4 Best Sights in Aigues-Mortes, Provence

Once prolific here, many Camargue vineyards succumbed to the saline soils. Around Aigues-Morte, home of the Sable de Camargue appellation, you can taste gris-de-gris and granache-gris rosé wines made from red grapes pressed to keep a faint blush without maceration of the skins. Domaine Terres de Sable’s vineyards might date from 1800, but the estate has a modern cellar where you can taste (€15) its all-organic wines. Make reservations online.

At the corner of a picturesque Place Saint-Louis in the heart of the old town, this 13th-century church mixes a sober Romanesque architecture with graceful Gothic elements in its flying buttresses and lovely rose window. It was built in the 13th century to commemorate Saint Louis’s final crusades, and a statue of the saint and king, who was monarch when the church was built, stands in the square. Though the church was ransacked by the Protestants in the 15th century and suffered damage during the Revolution, a sensitive restoration has returned it to its medieval splendor, although with modern windows. The rounded towers and square belltower are typical of the local architecture.

A 19th-century statue of the father of the fleur-de-lis reigns under shady pollards on this square with a mellow village feel, a welcome retreat from the clutter of souvenir shops on surrounding lanes. The pretty, bare-bones Église Notre-Dame des Sablons, on one corner of the square, has a timeless air (the church dates from the 13th century, but the stained glass is modern), and the spectacular Chapelle des Pénitents Blancs and Chapelle des Pénitents Gris are Baroque-era marvels.

The stout walls and ramparts of this Gothic fortress, once a state-of-the-art marvel, are astonishingly well preserved. The tower is particularly impressive, as are the vistas of the surrounding Camargue. Temporary exhibitions are held along the ramparts in summer; there's also a permanent exhibit on the history of Protestantism in the region.