Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer
Commune
Aerial view of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer
Coat of arms
Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer Location in France Show map of France Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer Location in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Show map of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department	Bouches-du-Rhône
Arrondissement	Arles
Canton	Arles
Intercommunality	CA Arles-Crau-Camargue-Montagnette
Area 1	374.61 km2 (144.64 sq mi)
Population  (Jan. 2021)	Lua error in Module:Wd at line 1,575: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	13096 /13460
Elevation	0–6 m (0–20 ft) (avg. 4 m or 13 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer is the capital of the Camargue in the south of France. It is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department by the Mediterranean Sea. Its 2012 population was 2,495, though it can swell to 500,000 during the summer holidays. It covers the second-largest area of all communes in Metropolitan France, smaller only than that of neighbouring Arles.

Geography

The town is situated in the Rhône River delta, about 1 km east of the mouth of the Petit Rhône distributary. The commune comprises alluvial land and marshland, and includes the Étang de Vaccarès, a large lagoon. The main industry is tourism. Agriculture is also significant, and ranchers have raised horses and cattle unique to the Camargue; some of the bulls are used for bull-fighting and for the course camarguaise. There is bus service to Arles, 38 km away.

Images for kids

• 

  Fortified church of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer

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  Ritual bath during the Romani pilgrimage of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.

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  View of Saintes-Maries by Vincent van Gogh, 1888, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, Netherlands (F416).

See also

In Spanish: Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer para niños