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Medieval Aigues-Mortes

Saint Louis’s walled town, from the Tour de Constance to the Place Saint-Louis.

Distance
800 m
Walking
11 min on foot
Stops
5
The Tour de Constance12345
Map : © OpenStreetMap contributors, tuiles OpenFreeMap

Stops

  1. The Tour de Constance

    We begin at the Tour de Constance, built from 1242 by King Louis IX to house his garrison. Its top turret served as a lighthouse from the 13th to the 16th century.

  2. The Porte de la Gardette

    Here is one of the gates in the walls. To give his kingdom a Mediterranean port, Louis IX bought this land from the monks of Psalmody abbey between 1240 and 1248. The town received its founding charter in 1246.

  3. Notre-Dame-des-Sablons

    In the heart of town stands the church of Notre-Dame-des-Sablons. In 1248 the king set sail from Aigues-Mortes for the Seventh Crusade, and again in 1270.

  4. Place Saint-Louis

    Here we are on Place Saint-Louis, home to the tourist office. The walls around the town were completed under Kings Philip the Bold and Philip the Fair.

  5. The Porte de l’Arsenal

    To the south, towards the salt works, is the Porte de l’Arsenal. Beyond lie the Peccais marshes, where a Roman named Peccius is said to have laid out the first salt pans.

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