tip. There is a large, abandoned beach in the Camargue called Beauduc where you could camp in the wild. You would have to take a long and bumpy road to get there and of course there will be no facilities, but you are rewarded with an amazing experience.
I hope you have some inspiration to visit the Camargue with kids!
