Gorgeous Photos of the Rhône by Camille Moirenc

The mighty Rhône River —the “King of Rivers”—follows an unusual path. It begins high in the Swiss Alps, sourced by the Rhône Glacier, then gathers more water as it makes its way through Switzerland’s canton of Valais. Finally, it gushes into Lake Geneva.

Most rivers would end there, but not this one. Instead, its waters travel slowly westward through the lake and months later spill out into the second section of the Rhône, the part which passes through France.

From here, the Rhône continues its journey south, passing the terraced vineyards of Côte-Rôtie and flowing under the famous Pont d’Avignon. Finally, its waters spread out to create the marshy Camargue, renowned for its pink flamingos, before finally joining the Mediterranean Sea.

Noted photographer Camille Moirenc has now captured the Rhône in a series of 80 magnificent photographs titled Visages du Rhône (Faces of the Rhône). They are on exhibit at the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris through July 14 and might be in Marseille this summer. Here’s a short film that will show you what the exhibition looks like, along with an interview with Moirenc (in French).

You may not be able to travel to France right now, but you can enjoy these beautiful photos from wherever you are on this website. The website allows you to follow the path of the Rhône as you scroll down the page.

Click on a photo to enlarge it, and then click on the caption to learn about what you are seeing. Set the language option to French or English in the lower right corner. It’s also possible to search by area of interest such as leisure activities (boating) or utilization (irrigation, hydroelectricity, and transportation). Discover the wildlife that thrives along the shores of the Rhône in the section about natural living space.

It’s not quite the same as travelling on the King of Rivers, but it will keep you dreaming until you can be there…hopefully soon!

Image Credits: All photos were provided by and published with the permission of Camille Moirenc

Who is the Photographer?

Camille Moirenc is a South of France native who has spent 30+ years photographing the region. He has published over 30 photobooks. His photos often found on tourism websites and in exhibitions such as the one above. One of his recent ambitious projects, before Visages du Rhône, was “Exposition 438, Notre Littoral” a photo pursuit that took two years to complete and covered 438 km of French coastline (littoral).

If you are in Aix-en-Provence, pay a visit to

La Gallery
15 rue Van Loo
13100, Aix en Provence
Tel: +33 (0)4 42 63 32 83

Keith Van Sickle

Keith and Val Van Sickle made their first trip to Provence decades ago, and it was love at first sight. After that, they came back every year until 2008, when they began a part-time life there, splitting their time between Provence and California.

Over the years, they’ve travelled all over Provence, seeing sights both well-known and obscure. Their French friends have introduced them to favourite restaurants and wineries and picnic spots and taught them funny local expressions (not all for polite company).

Keith now shares this local knowledge in his new book, An Insider’s Guide to Provence. Packed with the Van Sickles’ favourite things to see and do, it’s a must-have for anyone travelling to this glorious corner of France.

Keith previously published two books about the couple's experiences in Provence. One Sip at a Time: Learning to Live in Provence, and Are We French Yet?, both are available from Amazon.

You can see all of Keith’s blog posts at Life in Provence.