A land where art, culture, tradition and nature coexist in harmony. A journey among landscapes that inspired painters, Roman ruins and medieval villages, to be savored at a slow pace, thanks to two wheels and a boat along the Rhone.

What to see in Provence

Tosavor the best of Provence, one would have to live there for at least a year. Every season, every month, and every week gives something special and evocative; as told with delightful English humor, Peter Mayle in his book A Year in Provence. Our trip to the south of France touches only part of fragrant Provence, starting in Avignon, which was briefly the city of the popes, and ending in the wild Camargue. Little time compared to what the history, traditions, and nature would require, but enough to get to know some of the highlights of the area; largely man-made, Provence lends itself, however, to a slow bike ride.

We are traveling under the label of slow travel, while at the same time maintaining the ability to move in times appropriate for visiting wide spaces. Ariadne’s thread of our journey is the Rhone, the great river that rises from the Swiss mountains and flows into the Mediterranean after “wandering” for a long time through France. We will follow its course by bicycle and for a few stretches by boat, sleeping every night on board. We will follow it from Avignon, the residence of the popes in exile in the 14th century, and then on to notable testimonies to the presence of the Romans, such as the Pont du Gard, which with its structure of three rows of arches represents the highest Roman aqueduct, and which testifies to a work of high engineering intended to demonstrate the power of Rome toward the people of Nimes and all the Gallic people (even though it carried water mainly for the fountains of patrician houses). An ancient Rome that we will also have a chance to appreciate in Arles, visiting the remains of the amphitheater and the splendid arena. Also in Arles, we will be able to follow in the footsteps of Vincent Van Gogh, who was so enamored of Provençal landscapes that between 1888 and 1890 he produced no less than 150 canvases, immortalizing evocative corners that remain partly unchanged; we feel as if we are in a painting walking through the alleys of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence: a locality that owes its fame not only to the Flemish painter, who painted his most famous masterpieces here (Starry Night and Self-Portrait), but also to the prophecies of Nostradamus, a native of the place. Traces of the Middle Ages also await us along our wanderings, such as the perched fortress of Les Baux-de-Provence, and its limestone village, considered among the most beautiful villages in France, while further south the walled city of Aigues-Mortes, nestled among the great ponds of the Camargue, represented the only port in France from which ships laden with crusaders departed.

What to see in Camargue

Just outside the inhabited places, the Camargue looks like an immense wild plain. It is dotted with ponds, where pink flamingos are busy foraging for shellfish. Here nature reigns supreme. The ponds are exploited by man only for salt harvesting, and the lands for grazing semi-sheep bulls and horses with their characteristic white coats. There are also flat lands, where rice fields and sandy-bottomed vineyards abound. The hinterland is dotted with small villages, with squares adorned by large plane trees, which seem almost to be there for the purpose of providing shade for the citizens engaged in their favorite pastime: pétanque, the game of boules, played on clay. You can feel the Spanish influence; you can breathe it in the cuisine and arenas spread even in the smaller towns, where the Feria is practiced, with the running of the bulls through the city streets.

But back to the “glue” of our trip, the Rhone. Near Avignon it splits into two branches forming the islet of Barthelasse. The left branch preserves the last 5 arches of what remains of the medieval pont St. Bénezet, one of the Unesco World Heritage works present in Provence, much of which collapsed after a flood in the 17th century. The right branch, on the other hand, is dominated by the Philippe le Bel tower, erected in the 13th century to control access to the bridge.

Just a stone’s throw away is Villeneuve-lèz-Avignon, with its animated center of a tranquility absolutely incomparable to the nearby bustling city of Avignon, and perhaps it is no coincidence that in this place of peace the Cistercian monks built a beautiful monastery in the 14th century. It is here, in the shadow of the tower le Bel, that the boat that will pamper us for the entire trip awaits us. Not far away, other boats moored to the shore bear the marks of those who have been there for a long time. For some, the philosophy of slow travel never ends.

For many visitors to the area, the one inescapable encounter with avifauna is the flamingos, which have the largest breeding colony in the Mediterranean here, with more than 20,000 chicks taking flight from here each year. However, the diverse and well-preserved environments of the mouth of the Rhône, and in particular of the area protected by the Camargue Regional Nature Park, offer refuge to three hundred and fifty other species, bird more bird less, which alternate at different times of the year. With a little attention, it will not be difficult to notice the others as well. First of all, the herons, represented here in all European species, nesting there in colonies called garzaie or singly, depending on the species. The gulls observed here, then, are not all the same. There are regularly at least eight species, four of which are nesting, including the rare rose and coral gulls. Terns are also well-represented, counting among the breeding fraticellus, plumed warbler, beccapesci, piping tern and common tern. Spoonbills and glossy warblers, black-winged stilts and avocets are the most spectacular sightings to be had in the wetlands, but the sandy and arid areas are also likely to hold several surprises, including the extremely rare meadow hen, hail, and stone curlew.

Organized trips to Provence and Camargue

Are you looking forward to exploring Provence? Check out the bike and boat trip to Provence and Camargue with Girolibero.

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