Map of Bouches-du-Rhône

Practical information about Bouches-du-Rhône

Bouches-du-Rhône has a total population of 1,937,000 divided between three areas. It is France’s third most popular tourist destination because the sun shines for more than 2,500 hours every year. In cultural terms, Bouches-du-Rhône offers a wide range of places to visit and some unmissable special events.

List of towns

Practical information

Getting to Bouches-du-Rhône

Main roads

  • Coming from the North of France
    A6 and A7 (Paris - Lyon - Marseille)
  • Coming from the West and South-West
    A62 and A61 (Bordeaux - Toulouse - Narbonne)
    A9 (Spain - Montpellier - Arles)
  • Coming from the South-East
    A8 (Italy - Nice - Marseille)
  • Coming from the Alps
    A51 (Gap - Sisteron - Aix)

Flights

Rail links

Mediterranean high-speed train (TGV)
Paris-Marseille in less than 3 hours. TGV stations are Avignon, Aix-en-Provence and Marseille. For information, contact SNCF Informations on 36 55 or , www.voyages-sncf.fr

To make organising your travel in the Bouches-du-Rhône simple: http://www.ter-sncf.com/Regions/Paca/fr/Default.aspx

Map of routes

Map of the main roads in the Bouches-du-Rhône
Click on the map to enlarge it

Local distances

Table of distances between the main towns in the Bouches-du-Rhône
Distances are expressed in kilometres

Natural heritage

Unspoilt countryside

Camargue Regional Country Park

Covering an area of 85,000 hectares, Camargue Regional Country Park has succeeded, over the past 40 years, in saving the region's ecosystem. Marshes, canals, salt flats and reed beds are filled with flora and fauna that are specific to this untamed environment dominated by water and salt.

Meetings at the top

The mountain ranges in Bouches-du-Rhône are typical of Provence and its limestone. They do not reach dizzying altitudes but they give visitors a sense of height.

Chaîne de l'Etoile mountain range

They are semi-circular limestone outcrops overlooking Marseille and its roadstead.

The Alpilles

The Alpilles form the last mountain range before the Mediterranean if arriving through the Rhône Valley. They consist of misshapen peaks rising jaggedly into the clear air, and the arid white summits along the limestone backbone of the range.

Sainte-Baume

To the East of Bouches-du-Rhône lies the Sainte-Baume range, carpeted with an amazing forest unlike any other in Provence. In Bouches-du-Rhône, the range rises to an altitude of 1,041 metres at the Pic de Bertagne.

Sainte-Victoire

This mountain is a landmark. Whichever direction you come from, its impressive outline is instantly recognisable east of Aix-en-Provence, even though it changes colour through the day. It was Cézanne who, by tirelessly painting the effect of light on the folds and crevices in the rock, made Sainte-Victoire as famous as it is today.

Map of natural attractions

Map of natural attractions
Click on the map to enlarge it

Arts, crafts and local produce

Arts, crafts and local produce

A cornucopia of new experiences

Suggestions include a chance to enjoy some earthly culinary delights or confectionery made in the secret world of gourmet confectioners' kitchens, tour artists' studios to see their creativity at work in wood, earthenware or iron, rediscover age-old traditions etc.

LIFE'S LITTLE PLEASURES: Oh, divine olive! Oh, blessed fruit! Olives are turned into oil that is so good for your health and the main ingredient in local dishes.

  • - Waiter, a pastis please! It's refreshing, joyful and convivial. In fact, since it was invented in the 1930s, it's become the star of the pre-dinner drinks trolley.
  • - Make sure you taste a chichi frégi, a light doughnut flavoured with olive oil and orange flower water.
  • - A bouquet of aromas. Real herbes de Provence is blend of thyme, rosemary, bay and savory or marjoram.
  • - The initial flavour from a Calisson comes from sweet Provencal almonds before finally releasing the slightly stronger taste of bitter almond.

