What to see

South of Nîmes and at the gateway to the Camargue, the town of Saint-Gilles is full of wonders to discover! 
The town, which owes its name to the famous abbot Gilles the Hermit, whose tomb it guards, was one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Christianity in the 12^th century. 

The architectural heritage of the commune includes 9 buildings protected as historical monuments, including the abbey church, listed in 1840 on the Unesco World Heritage List as a stopover on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in France. In the ruins of the old choir, outside the present church, a spiral staircase has given its name to this type of work: it is the Vis de Saint-Gilles and its exceptional spiral vault.

In addition to visiting the abbey church, St Gilles offers many points of interest and walks. 

• The Petit Rhône runs for about 60 km through the Camargue countryside to the west of Saintes-Maries de la Mer where it flows into the Mediterranean Sea. 
  It is to the north of Arles that the Petit Rhône leaves the main river bed, symbolically separating the Petite Camargue from the Camargue. 
• In the 11^th and 12^th centuries, the port of Saint-Gilles experienced an important economic boom thanks to trade with the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea and the transport of pilgrims leaving for the Holy Land. 
  At the beginning of the 19th century, an intense commercial activity developed with the digging of the Rhône-Sète canal. In 1985, the commercial port was transformed into a marina with the redevelopment of the quay and the installation of facilities for yachtsmen. Today, the port of Saint-Gilles is the ideal starting point for a beautiful river excursion !

  Itinerary via Google Map at 43 km from the lodge ( 43mn)  

Source et information :

• St Gilles on the Nîmes-Tourisme website
• Presentation of St Gilles-du-Gard on Wikipédia:
  • histoire
  • Local culture and patrimony in French - Culture locale et patrimoine