# Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer — The South of France
> The capital of the Camargue at the edge of the sea — a fortress church, the gypsy pilgrimage of Sara la Noire, and the white horses of the delta. Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.

*Source : https://the-south-of-france.com/en/camargue/saintes-maries-de-la-mer/*

---

By **The Editors** — _Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer_

Spring 20268 min read Share LinkMail

Where the Camargue finally runs into the Mediterranean stands **Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer**, a low white town gathered round a church that looks more like a fortress. It is the capital of the delta and the end of the land — beyond it only the beach, the salt and the sea, and behind it the marshes of the white horses and the pink flamingos.

## I. The fortress church

The **Église des Saintes-Maries** rises crenellated and almost windowless above the rooftops, built to shelter the town from sea raiders in the Middle Ages. Climb to its roof terrace for the whole delta laid flat to the horizon. Inside, in the crypt, stands the statue of **Sara** — Sara la Noire, Sara the Black — surrounded by candles and the offerings of those who come to her.

“A church built like a fort, at the last edge of the land.”

From the notebook

![The dim crypt of a church lit by many candles](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1584617206487-e6645cf9ff13?fm=jpg&q=74&w=1400&auto=format&fit=crop)

The crypt of Sara — candles and offerings beneath the fortress church.

## II. The gypsy pilgrimage

Legend says the two Marys — Mary Salome and Mary Jacobe — landed here by boat after the Crucifixion, with their servant **Sara**, who became the patron of the Roma people. Each year on **24 and 25 May** the Roma of Europe gather to carry her statue down to the sea in a procession of horses, costumes and song — one of the most moving festivals in the South.

![White horses ridden through shallow marsh water](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1625635765295-2c4c8659fd09?fm=jpg&q=76&w=2400&auto=format&fit=crop)

The gardians and their white horses — the delta worked from the saddle.

## III. The delta from the saddle

The town is the natural base for the wild heart of the Camargue — the **gardians** still ride the white horses to work the black bulls across the marshes, and stables all around offer the saddle to visitors. Out along the **Digue à la mer**, the sea wall, you walk between the lagoons and the beach, the flamingos lifting off the water as you pass.

The Practical Carnet · Carnet pratique

### Plan the _visit_

Getting there

About 1 h from Arles or Nîmes by car, straight across the delta; the town is small and walkable.

When to go

24–25 May for the pilgrimage; spring and autumn for the horses and the birds in peace.

Where to stay

A mas out in the marshes, for the delta at dawn and the town a short ride away.

Read next

[The Camargue — horses, salt and immense skies](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/camargue/camargue-guide/)

E

About the Author · L’auteur

#### Élise Marchand

Travel Editor — based in Marseille

Élise has been driving the back roads of the Midi for the journal since its first issue. She pays for her own rooms and her own lunches — and only writes about the places she would return to.

[More by Élise Marchand — voir ses articles](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/journal/)

Continue reading · À lire ensuite

### More from the _South_

[

![The plain of the Camargue](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1562747981-1975c624e26e?fm=jpg&q=74&w=900&auto=format&fit=crop)

Camargue

#### The Camargue — horses, salt and immense skies

](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/camargue/)[

![A table in the Camargue](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1624355806360-2056d8039d35?fm=jpg&q=74&w=900&auto=format&fit=crop)

The Table

#### Six tables worth the detour this spring

](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/the-table/)[

![A mas in the Camargue](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1642333153656-f1f11b3a65e0?fm=jpg&q=74&w=900&auto=format&fit=crop)

Stays

#### Where to stay in the Camargue

](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/stays/)