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A good place to start to understand the area’s natural environment. Displays explain aspects such as dune vegetation and a panoramic window looks over local birdlife in the wild.

Next door to the information centre is this splendid bird park. Aviaries dotted around two acres of marshland house birds that are difficult to spot in the wild.

Located in St-Gilles-du-Gard, this once vast medieval abbey was severely damaged in 1562. The carved façade, the most beautiful in Provence, has survived intact.

A converted sheep barn in Mas du Pont de Rousty is a fine setting for an excellent little museum dealing with the interaction of man and nature in the Camargue.

On the banks of Vaccarès lagoon, tourist train trips travel through local flora and fauna and, on Sundays, there are bull-game spectaculars.

The largest salt pans in Europe, in the southeast of the Camargue region, cover 26,000 acres and produce 800,000 tonnes of salt a year. See them shining in a red glow from the sun from a viewing point set up just south of Salin-de-Giraud.

The beach at the end of the world. Its wild atmosphere has a hint of civilization, with shacks and cabins, two of which are fish restaurants.

The tiny main street and belltowers of this old village seethe with crowds and colour in summer, but its seaside charm remains intact. It also contains the Musée Baroncelli, a slightly old-fashioned but interesting collection covering Camargue animal life and folklore.

The HQ of the Camargue National Nature Reserve of the Vaccarès lagoon and surrounding area is in La Capelière, and has well-presented information on eco-systems and climate. Nature trails and observation posts let you put your new knowledge to the test.

Here’s evidence that existence isn’t always a struggle in the Camargue. Surrounded by lovely grounds north of Les-Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, the chateau boasts the decoration of its 19th-century owners.