My dear friend and fellow blogger, David of Cocoa & Lavender, is a self-proclaimed salt-addict. When discussing his current post—in which he makes public his intimate relationship with salt—I recommended a trip to Aigues-Mortes. There is salt for him—literally everywhere but especially at Salin d’Aigues-Mortes—and history and architecture—a fortified city considered “the purest example of 13th-century military architecture”—for his partner, affectionately known as “Markipedia.” And, when they’ve had their fill of historic Aigues-Mortes and its neighboring salins (salt marshes), there is the whole Camargue at their disposal—a Parc Naturel Regional of over 140,000 hectares (500 sq mi) filled with pink flamingos, white horses, and black…

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When you’ve tired of charming hilltop villages in the Luberon and swanky restaurants along the French Riviera, don your jeans and cowboy boots and head to the Camargue. (Forgot your boots? Pas de problème. You can pick up a pair in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.) Although I quickly grow bored with swank, I have to confess I am rarely tired of charm, especially in the Luberon—I just wanted to grab your attention to promote the Camargue, an area so radically different from the rest of Provence that you’d think you’d crossed the border into another country. If there are children in your group, they will love you for…

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La Feria Corridas—the bullfighting festival—is so firmly ingrained in the Easter traditions of the Camarague area that, in this south western area of Provence, “Feria,” which means “festival,” seems to be synonymous, this time of year, with both Easter and bullfighting. In the main bullfighting arenas—Arles and Nîmes—as well as in the many small towns that set up temporary arenas, Easter weekend marks the start of bullfighting season. We found ourselves in Aigues-Mortes one Easter weekend several years ago. And there, in one of the small, non-descript arenas temporarily assembled for La Feria, we learned about course camarguaise. Aigues-Mortes, which comes from the Occitan language…

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