193 Best Sights in Provence, France

Although this disconcertingly fortresslike palace seems like just one colossal building, it actually consists of two different structures: the severe Palais Vieux (Old Palace), built between 1334 and 1342 by Pope Benedict XII, a member of the Cistercian order, which frowned on frivolity, and the more decorative Palais Nouveau (New Palace), built in the following decade by the artsy, lavish-living Pope Clement VI. The Great Court, entryway to the complex, links the two. The interiors are austere—many original furnishings were returned to Rome with the papacy, and others were lost during the French Revolution—so some imagination is required to picture the medieval splendor, awash with color and with worldly clerics enjoying what the 14th-century Italian poet Petrarch called "licentious banquets."

The main rooms of the Palais Vieux are the Consistory (Council Hall), decorated with some excellent 14th-century frescoes by Simone Martini; the Chapelle St-Jean, with original frescoes by Matteo Giovanetti; the Grand Tinel, or Salle des Festins (Feast Hall), with a majestic vaulted roof and a series of 18th-century Gobelin tapestries; the Chapelle St-Martial, with more Giovanetti frescoes; and the Chambre du Cerf, with a richly decorated ceiling, murals featuring a stag hunt, and a delightful view of Avignon. The principal attractions of the Palais Nouveau are the Grande Audience, a magnificent two-nave hall on the ground floor, and, upstairs, the Chapelle Clémentine, where the college of cardinals once gathered to elect new popes.

This extravagant Baroque villa was built in 1665 as a country house for the duke of Vendôme. Its position just outside the city's inner circle allowed the duke to commute discreetly from his official home on Cours Mirabeau to this retreat, where his mistress, La Belle du Canet, was comfortably installed. The villa was expanded and heightened in the 18th century to draw attention to the classical orders—Ionic, Doric, and Corinthian—on parade in the row of neo-Grecian columns. Inside the cool, broad chambers you can find a collection of Provençal furniture and artwork. Note the two, curious, giant Atlantes that hold up the interior balcony.

The ancient Roman aqueduct is shockingly noble in its symmetry, and its strong arches are a testimony to engineering concepts that were relatively new in the 1st century AD, when the structure was built under Emperor Claudius. Today, the surrounding nature is unsullied, with the Gardon River flowing through a rocky gorge unperturbed by the work of master engineering that straddles it. In fact, one of the preferred ways of viewing the bridge is via canoe or kayak, which are for rent upstream.

You can approach the aqueduct from either side of the Gardon River. If you choose the south side (Rive Droite), the walk to the pont (bridge) is shorter and the views arguably better. Although the spectacular walkway along the top of the aqueduct is now off-limits, the sight of the bridge is still breathtaking. The nearby Espaces Culturels details the rich history of the bridge—and Roman France at the time—and includes an interactive area for kids.

Set on a bluff above town, this lush hilltop garden has grand Mediterranean pines, a man-made lake (complete with camera-ready swans), plus glorious views of the palace, the rooftops of Old Avignon, the Pont St-Bénézet, and formidable Villeneuve across the Rhône. On the horizon loom Mont Ventoux, the Luberon, and Les Alpilles. The garden has lots of history as well: often called the "cradle of Avignon," its rocky grottoes were among the first human habitations in the area.

Considered at the time a radical experiment in collective living, Le Corbusier's masterpiece "habitat system" was completed in 1952. The mammoth building, set in the middle of a green park with unobstructed views of the sea, contains 337 apartments with 23 different floor plans that were groundbreaking in their simplicity, functionality, and practicality. Each came with views; light; and on-site access to a restaurant, a bar, shops, childcare, a rooftop jogging track, a playground, and a stage. The tourist office's guided tours (reservations can be made online) of the UNESCO World Heritage site take you to a model apartment, the rooftop, and several common areas. The Cité also now houses a restaurant, bar, hotel, and the MaMO arts center—all open to the public.

Set amid gardens, vineyards, olive groves, and woods, this stunning outpost of a Paris-based foundation has a world-class art collection that would be right at home in any major city. The foundation is in a renovated farmhouse, whose historic status necessitated creating a separate space to house the art. The result was a 20,000-square-foot, belowground gallery, whose rooms are ingeniously illuminated via a ground-floor pool that doubles as a glass ceiling. You can also see dozens of site-specific works on a stroll through the property. Afterward, sip a glass of local wine at the on-site café.

