Aigues Mortes :
Tourism & Discovery |
Events
- Markets every Wednesday and Sunday mornings
- Flea and antique market every Saturday.
- The Saint-Louis festival during the third weekend in August.
The whole town plunges into a Medieval ambiance to the rhythm
of troubadours and minstrels to celebrate the king Louis IX,
the city's founder.
- Heritage days, September
- Town Fête, October
- Camargue Christmas, December
- Exbititions year-round in the different historic monuments. |
The Vin des Sables
(Wine of the Sands)
Siliceous and calcarous sands, combined with
a marine micro-climate constitute a special natural
environment, unique in France, and very favorable to
the production of quality wine.
For this, the winemaker brings together highly renowned
traditional grape varieties, such as Grenache and Syrah,
and the noble varieties belonging to our national heritage,
such as Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon.
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To
see
- The city walls, their gates and towers.
The names given tothem are so evocative that they say so much
about the history of the town, thus permitting you to easily
imagine the organization of the town in the 13th century.
Their construction started under Louis IX with the building
of the Constance Tower, a sadly notorious keep built on the
ruins of the Matafère Tower, a work of Charlemagne.
- The Carbonnière Tower, right in
the marshes and not far from the commune of Saint-Laurent
d'Aigouze, represented the vanguard of the enclosure, protecting
the city from any invasion over land. It can still be visited.
- The Grey Penitents and the White Penitents.
These two religious brotherhoods dating from the Middle Ages
marked their presence in Aigues-Mortes with the establishment
of two chapels. The Chapelle des Pénitents Gris (Grey)
distinguishes itself, aside from its frame, by its stucco
altarpiece created by Jean Sabatier in 1688. As to the Chapelle
des Pénitents Blancs (White), it houses a magnificenet
and monumental fresco depicting the Holy Spirit painted at
the beginning of the 19th century by Xavier Sigalon, as well
as four works by the painter Auguste Glaise, done in 1846,
recounting the life of the Virgin Mary.
- The Church of Notre Dame des Sablons, built
as one sole nave in a gothic style in the 13th century, it
was extended to three naves in the 18th century. It is certainly
the oldest monument inAigues-Mortes. A historic building that
goes well with the contemporary stained glass from the hand
of the artist Viallat.
- The Salins du Midi company displays, along
the southern face of the city walls, its salt tables, crystalizing
dishes and storage areas. In summer, the town's Tourist Office
de Tourisme organises visits.
- For Nature Lovers, the area surrounding
Aigues-Mortes can be discovered on horseback, by boat, on
foot or jeep. |
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