| PAYS DE FORCALQUIER |
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PAYS DE FORCALQUIER - Field of olive-trees
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PAYS DE FORCALQUIER
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| Situated between the Lure and Luberon Mountains, the Pays de Forcalquier personifies the ancestral Provence as sung by Giono. |
The painted landscape dotted with peaks, plains and small valleys rich in vegetation, is breathtaking. Lavenders and aromatic herbs mingle with the pure air. At random, you can stumble on small irregular paths leading to perched villages, stone boundaries, herdsmen’s’ cottages, all so typical of Provencal.
FORCALQUIER. The Romans developed Forcalquier as a result of the Domitienne road, linking Spain to Italy, which passed within close proximity to the town. Today, it is a dynamic cultural |
center due to the writers, painters and sculptors who have, for many years, lived here, seduced by the enchanting surroundings and the openness of the inhabitants of the region. The old town is full of charm with narrow streets, small, shaded squares and beautiful dwellings dating from the 13th and 15th century.
TO SEE:
The Notre Dame du Marche Cathedral, parts of which date from the 13th century, and the 13th century Franciscan Convent of Cordeliers. The Chapelle Notre Dame de Provence with the only hand-rung carillons in Provence, is situated on the crest of a hill, formerly the site of a citadel. The panoramic view over Luberon is magnificent.
AUX ALENTOURS
From the Lure mountain in the north to the entrance of Manosque in the south, you will find numerous perched villages and hamlets with their chateaux, stones houses, campaniles, etc. Guardians of the authentic Provence, their rich patrimony merits a detour. Pay a visit to Mane with its 12th century citadel.
About three kilometers from Forcalquier, close to the village, you will find an ancient priory, which houses an Ethnologic Museum. Built on the Roman ruins of Notre-Dame-de-Salagon, part of it dates back to the 12th and 17th centuries. Two kilometers from Mane in the direction of Apt, stands the elegant and spacious Chateau de Sauvan. Constructed in the 18th century, it is called "the small Provencal Trianon". Dauphine, a village towering over a vast plain. Saint Michel l’Observatoire is a village dedicated to astronomy. On a knoll close to the village stands the Observatory of Haute Provence, attracting scientists and astrologers worldwide. The Astronomy Center is open to the public for evening observations.
Visit Vachereson, perched like an eagle’s nest on a limestone spur, Oppedette, a hamlet built on a rocky shelf overlooking the Gorges de Cavalon, Simiane la Rotonde with its rotunda and 12th century donjon reaching a height of 18 meters, and the vestiges of a chateau overlooking the village. Banon, a medieval village posed on a rocky socle, is famous for its delicious goat cheese enveloped in a chestnut leaf. Eight kilometers from the village is Saint-Etienne les Orgues clinging to a spur of the Lure Mountain where the Abbey of Notre-Dame-de-Lure is nestled. Some of the Roman masonry dates back to the 12th century. The village of Lurs, resting on a balcony above Durance offers a spectacular view. Not far from the village you will find the Notre-Dame-de-Ganagobie priory, a monastery founded in the 10th century and today inhabited by the Benedictine monks. |
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