Martigues and its surroundings

Due to the charm of its canals, islands and bridges, Martigues is also known as the Venise provençale...

Discovery of the town  17th century church Saint-Genest.  Chapel of the Annonciade des pénitents blancs  Ziem museum (archeology, contemporary art, contemporary and impressionist paintings)

La côte bleue  Visit of the villages and « pearls » of the Côte Bleue:  Carro  La Couronne  Sausset les Pins  Carry le Rouet  The rocky inlets of La Redonne, Niolon and Méjean

Oppida and (salt-water) lakes  Visits of :  The villages of St Mitre les Remparts and Cornillon, set high up on hills  The mediaeval village of Miramas le Vieux and the cave dwellings of St Chamas via the pretty road known as “the place beyond".

The surroundings of the camargue  The site of the Hauture at Fos sur Mer  The St Louis tower in Port St Louis du Rhône with its 10 kms of fine sandy beach  The natural site belonging to the Conservatoire du Littoral, " les Marais du Vigueirat " (an absolute " must ")  St Martin de Crau, the key place for the AOC Foin de Crau wines.

The semaphore  Young and old finding out about one of the most unusual jobs in the Navy - the semaphore, permanently on watch, participates in the system of coastal defence and protection by monitoring commercial, fishing and yachting sea traffic and also keeping a watch for forest fires and permanent meteorological observations for Météo France. (National and local weather forecasts)

The frioul islands  The Frioul archipelago is made up of four islands, Pomègues, Ratonneau, If and Tiboulen.  Visit on foot of these four limestone islands made up of calanques with their turquoise water and sandy beaches

Martigues: the ile (island) quarter  The Place Comtale work revealed a mediaeval wall in Romanesque style  Typical 17th century houses with: friezes, macaroons, ensigns  Place Mirabeau  « Miroir aux Oiseaux » (Mirror of the Birds), a listed site  La Madeleine church, whose superb17th century baroque majesty has just been magnificently restored  Hôtel Colla de Pradines  The « gendarme’s hat house » ( It was here that the film "La Cuisine au Beurre" with Bourvil and Fernandel was shot in 1963 )  The "archaeological showcase museum" : a model of the Gallic village, whose 5th century BC foundations have been found  The lifting bridge