Tourist attractions Tarascon

The must-see buildings in Les Baux include: the former town hall and its museum of "santons" (Christmas crib figures), and the Porcelet mansion which houses the Museum dedicated to Yves Brayer, who painted the pastoral scenes in the Péniten..

From the Gallo-Roman period up to the end of the Middle Ages, the Alyscamps ("Champs-Élysées") was one of the most prestigious necropolises in the West. Its heyday came when the necropolis was Christianised, with relics from St Trophimus an..

With its ancient patinated stonework, delicate structure and backdrop of green hills and waters of the Gardon, this grandiose feat of engineering built in the 1C continues to amaze. It was part of a 50km-long aqueduct built to bring spring water from..

This 15 000m Palais des Papes is made up of the Old Palace and the New Palace. The former, a fortress with austere architecture, was commissioned by Benoît XII in 1334. Artist and prodigy, Clément VI, grand prince of the Church, must have found it ra..

One of the favourite residences of King René of Anjou , who commissioned the highly refined exterior decoration. Don't miss the outer bailey and apothecary, the royal court with the cantors' chapel and the many-sided turret housing a stairway. The..

Its classical 17C façade, terraces and balustrades decorated with lions and flower urns overlook a pond and Italian-style park. The interior of the château, designed by Louis-François de Valfenière, features an 18C décor of Italian inspiration. The f..

Located between Arles and Avignon, the Alpilles chain is a geological extension of the Luberon, divided into the Alpilles des Baux to the West and the Alpilles d’Eygalières to the East. The villages ( Les Baux-de-Provence , Fontvieille, Maussane, etc..

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.

The Arles arenas which were transformed into a fortress in the 5th and 6th C (retaining their two, «Saracen towers» - medieval alterations) and then into a veritable «town within a town», have been extremely well conserved. Today the arenas are the s..

With its two impressively preserved columns standing in a landscape of rare elegance, the Théâtre Antique is one of the greatest Roman theatres from the end of the 1C BC. It served as quarry from the 5C, was transformed into a fortified reduit in the..

The carved decoration of the 12C-14C cloisters is most remarkable, in particular that of the capitals and the magnificent corner pillars in the north gallery (on the left on entering). Those in the east gallery, next to the refectory, depict the Life..

Large statuary (the colossal statue of Auguste that adorned the stage of the theatre), models illustrating how the city and its monuments developed in imperial times, the daily life of the people of Arles in Ancient times, splendid mosaics and an a..

A collection donated to a couple of Avignon painters by the Paris dress designer, Jacques Doucet : paintings by Cézanne, Sisley, Manet, Derain, Picasso, Modigliani ( The Pink Blouse ) and Foujita, and The Railway Waggons , painted by Vincent Van Go..

The Pope bought Cardinal Arnaud de Via’s palace in 1335 to install the bishop’s house there. It now houses the Petit Palais Museum’s paintings, of which the Campana Collection of Italian paintings from the 13C and 16C is the high point. Don’t miss ..

The «Bridge of Avignon» which was in fact built for pedestrians and cavaliers was about 900m long with 22 arches and ended at the Tower of Philippe-le-Bel de Villeneuve-lès-Avignon. Situated on one of the bridge supports, the chapel of St-Nicholas ..

A stone’s throw from the Papal Palace. From the different levels you can take in views of the Rhône, St Bénézet Bridge, Philippe-le-Bel Tower and the fort of St André de Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, Mt Ventoux, the Alpilles…

This former townhouse housed the famous calico print factory beginning in 1806. The museum, devoted to these colourful fabrics, has nearly 40,000 wood print blocks with brass tips. The blocks were applied manually, then hammered by workers who printe..

The event is immortalised in a painting by Carle Van Loo depicting a kindly-looking Tarasque. The collegial church, built in the 12C and partly reconstructed in the 14C, has preserved its attractive Romanesque gate (south side), although the scul..

First built in the 11C, it was torn down on Richelieu's orders. It used to be protected by a wall, the trace of which you can still follow. As you go, you will discover the strange polygonal tower perched on a rocky spur, the façades dominating the..

A signposted path leads to the chapel carved out of the rock which contains the tomb of St Roman. From the terrace, there is a fine view over the Rhône, Avignon and the Ventoux area with Tarascon in the foreground. On the way back down, note the ..