Page 145 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Provence & The Côte d'Azur

BOUCHES-DU-RHONE AND NIMES  143

E Musée de la Camargue
Parc Naturel Régional de Camargue,
Mas du Pont de Rousty. (On the D570,
10 km south-west of Arles). Tel 04 90 97
10 82. Open Wed–Mon. Closed Jan,
1 May, 25 Dec, Nov–Dec: Sat & Sun. &
7 = ∑ museedelacamargue.com
A traditional Provençal mas or
farmhouse (see pp26–7), that
only a short time ago was part
of a farm raising cattle and
sheep, has been converted
to accommodate a fascinating
museum of the Camargue.
The main part of the museum
is housed in a huge sheep
barn, built in 1812 and skilfully The fine Romanesque façade of the abbey church at St-Gilles-du-Gard
restored. Displays, including
video footage and slide shows, 8St-Gilles-du-Gard
provide an excellent intro- Road map A3. * 13,838. @ Nîmes
duction to traditional life in the n 1 place F Mistral (04 66 87 33 75).
Camargue and to the unique ( Thu & Sun. ∑ tourisme.saint-
plant and animal life of the gilles.fr
Camargue delta. Among the
many subjects covered are the Called the “Gateway to the
lives of the Camargue cowboys, Camargue”, St-Gilles is famous
petit
petit
and the grand and grand and grand petit Rhône Rhône for its Abbaye de St-Gilles. In
rivers which once flowed far to medieval times the abbey was
the east past Nîmes. Many of vast. The building was damaged
the displays are focused on in 1562 during the Wars of
traditional life at the time of Religion and all that remains are
poet and champion of the the west façade, chancel and The unique troglodyte Abbaye de
Provençal language, Frédéric crypt. The carved façade is the Saint-Roman near Beaucaire
Mistral, (see p32), a local man most beautiful in all Provence.
who won the Nobel Prize for It includes the first sculpture every July for the past seven
literature in 1904. of the Passion in Christendom, centuries, it attracted up to a
A signposted 3.5-km (2-mile) from the late 12th century. quarter of a million people. A
nature trail leads out from the Founded by Raymond VI smaller version of the fair takes
museum to the Marré de la of Toulouse, the abbey place today, with a procession
Grand Mare and back again by a church was the Knights of through the town on 21 July.
pleasant circular route. Examples St John’s first priory in Europe. It was inaugurated by
of traditional mas husbandry It soon became one of the key Raymond VI in 1217, who
are marked on the way. An destinations on the pilgrimage enlarged the Château de
observation tower at the end of route to Santiago de Compostela Beaucaire. This was later used by
the walk gives great views over in Spain and a port of embarkation the French kings to look down on
the surrounding countryside. for the Crusades (see pp46–7). their Provençal neighbours across
The crypt houses the tomb the river. It was partly dismantled
of Saint Gilles, a hermit who on the orders of Cardinal
arrived by raft from Greece. Richelieu but the triangular keep
The belltower of the original and enough of the walls remain
abbey contains La Vis, a spiral to indicate its impressive scale.
staircase which is a master- There is a Romanesque chapel
piece of stonemasonry. within the walls, and medieval
spectacles, including frequent
displays of falconry.
9Beaucaire The Abbaye de St-Roman
is situated 5 km (3 miles) to the
Road map B3. * 16,000. £ Tarascon.
@ n 24 cours Gambetta (04 66 59 northwest of Beaucaire. Dating
26 57). ( Thu & Sun. ∑ provence- from the 5th century, it is the only
camargue-tourisme.com troglodyte monastery in Europe.
The bullring in Beaucaire + Château de Beaucaire
Honey buzzard enclosure at the occupies the site of one of the Place Raymond VII. Tel 04 66 59 90 07.
Pont-de-Gau bird sanctuary largest fairs in Europe. Held Open Wed–Sun (Jul–Aug: daily). 8