Le Grau-du-Roi, a former fishing village on the Mediterranean Sea
With travel restrictions within France lifted and feeling the need to get out, I decided to check the French train website (oui.sncf) to see what day trips might be possible from Nimes.
My first thoughts were either Avignon or Arles - each about 30-minutes away by train. Surprisingly there were very few trains available, making them not-so-convenient for a day trip, at the moment. I’m sure this will change as things start to get back to “normal”.
My next thought was to head to the water and I found a €1 round-trip train ticket to Le Grau-du-Roi. Decision made. I had never been there and my friend Debbie was game too! We were excited to get out of town after spending nearly 2-months in confinement.
Le Grau-du-Roi, is a former fishing village on the Mediterranean coast. It is just south of the medieval walled village of Aigues-Mortes, named for the “dead - or stagnant water” in the marshes and ponds that surround the village.
Le Grau-du-Roi is only 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Nimes. Or 50-minutes by either car or train. Perfect for a day trip.
With the trip planned for a Sunday, as well as French Mother’s day I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would it be crowded? Or would people still be cautious about travel, since deconfinement had just begun?
Aigues-Mortes
We started the trip with our usual stop at La Brasserie des Fleurs - or “Fleurs” as we call it, across the street from the train station in Nimes. Making a cafe cafe stop before catching a train has become a ritual for me. I’m not sure exactly when I started doing it. I find that it makes the train trip more pleasant and relaxed and stopping at a cafe is one of my favorite things to do in France.
A quick cafe breakfast
The train station and the train were nearly empty. I even wondered if we were the only passengers? So much for the Mother’s Day crowds.
As our train headed southeast out of Nimes, we passed sunflower fields, fields of poppies, olive groves, vineyards, and pastures with the white horses of the Camargue.
We enjoyed having the train to ourselves and being able to move around to find the best views.
Olive grove and vineyards
One of the reasons why I like living in this area is the access to local products. I buy local as much as possible. During confinement when I was running low on olive oil, I ordered from Oliveraie Jeanjean and was surprised when they hand-delivered a lovely shopping bag with my order in just a couple of days. The olive oil is excellent and so much better than buying commercial olive oil at the grocery store.
Some of my favorite rosé and white wines are from the Camargue region. Recently I have been drinking Sable de Camargue wines - from vines grown in the sand.
Camargue Horse
For me, the best scenery of the train ride was between Aigues-Mortes and Le Grau du Roi, where I finally got to see the pink salt ponds. This is where the famous Fleur de Sel de Camarge is harvested and has been since the 4th century BC.
I even sent a message to friend saying that “My life was complete now.” We had the added bonus of seeing a few pink flamingoes just as the train pulled into Le Grau du Roi.
Pink salt pond, and mounds of sea salt
I had done a little bit pre-trip research, and had a good idea of what to expect at this touristy seaside village. My plan was scout out the restaurants along the canal, before checking out a sea-front cafe as a possible lunch spot.
We passed some possible choices along the canal, but none offered the open sea view that I was after.
The canal, looking towards the Mediterranean in Le Grau du Roi
We ended up having lunch at the seaside cafe - Cafe la Jetee. It was exactly what I had in mind. The food was decent too - but I was there for the sea views.
While we were enjoying lunch, a friend sent us a message to remind us that masks were required in the village. We would have never guessed this as a group on Gendarmes had just passed us and not all of them were wearing masks. It was later that we noticed signs informing us of the requirement.
There were directional signs for pedestrians too, but hardly anyone obeyed them. There really weren’t enough people around for this to be a concern.
Lunch with a view
Masks required in this area from 8am to 8pm.
After lunch we wandered through the nearby streets, mostly filled with tourist-oriented shops. While it was nice to be there on a quiet day we wondered what it would be like “in-season”? We even thought that it could be a nice getaway for a couple of nights in order to be near the water.
And while it was nice to be “out” it still felt a little awkward after spending so much time inside during confinement.
We stopped for ice-cream at one of the many ice-cream shops and I had a cone of “fougasse” which tasted very much like the famous fleur d’orange flavored pastry from Aigues-Mortes.
Le Grau du Roi
We walked a little bit more, to work off our ice-cream before making a stop at the historic Grand Cafe de Paris, which we had passed on our walk along the canal.
The cafe felt a little out of place to me - more like it belonged in Key West or even Havana. But I loved the high ceilings, the colorful glass canopy and the worn tile floors.
The people watching was good too.
Grand cafe de Paris
Tile floors at the Grand cafe de Paris
Having a little bit of time to kill before our train back to Nimes, we took the only bridge across the canal for a quick peek at the other side of town and then a slow walk back to the train station.
The station itself was closed and we had to enter through a side gate where our tickets were checked and we were required to put on our masks before boarding the train.
This train was more crowded, but still nearly empty.
Gare du Le Grau-du-Roi
The scenery was still lovely on the train ride back NImes. I was hoping to get a photo of the poppy field we had seen the way down - but never saw it. Maybe next year?
We did get more views of the salt ponds and of Aigues-Mortes. This summer I plan to return to take a tour of the salt ponds as well as day trip to Aigues-Mortes. Maybe I’ll return to Le Grau-du-Roi too?
Aigues-Mortes
