Horse Riding in Camargue

Horseback riding in the Camargue is not simply a scenic excursion. It belongs to one of Provence’s most recognisable living traditions: the world of the gardians, the mounted herdsmen who have long worked with Camargue horses and bulls across the region’s wetlands and open plains.

Les Bains Gardians offers a refined way into this landscape. Set on a four-hectare estate near Saintes Maries de la Mer, the property sits close to the Camargue Regional Nature Park and the Mediterranean coast. Its rides are led by qualified local guides, with small groups moving through the area’s beaches, marshes and ponds on Camargue horses. For those who prefer not to ride, a private horse-drawn carriage experience is also available, pulled by Comtois mares.

What makes this experience particularly suited to NOTES is the connection between place and tradition. The Camargue is not a decorative backdrop here. It is the terrain that shaped the region’s equestrian culture: its horses, its bulls, its salt air, its flamingos, its wetlands and its particular sense of wildness.

This is an experience for travellers who want to understand Provence beyond stone villages and vineyard lunches. The Camargue reveals another Provence entirely — open, windblown, pastoral and deeply tied to the animals and people who continue to work its land.