GOOD WINES There are no less than a dozen AOC products here (registered designation of origin)

  • - Aix-en-Provence olive oil and black olives, crushed olives and olive oil from the Baux-de-Provence Valley.
  • - Wines: Côtes-de-Provence, Côtes de Provence Sainte-Victoire, Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence, Palette, Baux-de-Provence and Cassis.
  • - Camargue beef (served in restaurants in the Arles area)
  • - Hay from Crau, used by horseracing stables, farms raising cattle, sheep and goats and, most importantly, in the production of AOC cheeses.
  • - A PGI (Protected Geographical Indication): Camargue rice.

PRETTY THINGS Pottery is a major feature of the economy in Bouches-du-Rhône, especially in Aubagne with its age-old ceramics studios. Jugs, cookware, santons and utilitarian pottery stand cheek by jowl with contemporary artistic designs.

  • - Provence is synonymous with fabrics, sold on market stalls and in specialist shops. Whether they're cottons, cashmeres or jacquards, they all reflect the colours of Southern France and recall the Far East, source of the earliest inspiration.
  • - In Aix, Tarascon, Fontvieille and Lançon, there are some worthy proponents of the craft of wrought ironwork for interior and exterior decoration.
  • - Marseille soap was a major local industry until the middle of the 20th century. It is made in accordance with an edict from Colbert, Minister of Finance in the 17th century, and is still making money today for a few companies in Marseille.

On the outskirts of towns

Two or three hours to spare?

Don't waste it. Explore a village. Admire the scenery. Laze around on a beach. Our suggestions.

Provence

Starting in Aix-en-Provence

  • - Follow in the footsteps of Cézanne around Sainte-Victoire - Le Thoronet, Saint-Antonin-sur-Bayon and Puyloubier. Take the route to the north of Vauvenargues and the country house where Picasso lived.

  • - Head for Gardanne and pay homage to Cézanne then go on to the hilltop village of Mimet for a breathtaking view of Sainte-Victoire. The next places on your route are Bouc-Bel-Air, the Albertas Gardens, Cabriès, Eguilles and their castles. Finally, you'll reach the hilltop village of Ventabren near the Roquefavour aqueduct.

  • - Head for the villages of Rognes, Saint-Cannat and Lambesc. The road takes you through the Côteaux d'Aix vineyards, an area of architectural elegance with a lifestyle all of its own.

From Saint-Rémy-de-Provence or Tarascon

  • - Take a gentle stroll around the village of Maillane, birthplace of Frédéric Mistral. Visit Graveson, the village famous for the artist, Chabaud, which also has a Fragrance and Perfume Museum.

  • - Discover Boulbon, a mediaeval village with a fortress and Romanesque chapels. Then turn over the pages of the history book in Barbentane where the stately home dates from the 18th century.

  • - Further on lies Châteaurenard with its a mediaeval castle and a distillery producing Father Gaucher's Exilir, better-known as Frigolet liqueur. Make sure you visit the abbey (Saint-Michel de Frigolet) in the depths of the Montagnette area. And just a few miles on lies the elegant village of Noves.

Marseille

Starting in Marseille

  • - Take a boat trip out to the Frioul Islands and the Château d'If from the landing stage in the Old Harbour.

  • - Visit the Calanques (creeks) from the seaward side - boat trips available from Marseille and Cassis. If you prefer to walk, you can reach the creeks from Cassis or from the eastern headland in Marseille.

  • - Drive from Cassis to La Ciotat, from Cape Canaille to the Bec de l'Aigle along the aptly-named Hilltop Road (route des Crêtes). The views are spectacular and dizzying.

From Marseille or Martigues

  • - Tour the Blue Coast with its tiny fishing harbours, beaches and excisemen's path. In Carro and La Couronne, just relax on the beach.

  • - A winter Sunday in Carry-le-Rouet or Sausset-les-Pins means sea urchins, shellfish and white wine.

  • - In the creeks of Niolon and Ensuès-la-Redonne, spend an afternoon at one of the huts or enjoy a spot of diving.

