France 11 Aigues Mortes - A jewel on the Mediterranean/salt pans and Philip the Bold and Fair

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Aigues Mortes is a jewel in the Petite Camargue. Less touristy than Carcassone usually missed by the tourists which is a shame because it is such an interesting place. Totally enclosed by medieval walls it along which you can walk. Founded in 1240 to provide direct access to the Mediterranean it is an area of marsh, sand, sea and salt. The city is heavily fortified and entered via La Tour Carbonniere an ancient watchtower which defended access to the city.

Lovers of history and castles should visit . The city was founded by King Louis IX and fortified by Philip the Bold and Philip the Fair .

After parking and there is loads of it under the walls the first thing you see is the Tour de Constance a great hulk of a building. There is little inside but it is worth the time to visit before embarking on a walk of the walls. The walk takes around an hour and is punctuated by towers along the way which provide much needed shade in the sun. The city inside the walls is interesting with shops,houses, streets and plane trees. It is possible in some directions to see the canals which link the Mediterranean with inland France and in others the Med itself with its banks of salt drying in the sun. A sort of strange lunar landscape.

Aigue Mortes is one of those places you want to go back to . If you have never been before make it a priority as it is such a lovely place.

We drove home along long and narrow roads, by now we had found short cuts which saved us time.To be fair though most of these were boulder strewn and with ruts full of water. Perhaps France needs to start charging car tax to repair some of the worse roads. No cherries and no hoopoes today. Only a few more days left .................and then back to work.

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