Provence and the Camargue

From the Czech Republic the drive runs via Nuremberg and Karlsruhe into Alsace, where it makes sense to spend the night, and the next day south through the Saône and Rhône valleys. If you set off early in the morning, you will reach Remoulins below the Pont du Gard on the second afternoon. That leaves time for a walk along the bank of the Gardon and a first dinner outdoors.

The three-tiered Roman aqueduct across the Gardon dates from the 1st century and is on the UNESCO list. Walking up to the bridge is free; you pay for parking and for the museum, which explains clearly how the Romans carried the water all the way to Nîmes. Trails loop through the parched garrigue on both banks — bring sturdy shoes and plenty of water.

The amphitheatre in Nîmes is one of the best preserved in the entire Roman world and still hosts concerts today. A short walk away stands the Maison Carrée, a temple built under the emperor Augustus, which was added to the UNESCO list in 2023. The historic centre is small and covered on foot, so leave the vehicle at a park-and-ride and return to the Gardon for the evening.

The Papal Palace is the largest Gothic building of the Middle Ages and, together with the Saint-Bénézet bridge and the city walls, forms a UNESCO site. Campsites are on the Île de la Barthelasse and a free river shuttle boat crosses the Rhône into town from the quai de la Ligne, so the vehicle can stay parked all day. Keep the early evening for the Rocher des Doms gardens and their view over the river.

The village sits on a rock spur, is pedestrian-only and no motorhome will drive up into it: you park at the paid car parks below it (Col de la Vayède, Carrières) and walk up, and in season they fill by mid-morning. At the top stand the castle ruins with replicas of medieval siege engines, while down in a former quarry the Carrières des Lumières runs its projected image shows. Break the return drive at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, home to the ancient site of Glanum.

Arles has a Roman arena, an ancient theatre and underground cryptoporticoes, and you can walk round all of it in a single morning. The Saturday market on the Boulevard des Lices runs the whole length of the avenue — cheeses, olives, rice and sausage from the Camargue. The afternoon is left for the Van Gogh sites, the yellow café on the Place du Forum and the courtyard of the former hospital.

The Rhône delta is flat, salty and full of birds — at the Parc ornithologique de Pont de Gau on the D570 road you watch the flamingos from boardwalks above the lagoons. Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer has a fortified church from the 11th and 12th centuries, to which Roma pilgrims travel every May to honour Saint Sarah. Expect mosquitoes and sun without shade; repellent and window screens are not over-cautious here.

Heading east, the route leaves the plain and climbs inland onto the plateau, where the lavender fields run beyond the horizon. They flower roughly from mid-June to the end of July, the higher fields a little longer — outside that window they are cut and brown, so treat the lavender as a bonus rather than a certainty. You can end the day in Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, a village wedged beneath a rocky gorge, with a gilded star hanging on a chain above it.

The Point Sublime viewpoint above Rougon shows the entrance to the canyon from above and is the most striking view on the whole route. The Route des Crêtes loop is a narrow, winding road with a string of viewpoints; its tunnels have a height limit of 3.60 m and a vehicle length limit of 12 m applies to the whole loop, so with a longer vehicle it is more comfortable to leave it at the campsite and set out by car or by bike. Check before you go whether the road is open — it tends to be closed over the winter and in spring there are restrictions because of nesting vultures.

The Point Sublime viewpoint above Rougon shows the entrance to the canyon from above and is the most striking view on the whole route. The panoramic Route des Crêtes loop (D23) above La Palud-sur-Verdon is 23 km long, strings together fifteen viewpoints and runs one-way clockwise along part of its length; it is usually open in full from roughly the end of March to the end of November. On the roads through the gorge a vehicle length limit of 12 m and a height limit of 4.30 m apply, dropping to 3.60 m in the tunnels — with a taller vehicle do not attempt them and go round along the rim of the canyon instead.

On the twelfth day you drive past Lyon into Burgundy or Alsace for the last overnight stop. The thirteenth day leaves the run home through southern Germany. You can ease the pace by moving that final stop closer to the Czech border.