Les Baux-de-Provence in Provence

7 November 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera Reading Time:  6 minutes

© BlueBreezeWiki/cc-by-sa-3.0

© BlueBreezeWiki/cc-by-sa-3.0

Les Baux-de-Provence is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the province of Provence in southern France. It has a spectacular position in the Alpilles mountains, set atop a rocky outcrop that is crowned with a ruined castle overlooking the plains to the south. Its name refers to its site: in Provençal, a bauç is a rocky spur. The village gives its name to the aluminium ore bauxite, which was first discovered there by geologist Pierre Berthier in 1821. Les Baux-de-Provence is part of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (meaning “the most beautiful villages of France”).   read more…

Port Grimaud on the French Riviera

8 September 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Architecture, French Riviera, Hotels Reading Time:  4 minutes

© port-grimaud.fr

© port-grimaud.fr

Port Grimaud is part of Grimaud. It is located west of Saint-Tropez and south-east of Sainte-Maxime. This seaside town was created by architect François Spoerry in the 1960s based around the marshes of the river Giscle on the bay of Saint Tropez. Built with channels in a Venetian manner, but with French “Fishermans” style houses resembling those in Saint Tropez.   read more…

Richerenches, the truffle village

18 July 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera, Bon appétit Reading Time:  5 minutes

Black Richerenches Truffle © Véronique PAGNIER/cc-by-sa-3.0

Black Richerenches Truffle © Véronique PAGNIER/cc-by-sa-3.0

Richerenches (Richarencha in Occitan) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in southeastern France with a populaton of 670. In 1136, a local lord, Hugh of Bourbouton, gave the Knights Templar land at Richerenches. Two years later he gave even more, and the next day he took his vows as a Templar. He eventually became the Commander of the Templar commandery of Richerenches, which rose to be one of the most important Templar commanderies in Provence.   read more…

Barcelonnette in the Ubaye valley

28 April 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Speculos/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Speculos/cc-by-sa-3.0

Barcelonnette is a commune of France and a subprefecture in the department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. It is located in the southern French Alps, at the crossroads between Provence, Piedmont and the Dauphiné, and is the largest town in the Ubaye Valley. The town’s inhabitants are known as Barcelonnettes. Barcelonnette is situated in the wide and fertile Ubaye Valley, of which it is the largest town. It lies at an elevation of 1132 m (3717 ft) on the right bank of the Ubaye River, and is surrounded by mountains which reach peaks of over 3000 m; the tallest of these is the Needle of Chambeyron at 3412 m. Barcelonnette is situated 210 km from Turin, 91 km from Nice and 68 km from Gap.   read more…

Theme Week Provence – Carpentras

25 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera Reading Time:  6 minutes

Musée Duplessis © Soldanella84/cc-by-sa-3.0

Musée Duplessis © Soldanella84/cc-by-sa-3.0

Carpentras is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in southeastern France. It stands on the banks of the Auzon. As capital of the Comtat Venaissin, it was frequently the residence of the Avignon popes; the Papal States retained possession of the Venaissin until the French Revolution. Nowadays, Carpentras is a commercial center for Comtat Venaissin.   read more…

Theme Week Provence – Aix-en-Provence

25 October 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  14 minutes

© Wolf Meusel

© Wolf Meusel

Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a city-commune in the south of France, about 30 km (19 mi) north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix numbers approximately 143,000. Its inhabitants are called Aixois or, less commonly, Aquisextains. Aix-en-Provence is situated in a plain overlooking the Arc, about a mile from the right bank of the river. The city slopes gently from north to south and the Montagne Sainte-Victoire can easily be seen to the east. Aix’s position in the south of France gives it a warm climate. Aix is among the cities with the highest quality of life in France. In particular, the mix out of art and culture as well as bars and nightclubs are making the city attractive. Aix-en-Provence was part of Marseille-Provence 2013, the year-long cultural festival when the region served as the European Capital of Culture, together with Košice in Slovakia. Aix hosted several major cultural events including one half of the Grand Atelier du Midi gala exhibition and an episode of the Révélations pyrotechnical performance. The city also unveiled major new cultural infrastructure to coincide with Marseille-Provence 2013, including the Darius Milhaud Conservatory designed by Kengo Kuma.   read more…

Theme Week Provence – Aubagne

22 October 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera Reading Time:  5 minutes

© Kremtak/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Kremtak/cc-by-sa-3.0

Aubagne is a French commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region of southern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Aubagnais or Aubagnaises.   read more…

Theme Week Provence – Orange

21 October 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera Reading Time:  7 minutes

© theatre-antique.com - Culturespaces/Les chorégies/cc-by-sa-3.0

© theatre-antique.com – Culturespaces/Les chorégies/cc-by-sa-3.0

Orange is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in southeastern France. It is located about 21 kilometres (13 miles) north of Avignon. It has a primarily agricultural economy.   read more…

Le Castellet in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region

29 April 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera Reading Time:  5 minutes

Town Hall © Pierre Bona/cc-by-sa-3.0

Town Hall © Pierre Bona/cc-by-sa-3.0

Le Castellet is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in southeastern France. It is mostly a small feudal village perched on a cliff edge.   read more…

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