The Canal

The Canton of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer is a former French canton located in the Bouches-du-Rhône département of France, in the arrondissement of Arles. It had 2,495 inhabitants (2012). It was disbanded following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. It comprised the commune of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, which joined the new canton of Arles in 2015. Its last representative (Conseiller Général) was Roland Chassain (UMP, in office 1994–2015).

Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃tmaʁi d(ə) la mɛʁ], alternatively with the definite article Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, lit. "(the) Saint Marys of the Sea", locally Les Saintes, [le sɛ̃t]; Provençal: Lei Santei Marias de la Mar (classical norm) or Li Sànti Marìo de la Mar (Mistralian norm)), is the capital of the Camargue (Provençal: Camarga) natural region in Southern France. It lies on the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, it is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, on the departmental border with Gard. It covers the second-largest area of all communes in metropolitan France, smaller only than that of neighbouring Arles. In 2021, it had a population of 2,120.

The Church of the Saintes Maries de la Mer is a Romanesque fortified church built in the 9th century in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in Camargue, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence. Dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus and to The Three Marys, it is the subject of annual Roma pilgrimage. Since 1840, it has been classified as a French Historical Monument.

The Camargue (, also UK: , US: , French: [kamaʁɡ]; Provençal: Camarga) is a coastal region in southern France located south of the city of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône river delta. The eastern arm is called the Grand Rhône; the western is the Petit Rhône. Administratively, it lies within the department of Bouches-du-Rhône (‘Mouths of the Rhône’); it spans portions of the communes of Arles, Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer and Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône. A further expanse of marshy plain, known as the "Petite Camargue" (Little Camargue), just to the west of the "Petit Rhône", lies within the department of Gard. The Camargue was designated a Ramsar site as a "Wetland of International Importance" on 1 December 1986. The Petite Camargue received this designation on 8 January 1996.

The Bac du Sauvage or Sauvage Ferry is a cable ferry across a branch of the Rhône in the Camargue region of southern France. The crossing is 230 metres (750 ft) long and carries a road across the Petit Rhône about 6.5 kilometres (4.0 mi) from Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer and a similar distance upriver from the Mediterranean Sea. The ferry crossing is located on the territory of the commune of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. Between October and March, the ferry operates from 0700 to 1200 and from 1330 to 1830. Between April and September, the hours are 0600 to 1200 and 1330 to 2000. The ferry operates every 30 minutes, increasing to every 10 or 15 minutes if traffic volumes demand it. The ferry is operated by the Syndicat Mixte des Traversées du Delta du Rhône, which also operates the Bac de Barcarin, and is free of tolls. The current ferry boat, Bac Sauvage 3, was placed in service in 1972, and can carry up to 8 cars with 30 passengers plus a crew member. The boat is 28 metres (92 ft) long and 5 metres (16 ft) wide. Whilst guided by cables, the ferry is propelled by paddle wheels. This unusual arrangement was shared with the Number 7 Dartmouth Higher Ferry in England. This operated from 1960 to June 2009, but has now been replaced by a new, more conventional cable ferry. Besides carrying cars, the ferry is often used by horse riding tours of the area.

Saint-Gilles (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ ʒil]; Provençal: Sant Geli; English: St. Giles) or Saint-Gilles-du-Gard is a commune in the Gard department in southern France. It is the second most populous commune in the Nîmes metropolitan area.

The Abbey of Saint-Gilles (French: Abbaye de Saint-Gilles ) is a monastery in Saint-Gilles, southern France. Founded by Saint Giles, it is included in the UNESCO Heritage List, as part of the World Heritage Sites of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France.

The canton of Saint-Gilles is an administrative division of the Gard department, southern France. Its borders were modified at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Saint-Gilles. It consists of the following communes:

Gallician is a village in the commune of Vauvert in the département of Gard, in the region of Languedoc-Roussillon, southern France. It has a population of about 1,000 people. It is located 6 km south of Vauvert, on the Canal du Rhône à Sète, which links the river Rhône with the Canal du Midi at Sète.

The Langlois Bridge at Arles is the subject of four oil paintings, one watercolor and four drawings by Vincent van Gogh. The works, made in 1888 when van Gogh lived in Arles, in southern France, represent a melding of formal and creative aspects. Van Gogh used a perspective frame that he built and used in The Hague to create precise lines and angles when portraying perspective. Van Gogh was influenced by Japanese woodcut prints, as evidenced by his simplified use of color to create a harmonious and unified image. Contrasting colors, such as blue and yellow, were used to bring a vibrancy to the works. He painted with an impasto, or thickly applied paint, using color to depict the reflection of light. The subject matter, a drawbridge on a canal, reminded him of his homeland in the Netherlands. He asked his brother Theo to frame and send one of the paintings to an art dealer in the Netherlands. The reconstructed Langlois Bridge is now named Pont Van-Gogh.

Langlois Bridge (French: Pont de Langlois) was a double-beam drawbridge in Arles, France, which was the subject of several paintings by Vincent van Gogh in 1888. Being one of eleven drawbridges built by a Dutch engineer along the channel from Arles to Port-de-Bouc, this bridge might have reminded the artist of his homeland.

The Canal d'Arles à Fos (also: Canal d'Arles à Bouc) is a canal in southern France. It connects the Rhône near Arles with Fos-sur-Mer. It is 31 km (19 mi) long with one lock.The Langlois Bridge painted by Vincent van Gogh in 1888 was one of the drawbridges across the canal.