This contemporary development is located minutes from Saint Martin town centre. It is also within walking distance of shops, restaurants, schools and cultural & leisure facilities.

Set in a quiet area, the stylish residential development is made of high quality villas and apartments, each with private garden or terraces.

Properties here are scheduled for delivery during 2nd quarter of 2010 and will offer a high degree of comfort and security with digicode and visiophone systems.

Prices for remaining properties start at 178,500 Euros for a 2 bedroom apartment measuring 64.60m² and range to 274,000 Euros for a 4 bedroom villa measuring 89.75m².

Exceptional properties only minutes from trendy Aix en Provence and the Camargue region!

Please note that these properties are not leaseback properties and can be used either as a buy-to-let or a permanent home/holiday.

Saint Martin-de-Crau is a residential farming town in the now-rich farmlands of the Crau, between Arles and Salon-de-Provence, at the northern edge of the Camargue. The value of Saint Martin-de-Crau lies in its surrounding lands rather than the town.

Commerce
The town center isn't enormous, but there are a fair number shops of all kinds. There's also a large supermarket at the eastern edge of town, along the road in from the autoroute when you arrive from the direction of Salon-de-Provence or Aix-en-Provence.

Once at a busy regional crossroads, the Arles -Salon-de-Provence traffic now bypasses on the N113 autoroute, including traffic for the southeast Pyrenees and Spain. The town center is a typical large village, its main street with most of the shops, cafés and restaurants. The rather grandiose town hall (mairie) dominates the eastern end of the town with its high cupola bell tower.

The Crau
The region of the Crau is a low-lying flatland with a long seasnon of dryness interrupted by a short season of massive rainfall. The 16th century hydological engineer Adam Craponne (1527-1576) imagined, designed and created the 124-km-long Canal Craponne, an irrigation canal system between La Roque-d'Anthéron, Arles and Salon-de-Provence that use the water of the Durance to open the Crau for farming. The Canal de Craponne runs east-west, crossing the D27 road just 2 km north of the town. Adam Craponne also worked on the Canal du Midi, and was one of the engineers, along with Leonardo da Vinci, on the Canal du Center in Bourgogne.

Another 500 m north of the Canal de Craponne, the very interesting Canal de la Haute Crau passes in its aerial form.

Canal irrigation was first used for olives, a principle regional resource of that period (and there are still many large olive groves here). The Crau is now famous for its hay, the only AOC animal fodder product in existance.

An extended area of the Camargue, the Crau also raises the typical black bulls and white horses that can be seen grazing in the fields.

Pastrage Shepherds Festival
The Pastrage of Saint Martin-de-Crau is a folkloric/religious celebration on the last Sunday of January. The most public part, after the Shepherds Mass, is the 11 AM hot-wine and general milling about in front of the church, then the procession down the main street to the town hall (Hotel de Ville. A small flock of sheep remain in front of the church, with the procession continues with the shepherds afoot and horseback, folklore costumes, little girls carrying lambs and a period musical group.

Visits
Arboritum
Located on the south edge of town, this park of winding pathways between tall trees and little canals makes a cool, shady diversion on a hot summer day. The trees are identified by plaques for your education, but just a calm stroll here is nice.

Arles and Les Baux
15 km west is the Roman town of Arles, and 15 km north is the magnificent site of Les Baux-de-Provence (and just beyond: St Remy-de-Provence).

Roman Aqueduct and Mills
15 km northwest of Saint Martin-de-Crau is the village of Fontvieille. Approaching the village from here on the D33, just past the Chateau de Barbegal, are some excellent Roman ruins, including aqueducts and flour mill (meunerie). The aqueducts at the top of the ridge are still excellent remains. The flour-mill part on the slope of the hill, once housing two rows of 8 parallel water wheels, is more in ruin, but still evacotive of that ancient time.

Windmills of the Mind
Daudet's windmill is located at the south edge of Fontvieille, 15 km northwest of Saint Martin-de-Crau, and just north of the Roman ruins. Restored now, in dedication to the writer Alphonse Daudet, this was one of the many early-19th-century windmills in the area for the grinding of wheat.