Camargue

Starting in Arles or Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer

  • - Visit the castle in Avignon, a beautiful early 20th-century bourgeois mansion now used for exhibitions.
    - Relax, run, swim or fish for wedge shells on the long beaches in Bauduc or Napoléon.

  • - Find out about local flora and fauna in the nature reserve at La Capelière.
    - Drive through the working-class village of Salin-de-Giraud and find the architectural sites painted by Van Gogh.

  • - Cross the Rhône to Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône by the Barcarin ferry.
    - Wander through the Vigueirat Marshes. All of Camargue's natural delights in a small area.

Map

Travel times between the main towns in the Bouches-du-Rhône
Click on the map to enlarge it

Festivals and festivities

The festivals provide reasons a-plenty to come to Bouches-du-Rhône.

Listen to music from all over the world. Let contemporary creativity take you into the universe of dance.

Music

Aix-en-Provence

END OF MARCH: Festival of Sacred Music
JULY: International Festival of Lyric Art
SEPTEMBER: Festival of French Song

Marseille

END OF APRIL: International Contemporary Music Festival
EARLY JULY: International Folklore Festival in Château-Gombert
END OF JULY: Festival of Jazz from Five Continents
SEPTEMBER: Marsatac
OCTOBER: Southern Fiesta

Dance, theatre, the Arts

Arles

END OF JULY: Nuits des Envies Rhônements arts and environment festival

Marseille

APRIL - MAY: Spring Dance Festival END OF JUNE - EARLY JULY: Marseille Festival NOVEMBER and DECEMBER: Danse M, contemporary dance in the Mediterranean area SEPTEMBER: Marsatac
OCTOBER: Southern Fiesta

Graphic arts, photography and cinema

Arles

MID-MAY: European Festival of Photographic Nudes
JULY - SEPTEMBER: International photography exhibition
LATE AUGUST: Péplum film festival

Culture

Old buildings and modern architecture

THE BEAUTY OF THE ANCIENTS

The Ancient Greeks and, more particularly, the Ancient Romans left behind many high-quality reminders of their presence here. Make sure you visit Glanum in Saint-Rémy and the superb town of Arles, one of UNESCO's World Heritage sites (Roman arena, theatre, cryptoporticoes etc.). Marseille also has Roman remains in its Jardin des Vestiges.

THE MIDDLE AGES ON THE DEFENSIVE

Throughout the Middle Ages, there was extensive building of town walls and keeps. Les Baux provides a superb example of this; it eventually became a citadel. A number of churches were fortified e.g. in Saint-Victor and Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the trend reached its apotheosis in the outstanding castles in La Barben, Tarascon, Boulbon and Salon de Provence.

A CONCENTRATE OF THE 19th CENTURY

It is in Marseille that you can see the main urban redevelopment of the period. Haussmann revolutionised the city centre and whole new urban districts were built. See the luxurious eclectic design of the Palais Longchamp, the Roman-Byzantine inspiration of La Major (church) and the unmissable Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde.

VAUBAN IN MARSEILLE

In the 17th century, military architect Vauban recommended fortifications for towns and strategic locations throughout France. It was then that the Saint-Jean and Saint-Nicolas forts were built in the roadstead off Marseille, along with the Château d’If, famous for the Count of Monte Cristo and the Man in the Iron Mask.

IT'S A GREAT STORY...

After the year 1,000 A.D. Romanesque architecture produced some magnificent buildings in the region, the most prestigious of all being Silvacane (La Roque d’Anthéron), Montmajour and Saint-Trophime (Arles).

POWERFUL MODERNITY

The landmark buildings of the 20th century (Pouillon's apartments, Le Corbusier's Cité radieuse, county buildings by William Alshop, the Vasarely Foundation in Aix) are well-known. A large number of buildings with the most modern designs were commissioned from famous architects, transforming towns e.g. the Euroméditerranée project, the Archives, the towers designed by Zaha Hadid and Jean Nouvel, the future Mucemà etc. In Marseille, there were also the Pavillon Noir and the Grand Theatre; in Aix-en-Provence, the Cité de l'image. Then comes Arles etc.