Harbour

Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer

Maximum length: 39 ft
Maximum draught: 6 ft

Marina of 150 berths on the Mediterranean coast of the Camargue, in the Bouches-du-Rhône.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Approach from the south, low sandy shoreline with few visible marks. Follow the buoyed channel to the port entrance, watch for silting after Mistral or Tramontane episodes. Maximum draught 2 m at the visitors' quay. Exposed to southerly swell during onshore winds.

Practical

150 berths, visitors' pontoon near the capitainerie. Water, electricity, showers, fuel. All shops, bakeries and restaurants in the village, within 300 m of the port. Set in the Camargue marshland, the port is prone to mosquitoes ashore.

Ashore

The fortified church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Mer, dating from the 12th century, sits 400 m from the port and hosts the Roma pilgrimage to Sara la Noire on 24 and 25 May each year. The Parc naturel régional de Camargue begins at the village edge with the Étang des Launes and flamingo colonies 2 km north. Beach of the Plage Est along the eastern breakwater.

History

Fishing and salt-harvesting village named after Mary Jacobé and Mary Salomé, who according to Provençal tradition landed here in the 1st century. The Roma gitan pilgrimage has been documented since the 19th century.