Martigues and the Côte Bleue: The Birds' Mirror, Ziem's Museum and the Fishing Port of Carro
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
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Provençal Venice Boatman
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225
XP
+100 France
= 325 total
1 day
Martigues and the Côte Bleue: The Birds' Mirror, Ziem's Museum and the Fishing Port of Carro
225 + 100 XP
Martigues straddles the canal de Caronte, which runs three kilometres from the Étang de Berre out to the Mediterranean, and the town's three quarters - Ferrières, the island of Brescon and Jonquières - have earned it the nickname of the Venise provençale. Félix Ziem gave the town a painting in 1908 and the museum founded on it bears his name; since 1982 it has occupied a former customs barracks. Guarding the seaward mouth of the canal, the fort de Bouc keeps a tower of the late 12th century inside bastions of the 17th, and southwards on the Côte Bleue the commune's villages of La Couronne and Carro face the open Mediterranean.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Walk the Canal Saint-Sébastien on the island of Brescon to the Miroir aux Oiseaux and wait for the water to go flat, then cross to Ferrières on the Camargue side and Jonquières on the Côte Bleue side and work out why three separate quarters ended up as one town
2
of 4
In the Musée Ziem, in the old customs barracks, hang Ziem's Venice beside his Martigues and decide whether he painted the same water twice, then find the Trésor de la Vierge, the museum's collection of painted and silver ex-votos
3
of 4
Book the tourist office's boat out to the Fort de Bouc, find the late 12th-century tower still standing inside the 17th-century bastions, and look back up the three-kilometre canal de Caronte towards the Étang de Berre from the seaward end
4
of 4
Drive south to Carro on the Côte Bleue, walk the harbour wall to the point, and count how many of the commune's eleven kilometres of open Mediterranean coast you can see in one sweep from La Couronne round to Cap Couronne
Walk the Canal Saint-Sébastien on the island of Brescon to the Miroir aux Oiseaux and wait for the water to go flat, then cross to Ferrières on the Camargue side and Jonquières on the Côte Bleue side and work out why three separate quarters ended up as one town
In the Musée Ziem, in the old customs barracks, hang Ziem's Venice beside his Martigues and decide whether he painted the same water twice, then find the Trésor de la Vierge, the museum's collection of painted and silver ex-votos
Book the tourist office's boat out to the Fort de Bouc, find the late 12th-century tower still standing inside the 17th-century bastions, and look back up the three-kilometre canal de Caronte towards the Étang de Berre from the seaward end
Drive south to Carro on the Côte Bleue, walk the harbour wall to the point, and count how many of the commune's eleven kilometres of open Mediterranean coast you can see in one sweep from La Couronne round to Cap Couronne
Before you go
The Fort de Bouc can only be visited by boat, booked in advance through the Martigues tourist office, and no child under ten is admitted; the boat leaves from the Pointe San Crist on the island quarter, and the fort is not accessible to anyone with reduced mobility. If you are travelling with small children, plan the day round the museum and the canals instead.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
225 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
325 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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