Why this ride
From Sainte-Marguerite it runs 402 km to Sainte-Marguerite; allow about 5 h 57 of riding. It goes by way of Arles, The Maison Carrée of Nîmes, Pont du Gard and back through Pont du Gard. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Unité d’habitation Marseille and The Maison Carrée of Nîmes
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 402 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 57
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Camargue Scenic Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 38 km this is Camargue Scenic Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 38 km
- Named road
- Camargue Scenic Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Unité d’habitation Marseille
Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation, finished in 1952 and known locally as the Cité Radieuse, or sometimes, less kindly, as the maison du fada, the madman's house, is a long concrete slab on stilts, raised above a park on the Boulevard Michelet. It contains around 330 apartments of different sizes, interlocking in section like pieces of a puzzle, with internal streets, a small hotel, a restaurant and, on the roof, a terrace with a children's pool, a gym and a view over the city and the sea. It was meant as a vertical village, and people still live in it.
Read the complete Unité d’habitation Marseille write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Unité d’habitation Marseille is where the day begins. Next is Arles.
2. Arles
Arles is where the Rhône splits in two and the Camargue begins, and for more than two thousand years it has been a city of power, art and sun. The Romans made it one of the great cities of Gaul, building an amphitheatre that still hosts events, a theatre, baths and an underground gallery, the cryptoportiques, and the Roman and Romanesque monuments of Arles are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Romanesque church of Saint-Trophime, with its carved portal and cloister, is one of the finest in Provence.
Read the complete Arles write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Arles comes up 48 km in. Next is The Maison Carrée of Nîmes.
3. The Maison Carrée of Nîmes
Most Roman temples survive as a jumble of columns and a lot of imagination. The Maison Carrée in Nîmes is the exception: a complete temple, standing on its podium with its roof and columns intact, two thousand years after it was built for the grandsons of Augustus. It owes its survival to being constantly reused, as a meeting hall, a stable, a church and a museum. Thomas Jefferson admired it so much that he based the Virginia State Capitol on it, and in 2023 UNESCO finally listed it in its own right.
Read the complete The Maison Carrée of Nîmes write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least 106 km in you reach The Maison Carrée of Nîmes. Next is Pont du Gard.
4. Pont du Gard
Built without mortar, three tiers of arches carry a water channel across the gorge of the Gardon nearly fifty metres above the river, and the stones still fit together as if they had been placed last week. The Pont du Gard was one section of an aqueduct some fifty kilometres long that brought spring water from near Uzès to Roman Nîmes in the first century, with a total drop of only a few metres over the whole distance. It is a masterpiece of surveying as much as building, and it has stood through floods that have destroyed far younger bridges.
Read the complete Pont du Gard write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Pont du Gard, about halfway. Next is The Maison Carrée of Nîmes.
5. The Maison Carrée of Nîmes
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Maison Carrée of Nîmes write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Maison Carrée of Nîmes sits at 193 km, about halfway. Next is back through Pont du Gard.
6. back through Pont du Gard
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Pont du Gard write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Pont du Gard comes up 241 km in. Next is back through The Maison Carrée of Nîmes.
7. back through The Maison Carrée of Nîmes
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Maison Carrée of Nîmes write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
290 km in you reach back through The Maison Carrée of Nîmes. Next is back through Arles.
8. back through Arles
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Arles write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Arles, late in the day. Next is Unité d’habitation Marseille.
9. Unité d’habitation Marseille
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Unité d’habitation Marseille write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 402 km.
Leg by leg
Unité d’habitation Marseille to Arles
Unité d’habitation Marseille → Arles is 104 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Arles to The Maison Carrée of Nîmes
Arles → The Maison Carrée of Nîmes is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Maison Carrée of Nîmes to Pont du Gard
The Maison Carrée of Nîmes → Pont du Gard is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pont du Gard to The Maison Carrée of Nîmes
Pont du Gard → The Maison Carrée of Nîmes is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Maison Carrée of Nîmes to back through Pont du Gard
The Maison Carrée of Nîmes → back through Pont du Gard is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Pont du Gard to back through The Maison Carrée of Nîmes
back through Pont du Gard → back through The Maison Carrée of Nîmes is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Maison Carrée of Nîmes to back through Arles
back through The Maison Carrée of Nîmes → back through Arles is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Arles to Unité d’habitation Marseille
back through Arles → Unité d’habitation Marseille is 104 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.