Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Maries de la Mer to the lighthouse at La Gacholle, and footpaths cut down to a couple of
lovely sandy beaches. Walking on the fragile sand dunes is forbidden.
The solar-powered
Phare de la Gacholle
( 11am-5pm weekends & school holidays)
,
dating to 1882, was automated in the 1960s. Inside the former lighthouse keeper's house,
a small exhibition focuses on local birdlife and fishing traditions. The closest you can get
by car is two car parks (1km and 5km away) on the eastern side of the Étang de Vaccarès;
take the D36B in Le Paradis, 7km west of Salin de Giraud.
La Capelière
NATURE RESERVE
( 04 90 97 00 97;
www.reserve-camargue.org
; La Capelière; permits
adult/child €3/1.50; 9am-1pm & 2-6pm daily Apr-Sep, 9am-1pm & 2-5pm Wed-Mon
Oct-Mar; )
This information centre for the Réserve Nationale de Camargue (
Click here
) sell permits for the observatories and 4.5km of nature trails at wild
Salin de Badon
,
former royal salt pans 7km south. True birders must not miss a night in its
gîte
(dorms
€12)
, a cottage with 20 beds over seven rooms, kitchen, toilet and solar electricity. BYO
food, drinking water, bedding and mosquito spray. At La Capelière's 1.5km-long
Sentier
des Rainettes
(Tree-frog Trail) discover flora and fauna native to freshwater marshes.
Domaine de la Palissade
( 04 42 86 81 28;
www.palissade.fr
; rte de la Mer; adult/child €3/free; 9am-5pm or
6pm daily Apr-Oct, 9am-5pm Wed & Sun Nov-Feb)
This remote nature centre organises
fantastic forays into the marshes on foot and horseback; call ahead to book
horse treks
(1hr adult/child €16/14, 2hr €28/26)
. It rents binoculars (€2) and has free maps of the es-
tate's three marked walking trails (1km to 8km) through scrubby glasswort, flowering sea
lavender (August) and lagoons.
NATURE PARK
Les Salins de Giraud
( 04 42 86 70 20; place Péchiney, Salin de Giraud; adult/child/family €8.20/6/24.20;
10am-12.30pm & 2-6pm Apr-Oct)
Learn how
sel
(salt) is produced by local
sauniers
(salt farmers) and tour the salt pans on board a
tourist train
.
SALT PANS
Château d'Avignon
( 04 90 97 58 60;
www.culture-13.fr
; rte d'Arles [D570]; adult/child €4/free;
9.45am-5.30pm Wed-Mon Apr-Oct, Fri only Nov-Mar)
The park surrounding this 18th-
century château is free to wander. The castle itself was owned by Louis Prat-Noilly, a
Marseillais merchant, who used it as a hunting lodge.
CASTLE
