Tourist attractions Venasque

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 ..

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’..

Situated on the left side of the Gorges de la Nesque Road at an altitude of 734m, this belevedere owes its name to an ancient oppidum. A stele features an extract from Mistral’s Calendau . The view is remarkable of the string of gorges and steep C..

A signposted path with informative signs leads to the famous Giants’ Causeway , overlooked by the Aiguilles de fées (Fairies’ Peaks), which have been sculpted by erosion. This walk provides an opportunity to see the flora of the ochre hills (holm ..

The two trails are signposted (yellow or red depending on their length) and marked with signs that help to identify the particular flora in these ochre hills (holm and white oaks, juniper bushes, etc) and to explore the amazing landscapes formed by t..

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).

The building was commissioned by Pope Benoit XIII in 1404. A classic 17C door completes the façade. The flamboyant doorway known as the «Jewish door» was the door used by converted Jews after receiving the Sacrament. Inside, a balcony communicaties..

Dating from 1367, it was rebuilt in the 18C. The room for worship (upstairs) is very simple, yet richly decorated. On the ground floor and in the basement are the Mikva , which is a 14C ritual bath, and the bakeries, where unleavened bread was baked..

The best way to discover the village of Roussillon is to arrive at dusk when the oblique rays of the sun light up the ochre-painted houses. The sight is grandiose. Starting on the left of the Tourist Office, follow rue des Bourgades then ruelle de l'..

The conservatory of ochre and similar pigments is housed in the Mathieu factory which used to transform ochre extracted from nearby quarries. It explains the manufacturing process of the pigment used in paints and colourwashes: kneading to eliminate ..

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..

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.

This Hôtel-Dieu was housed in a majestic 18C building founded by Bishop Malachie d'Inguimbert from Carpentras, who is buried in the hospital’s Baroque chapel . Don’t miss the Apothicairerie , which houses a fine collection of earthenware pots, an..

This avenue with its venerable plane trees is the ideal place to leave your car in the shade before exploring the old town.

This "hospital" built in 1669 to take in the needy is now a cultural centre presenting temporary exhibitions.

This triumphal arch has retained part of its ornamentation depicting two captives chained to a tree, one dressed in a tunic, the other in an animal hide.

Built in the 17C in Jesuit style, the chapel is used nowadays for showing contemporary art exhibitions.

This 18C townhouse with its reconstructed furniture and decoration gives a good idea of the interior of a bourgeois house in Carpentras before the Revolution.