Bouches-du-Rhône

Bouches-du-Rhône is a department in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France. The department is rich in landscape diversity with a humid environment with the Rhône delta and the Camargue, an arid zone with the Crau, massifs with the Alpilles, or the coast with the calanques.

Cities

• 1 Marseille — France's cosmopolitan second city, known for its Mediterranean harbour, its calanques, and its seafood
• 2 Aix-en-Provence — city of water, city of art
• 3 Arles — an inspiration for Vincent van Gogh, as well as numerous Roman remains
• 4 Les Baux-de-Provence — one of the most picturesque villages in France, many of its buildings (in particular the castle) are picturesque ruins
• 5 Cassis — a little fishing port, tucked between two exceptional natural sites (the celebrated Calanques and the majestic Cap Canaille)
• 6 La Ciotat — the birthplace of cinema and of pétanque. Great for beaches, walking, sightseeing, touring, and a fantastic place to base a visit to the area.
• 7 Martigues — nicknamed the "Provençale Venice"
• 8 Puyloubier
• 9 Saintes Maries de la Mer — site of an important bird reserve that is homecto hundreds of pink flamingos
• 10 Saint-Rémy-de-Provence — has the ruins of an old ancient Roman/Gaul city
• 11 Salon-de-Provence — a walled city that has a jusrum in the last home of Nostradamus

Other destinations

• 1 Alpilles — a low range of mountains whose pretty villages both inspired and haunted the imagination of Van Gogh
• 2 Camargue — one of Europe's largest river deltas and wetlands, a great place to spot flamingos and French cowboys
• 3 Calanques National Park — famous for its many steep bays and a cave with prehistoric cave paintings

See

The department's main museums include the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations, the Musée de la Faïence de Marseille and the Marseille History Museum.

Major sites of tourism include:

• The cities of Marseille and Aix-en-Provence
• Roman and Romanesque monuments of Arles
• The Camargue and the town of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer
• Alphonse Daudet's windmill in Fontvieille
• Les Baux-de-Provence, medieval village
• Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and the ruins of the Roman city of Glanum
• Tarascon, medieval castle and church
• Salon-de-Provence, city of Nostradamus, and one of the biggest citadels in Provence: Château de l'Empéri
• The Calanque de Sormiou, Marseille