Farewell to Provence

Pont St. Julien - Roman Bridge in Provence

Provence should be a fantastic and scenic part of our trip to Europe and I'm sure we'll leave it wanting to come back. The trip itinerary should lead us to Switzerland after Provence and it will be just as wonderful. On this blog, I'll be jumping to Germany for my next group of updates. I don't have any good travel books on Switzerland, so that's the reason for the lack of information on that part of our trip. I'll make up for it by doing more stuff on Germany.

The Luberon

The Luberon region rivals the Cotes du Rhone area for beauty and charm. It is probably more famous and has more tourists than the Cotes du Rhone. It is covered in hilltop towns, stone houses, old ruins, rocky outcrops, vineyards, and fields of lavender. You must use a car to really experience this area. Many of the towns are justifiably famous, such as Isle-sur-la-Sorgue which is called the Venice of Provence because of it's many canals. Rousillon is a Spanish-looking town seated at the top of a rocky hill. The Pont St. Julien is the only bridge left on the main Roman road from Italy to the region. Fort de Buoux is a ruin of a castle that once controlled the entire region, but was destroyed in France's religious wars because it was controlled by the Protestants. There aren't many specific sites to visit in the Luberon, but the country and towns are a feast for the culture enthusiast. There are many cheap places to eat and lodge. It's a great place to get off the beaten path and get lost.

The Cotes du Rhone

This is where I begin to get excited. There's something about this lovely, vineyard covered region of France that has an immense attraction to me. Cotes du Rhone literally means "hillsides of the Rhone." These hillsides are covered with beautiful vineyards, seldom-visited stone villages, warm Bed & Breakfast's, and world-class wineries. Mountains decorate the background. The background of the whole area is dominated by Mount Ventoux. You can actually drive to the top of this mountain for a spectacular view of the area, if the weather is clear. In this region there are lots of places where hiking and biking trails are laid out for people wanting to see the country and get some exercise too. The small town of Vaison la Romaine is considered the best jumping off point for seeing the Cotes du Rhone villages. Generally, food and sleeping accomodations are cheaper in the small villages than in the larger cities of Avignon, Orange, and Arles. A great way to see the area is to take a drive on scenic loops through the region stopping at the hill-top villages for food, refreshment, and local markets.

Orange, France

Orange is home to another of the greatest Roman remains still in existence. It is a complete Roman Theater that is the best preserved of any in the world. It is one of only 3 in the world that still has the accoustic wall still standing (the other 2 are in Asia Minor.) Orange was originally founded as basically a retirement town for Roman soldiers to live in after their 20 years service. This theater was part of the luxurious attractions of this lovely town in the South of Gaul (France.)

Nimes

The city of Nimes (pronounced "neem"), France, is the site of two of the most amazing Roman structures still in existence. It is also the location where denim material originated. It is 30 minutes west of Avignon. It is the place where all the water going through the Pont du Gard ended up. Nimes is a much quieter and smaller city than Avignon and a night here is a decent escape from tourist crowds.


The Roman Arena in Nimes is the best preserved of its type in the world. It's in better shape even than the Colosseum in Rome. It was built around 100 AD and is still used for live bullfights and other events.

The Maison Carree ("square house") rivals Rome's Pantheon as the most complete and beautiful building that survives from the Roman Empire. It has been dated to AD 4 during the reign of Augustus Caesar. Rick Steves says that the video they show inside the building is not worth the money and you should just enjoy this building from the outside for free. The building is quite impressive either way. An interesting piece of trivia is that Thomas Jefferson used the Maison Carree as his model when designing the Virginia State Capitol building.

There are several other minor Roman sights in Nimes and a few museums, but they seem worthy of skipping in favor of visiting other places in Provence.

Avignon

This picture shows the two main sights of Avignon - the Palace of the Popes and the St. Benezet Bridge. Aside from these two sights, Avignon is mostly just a good jumping off place from which to explore the rest of Provence. It is a large city that is one of the main stops of the TGV train from Paris.
The Pont St. Benezet was the only bridge across the Rhone River in the Middle ages. It was mostly destroyed by a huge ice flood in the year 1668, so only a small portion of the bridge still stands. It only has 4 arches now, but it once had 22, so you can imagine how much larger it once was. From the end of the bridge you get a nice view of the town.
Between the bridge and the Palace of the Popes is a nice park called Parc des Rochers des Doms. This neat little park offers a beautiful view of the river and the famous bridge.
The Palace of the Popes (Palais des Papes) is the largest surviving Gothic palace in Europe. It was the center of the Catholic religion for roughly a 70 year span in the 1300's and 1400's. It is quite barren now with few furnishings to see, but the architecture is amazing.

Le Pont du Gard

The Pont du Gard is one of the most remarkable surviving Roman ruins anywhere. It is a massive stone aqueduct bridge over a large river canyon. It is the second highest standing Roman structure in the world - the Colosseum in Rome is only 6 feet taller. The main arch is the largest Roman arch ever built. No mortar was used in the construction of this stone bridge. You are allowed to walk on this magnificent ruin for wonderful views. This could easily be the greatest single sight to see in all of the French region of Provence. Provence is littered with tons of Roman remnants and I will be profiling some more of them in future posts. The Pont du Gard is located off the beaten path between the cities of Avignon and Nimes.

Intro to Provence

Provence is famous not so much for the individual sights that you'll see as for the scenery, people, food, and culture. It is a very relaxing area to visit, with charming small villages, vineyards, mountains, fields of poppies and lavender, and welcoming chambres d'hote (bed and breakfast places.) Provence is famous for it's own type of food that is quite different from other places. It is also famous for its rose wines. It's a great place to rent a car and drive around in since that's about the only way to see many of the small towns and beautiful scenery. This is one area to relax in and take your time. It should be a nice reprieve from the hustle and bustle of Paris. The poppies should be blooming in April when we plan to be in Provence.

Provence, but Not the Riviera

After Paris, our plans are to visit the South of France. Surprisingly, this will likely not include the famous French Riviera area. Why not, you ask? It's too glitzy, expensive, and decadent for me. It's basically like Las Vegas on the beach. There aren't a ton of historically interesting places here either. The fact that the beaches are primarily nude ones is another major reason to stay away. Let's instead just stick to historic, quaint, cheap, and relaxing Provence.