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- Main Attractions & Cultural Sights
The rich cultural heritage of Provence was achieved through various influences of previous civilizations to give the region its distinct personality. Reminders of the past can be appreciated in regional chateaux, Roman ruins, Medieval structures and Renaissance buildings that characterize the area. Delight in charming villages with gushing fountains and monuments to a notable past and the rich culture of the area. Make it a point to visit these memorable attractions while in Provence.
A small hilltop village (one of the most beautiful villages of France) with stone narrow streets, shops, its castle from the Renaissance and one of the most impressive view of the Luberon. Visit the Villages des Bories: open-air museum of traditional stone shelters; the Abbaye de Sénanque, an abbey still occupied by a community of the Cistercians monks; The Lavender Museum.
A beautiful hilltop village (another of France’s most beautiful villages) with commanding views of the Luberon valley and mountains. Local connections to Picasso and more recently, Peter Mayle’s ‘A Year in Provence’.
A hilltop village is another renowned village known as one of the most beautiful in all of France. Roussillon is located the heart of the Luberon and famous for its ochre quarries and distinctive reddish village tint. Visit the Ochre conservatory.
Hilltop village crowned by the now ruined chateau of the Marquis of Sade. Now owned by the designer Pierre Cardin.
A small, picturesque Provencal market town with handcraft and local food, well known for its Sunday antiques markets and shops along the river Sorgue.
A tiny village on the river Sorgue. Walk along the river and discover the natural Fountain of the Sorgue: the water originates from the mountain. Visit the glassblowing workshop.
A small traditional village surrounded by vineyards, famous for their local wine. Visit the Chocolate factory of Castelain and do the Chocolate and wine tasting
One of the most beautiful villages of France, small Provencal market town with a long history going back to Roman times. Beautiful architecture, restaurants and boutiques. Local connections to the Dutch painter, Vincent Van Gogh. Visit the Glanum: the Roman ruins of the original town of St-Rémy-de-Provence; the Monastère St Paul de Mausole: Van Gogh lived there, it is now a Museum focus on the painter and its work.
A fascinating medieval hilltop fortress village that is great for kids of all ages. Visit the Medieval castle on the top of the village and the Carrières de Lumières: an art exhibition gallery located in the awe-inspiring rock caves.
A small hilltop village designated as one of the most beautiful villages of France is surrounded by the classical countryside at the foothill of the Luberon Mountains. Experience the Music Festival in the Chateau of Lourmarin: Classical, pop, rock music.
A historic multi-cultural town and the palace where seat of the Pope and center of Catholicism occurred during the 12th and 13th century. Visit the Pope Palace, the Pont St Benezet and experience the Theater festival in July.
A historic Roman town and the birthplace of the painter Paul Cézanne. Rich in culture, art galleries, theatre, ballet, concerts, markets…
The highest mountain peak in the region with views as far as the Alps, Italy, Mont Blanc and Switzerland. Climb the Mont Ventoux with your bike like for the Tour de France. Wine tasting in the Chateau Pesquié.
Arles is a good example of the adaptation of an ancient city to medieval European civilization. It has some impressive Roman monuments, of which the earliest – the arena, the Roman theatre and the cryptoporticus (subterranean galleries) – date back to the 1st century B.C. During the 4th century Arles experienced a second golden age, as attested by the baths of Constantine and the necropolis of Alyscamps. In the 11th and 12th centuries, Arles once again became one of the most attractive cities in the Mediterranean. Within the city walls, Saint-Trophime, with its cloister, is one of Provence's major Romanesque monuments.
In the 14th century, this city in the South of France was the seat of the papacy. The Palais des Papes, an austere-looking fortress lavishly decorated by Simone Martini and Matteo Giovanetti, dominates the city, the surrounding ramparts and the remains of a 12th-century bridge over the Rhone. Beneath this outstanding example of Gothic architecture, the Petit Palais and the Romanesque Cathedral of Notre-Dame-des-Doms complete an exceptional group of monuments that testify to the leading role played by Avignon in 14th-century Christian Europe.
The Pont du Gard was built shortly before the Christian era to allow the aqueduct of Nîmes (which is almost 50 km long) to cross the Gard river. The Roman architects and hydraulic engineers who designed this bridge, which stands almost 50 m high and is on three levels – the longest measuring 275 m – created a technical as well as an artistic masterpiece.
Situated in the Rhone valley, the ancient theatre of Orange, with its 103-m-long facade, is one of the best preserved of all the great Roman theatres. Built between A.D. 10 and 25, the Roman arch is one of the most beautiful and interesting surviving examples of a provincial triumphal arch from the reign of Augustus. It is decorated with low reliefs commemorating the establishment of the Pax Romana.
Source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/