Imagine living in a fortress that has not been repaired for 750 years! Over eight centuries, it remained untouched by revolutions or wars, surrounded by real salt lakes where elegant pink flamingos stroll and white horses graze right at the edge of amethyst-colored waters. A fairytale, isn’t it? If you want to discover the secret behind this incredible luck and eternal youth you must visit Aigues-Mortes.
To create this first Mediterranean port, it took three years of manually digging of canals, to connect this strategically important site to the sea. A fortress was built here, from which King Louis IX of France embarked on his final crusades.
Construction, initiated in 1243 by the order of Saint Louis, stretched over 20 long years. Renowned experts in fortifications and military architecture, Guillaume Bocanegra and Nicola Cominelli, led the project, with enigmatic masons leaving numerous symbols on the fortress walls for posterity. No wonder that in eight centuries, the citadel was never destroyed or rebuilt!
Their craftsmanship endures, allowing us to wander through the streets of a genuine medieval town, still enclosed by walls built under Saint Louis's decree.
You can enter the Church of Our Lady of the Sands, where Saint Louis prayed before setting sail on the 7th and 8th Crusades. Stroll through postcard-perfect streets, where about 5,000 people still live and work today.
Visit local artisans crafting ceramics, and enamel jewelry, or buy rice and olive oil from nearby Camargue, as well as local salt from a factory that supplies all of France with it to this day.
Sit down in a small restaurant, lost among this beauty, taste the local cuisine, and enjoy a glass of delicate rosé wine the grapes of which are grown right here on the sandy salty soils near the sea.
Experience the real spirit of the Middle Ages!
Tour Cost:
Full Tour: Aigues-Mortes, Lunch, and Visit to the Jarras Winery or Puech-Haut Winery (6-8 hours) – €500. Designed for 1-4 people.
Sightseeing Tour of the Aigues-Mortes Fortress (2.5 hours) – €250.
Admission tickets to museums, lunch, and wine tastings are not included in the tour price and must be paid separately.
Starting Point of the Tour:
At the Tour de Constance.
