A week in Arles – day trip to Aigues-Mortes and Montpellier | alison richards

I was up early and off to the car park to pick up my car, quite thankful that I wasn't planning on walking lots after my long hike yesterday.

I drove south, down roads that I suddenly recognised from my roadtrip in 2016 when I had visited the Camargue and the flamingos there! It's a strange feeling driving around a country that's not your own (or your adopted) and suddenly recognising where you are, the memory having been buried and forgotten.

The Camargue, being a marshy area, didn't have too many roads through it so after driving a long way south I was finally able to turn off to drive west towards Aigues-Mortes. I drove in through the new town, past the marina then past the huge city walls of the old town. There were loads of parking areas, so I picked one that was a bit out of the way and left the car there. Getting out, I walked on stiff legs into the old town.

I spent a little while just wandering around the buildings within the walls and getting my bearings.

I eventually made it to the gate where you can, for a fee, walk along the walls. I decided to do this and I'm so glad I did, as the views from the walls over the city and the nearby saltworks were amazing. Particularly the saltworks and the nearby salt marsh, which glowed pink under the sun from the algae that bloomed in the water, it was quite a sight to behold!

The view along the walls, which went for 1.6km around the town

Along the wall, looking at the Tower of Constance that was built in 1242

The slightly pinky water of the salt marshes.

A little more pink in this photo. I had started walking down to the water earlier, but the mosquitoes were so vicious that I gave up.

The tour buses had started arriving and the amount of tourists was increasing so I decided that it was time to leave. I wanted to drive to Montpellier, which was another hour away.

I had driven near to Montpellier in 2016, but decided against visiting, as cities had been notoriously difficult to navigate and park in. This time was no different. I had picked a parking station at random from my GPS but it was in the centre of the city, right next to the tourist information! So there I was, driving through the middle of a city again, trying to remain calm amidst the chaos. I finally made it and parked, leaving the car to go grab a map from tourist information and find somewhere to have lunch and a glass of wine before exploring.

Feeling a bit better, I started wandering around the historic old centre of Montpellier, which was full of old churches and narrow cobbled streets.

Aqueduc Saint-Clément – this 18th century aqueduct was so huge that it was impossible to get a photo of

The firies were doing some kind of drill at this church. Maybe they were testing out their ladder!

A lot of the churches had been closed. This was one that was open, I think it was the Eglise Saint-Roch

I left Montpellier just before 4pm, and drove back to Arles. It was quite a long drive, and I had to drive the same way back as I drove there because of the lack of roads across the marshy Camargue. It had been a long day so I stayed in my Airbnb for dinner and just chilled out with a glass of wine and a movie.