Tourist attractions Cavaillon

A the foot of a circus with impressive rocky walls, this apparently peaceful lake of green water is enshrouded in a halo of mystery: how deep is the abyss? No-one knows exactly although people have gone down as far as 315m. Where does the water come ..

Musée de l’Habitat Rural. The museum is comprised of twenty or so buildings, houses, sheepfolds and barns of various shapes and sizes, two to five centuries old and built with materials found on site (mainly flagstone) and all arranged about a baker’..

An excellent example of Cistercian art, this monastery founded in 1148 has retained its ancient layout, with the exception of the lay wing (18C). The medieval parts are made from local stone and boast finely sculpted joints. The church does not face ..

The plateau is composed of Glanum city , abandoned in the 15C following barbaric invasions, and two superb monuments, the mausoleim and the municipal arch which amidst a wood of pine trees paint one of the most romantic pictures imaginable.

This Romanesque church with a single nave contains the tomb of St Veran who, legend has it, overcame the mighty Coulobre , the local monster (Tarasque).

Remarkable pieces excavated at the Glanum archaeological site are exhibited at the Hôtel de Sade (15C-16C).

Here you can see a series of mural paintings on the theme of torture, by Mario Prassinos (1916-1985) for the Notre-Dame-de-Pitié chapel: tortured trunks and branches, in an austere contrast of black and white a few days before the artist died of ca..

A Celto-Ligurian tribe, the Glanics, made this sanctuary into a city, which was in close contact with local merchants and comprised the public buildings and peristyle houses that were highly influenced by Hellenistic style. The Roman conquest gave ri..

The perfect proportions and the exceptional quality of the sculpted decor of the arch indicate a Greek influence: a single arcade embellished with a beautiful garland of fruit and foliage, a vault decorated with finely chiselled coffers, sculptures o..

The 18m-high Mausolée is one of the finest examples of the Roman world, and is still intact. Bas-reliefs depicting battle and hunting scenes decorate the four sides of the square base. On the first floor, beneath a maritime fresco, is the inscription..

The originally Romanesque Chapelle Saint-Jacques stands in a pretty garden. The view from the vantage point of the viewpoint indicator extends over the town and the vegetable-growing plain, the Durance Valley, Mt Ventoux and the Alpilles.

For many years this square hosted the main melon market. Vestiges of a small Roman boat have been on view here since 1880.

This cathedral honours the patron saint of shepherds and former bishop of Cavaillon. This originally Romanesque building underwent significant changes in the 18C. Access is via the right side and a charming little cloister. Paintings by Nicolas Migna..

This was Cavaillon’s Jewish ghetto. The synagogue on rue Hébraïque houses the regional Jewish Museum.

This synagogue, France's oldest, dating from the 15C, was rebuilt in Provençal Baroque style between 1772 and 1774. Only the exterior turret hints at the presence of an older building. The prayer room contains colourful panelling, stucco pictures o..

Fine archaeological collections are on display in this former hospital, including objects discovered on the Colline Saint-Jacques , such as ceramics, money and funeral urns. The history of the building is illustrated on ceramic and glass ointment po..

Francesco Petrarca, or Petrarch (1304-1374) retreated to Fontaine after the virtuous Laure refused his advances. All the better for literature, as he went on to write Canzionere , the first great lyric poem. In the Musée-Bibliothèque Pétrarque, dr..

Everyday life during the occupation, the Resistance in the Vaucluse and the authors of the time, those, like René Char , who were actively engaged in the destiny of the ideals of the Resistance movement.

Potholers will be enthralled at this underground museum. It exhibits the Casteret collection and the limestone concretions brought back in over thirty years of exploration. There is also a reconstitution of an "ideal" site with stalactite..