Aigues-Mortes - medieval shopping

Travelling from Carcassone to Arles, we decided to stop off in medieval Aigues-Mortes on the edge of the Camargue delta.

Aigues-Mortes is a fortified town and is located some 90 kms  northwest of Marseille. By road, Aigues-Mortes is about 33 km (21 miles) southwest of Nîmes and 20 km (12 miles) east of Montpellier.
it is is connected to the sea through the Canal du Rhône a Sète. It's not well known outside France but has a lengthy history.

Salt mining started from the Neolithic period and continued in the Hellenistic period. Later, the exploitation of the Peccais salt marshes was encouraged by Francois 1 in 1532, to connect the salt industry of Aigues-Mortes to the sea.

In 791, Charlemagne erected the Matafere Tower monastery which forms part of the current ramparts.

Aigues-Mortes, as much as it appears today, was conceived by King (eventually 'Saint') Louis IX in 1240, and the walls were finished by his son in 1302. It was built to give Louis and his armies access to the sea, at a time when his younger brother Charles (King of Naples and Aragon) occupied the coast to the east (Provence) and south (Roussillon). His new town grew to become one of the most important strategic ports on the Mediterranean. It was a great launching off point for Louis and his navy, keen to conquer and plunder the Holy Land.
Louis launched the Seventh Crusade in 1248 and again for the Eighth one in 1270 for Tunis where he died of dysentery.

From 1575 to 1622, Aigues-Mortes was one of the eight safe havens granted to the Protestants. But in the time of Louis XIV the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 caused severe repression of Protestantism. The Constance Tower was used as a prison for the Hugenots who refused to convert to Roman Catholisism.


What the town does today:

• Viticulture and asparagus
• Breeding of bulls and of Camargue horses
• Production of salt by the operation of the saltworks 
• The ramparts stretch for a distance of 1650 metres. Spectacular in their height and their state of preservation even though they were not restored in the 19th century
•  Ernest Hemingway's third major posthumous work, the novel The Garden of Eden, takes place in Aigues-Mortes
• During summer, tourists come to buy slabs of local nougat, Gardian cowboy hats and post cards of flamingoes
• The etangs (salt-water lagoons) surrounding the southern end of Aigues-Mortes are red, and they are so because of the high-concentration of salt within them. 

I found the highlight of my visit was  a little shop selling Provençal fabric and home linen items. Quintessentially the South of France. I came away with beautiful table mats and tablecloths, and a teatowel the owner threw in for free.
https://www.facebook.com/Tissus-Proven%C3%A7aux-Les-Remparts-106139846129851/  Most appreciated. Yes, it is very touristy but it is lively and there seemed a better quality of merchandise with a splash of creativity here.

For us there was a huge downside to the tourist success here. On a blustery day we were keen to take a quick peek around the town and then head off to our true destination, Arles, for the evening. Unfortunately traffic control was a horror. It was reduced to one lane trying to turn right while traffic from the other direction tried to turn in. There was also a barrier arm. Total gridlock occured with visitors trying to leave in their cars but unable to.

The entire carpark avenues became full of stationery cars that needed to leave but couldn't. Tempers frayed amongst drivers and courtesy evaporated. I got out of the car to see what was the problem but there was no accident, no cardiac arrest, just incompetent traffic management which meant we had to sit in our cars for 1.5 hours with the aircon running to keep temperatures reasonable. That rather spoilt the experience, but on a quieter day I'd recommend a visit here - a stroll along the ramparts (which are lengthy, taking 45 minutes), shopping and chilling out in the numerous cafes. There are plenty of Provençal soaps in delicious perfumes to be sampled too. Weekly markets are on Wednesday and Sunday mornings. BnBs and vacation rentals mean you can stay here and explore the Camargue as well as Roman remnants in the general area, at your leisure.