Experience the best of Aigues-Mortes

The town's medieval walls survive almost complete, and the walk along the ramparts gives views over the rooftops and the salt marshes. Louis IX founded the port in the thirteenth century, and his crusading fleets sailed from its quays. The Tour de Constance, a stone tower within the walls, later held Protestant prisoners.

Beyond the walls the Camargue is a delta of marsh, lagoons and rice fields, where the Rhône divides before reaching the sea. Pink-tinged salt pans lie beside the town, where salt is still harvested. Wild white horses, black bulls and flamingos are the region's best-known animals, and the Camargue regional nature park covers much of the delta.

Camargue food is built on rice and bull meat. Gardiane de taureau, a slow-cooked bull stew with wine and olives, is the local classic, and the rice grown in the delta includes a red grain. Summers are hot and dry, the mistral wind can blow hard in spring, and early autumn is the most pleasant time to visit.