Put yourself in the hands of an expert under the arched ceilings of this new, state-of-the-art tasting room set in an ancient wine cave. This is a great opportunity to sample the region's majestic reds and dazzling whites side by side, or you can custom-design your own tasting from the 200 wines offered by the 120 estates represented here. All of the wines can be purchased at Vinadea, just above the Vinothèque.

Don't miss the formal Italianate gardens of Fort St-André, littered with remains of the abbey that preceded the fortifications. The gardens are now privately owned.

Founded in the 4th century by St-Cassien, who sailed into Marseille full of fresh ideas on monasticism that he acquired in Palestine and Egypt, this church grew to formidable proportions. With a Romanesque design, the structure would be as much at home in the Middle East as its founder was. The crypt, St-Cassien's original, is preserved beneath the medieval church, and in the evocative nooks and crannies you can find the 5th-century sarcophagus that allegedly holds the martyr's remains. Upstairs, a reliquary contains what's left of St-Victor, who was ground to death between millstones, probably by Romans. There's also a passage into tiny catacombs where early Christians worshipped St-Lazarus and Mary Magdalene, said to have washed ashore at Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer, in the Camargue.

Built in 1761, this former grain market serves as a post office today—a rather spectacular building for a prosaic service. The frieze, portraying an allegory of the Rhône and Durance rivers, is the work of Aix sculptor Jean Chaste (1726–93); he also created the fountain out in front. That's a real Roman column at the fountain's top.

North of the city center is the Arc de Triomphe, which once straddled the Via Agrippa between Lyon and Arles. Three arches support a heavy double attic (horizontal top) floridly decorated with battle scenes and marine symbols, references to Augustus's victories at Actium. The arch, which dates from about 20 BC, is superbly preserved—particularly its north side—but to view it on foot, you'll have to cross a roundabout seething with traffic.

Even if you've never read or seen Marcel Pagnol's trilogy of plays and films Marius, Fanny, and César (think of it as a three-part French Casablanca), you can still get a sense of its earthy, Old Marseille feeling at the bar in which it was set. The walls are blanketed with murals, and comfortable café chairs fill the place—all in an effort to faithfully reproduce the bar as it was in the days when the bartender César, his son Marius, and Fanny, the shellfish girl, lived out their salty drama of love, honor, and the call of the sea.

From this spot you can overlook the area's fields and mas (farms), and the modern vacation homes are differentiated from the older properties only by their aqua-blue pools. Belvédère is just downhill from the château; look for the signs.

Although it's known as the market center for the wines of the Var, Brignoles's largest attraction is still the Abbaye de la Celle, a 12th-century Benedictine abbey that served as a convent until the 17th century and was abandoned until Maria Fournier, owner of the Île de Porquerolles, opened it as a hotel in 1945. It's now the site of celebrated chef Alain Ducasse's culinary hideaway, Hostellerie de l'Abbaye de La Celle. In general, however, the town has staunchly continued to resist change. In fact, the simple Romanesque chapel housing a 14th-century Christ figure—a widely acclaimed masterpiece by an unknown artist—still serves as the parish church.

Touring the calanques, whose fjordlike finger-coves probe the rocky coastline, is a must. Either take a sightseeing cruise in a boat that dips into each calanque in turn (tickets, sold at the eastern end of the port, are €19–€33, depending on how many calanques you see) or hike across the cliff tops, clambering down the steep sides to these barely accessible retreats. One boat trip lets you swim in the turquoise waters under Cap Canaille, but that must be booked at the kiosk in the morning (four to five departures per day, depending on the weather and water temperature).

Although of the calanques closest to Cassis, Port Miou is the least attractive—it was a pierre de Cassis (Cassis stone) quarry until 1982 when the calanques became protected sites—it now has an active leisure and fishing port. Calanque Port Pin is prettier, with wind-twisted pines growing at angles from white-rock cliffs. But with its tiny beach and jagged cliffs looming overhead, covered with gnarled pine and scrub and its rock spur known to climbers as the "finger of God," Calanque En Vau, reachable via a challenging two-hour hike both there and back (or your own private boat), is a small piece of paradise.

One of the finest of L'Isle's mansions, the 18th-century Hôtel de Campredon has been restored and reinvented as a modern-art gallery, mounting three temporary exhibitions per year.

Head south on the D16 to the D2816 around the cape for a tremendous view across the Bay of Toulon.

Directly opposite the Maison Carrée and looking a bit like an airport terminal, the glass-fronted Carrée d'Art was designed by British architect Sir Norman Foster. It literally reflects the Maison Carrée's creamy symmetry and figuratively answers it with a featherlight deconstructed colonnade. In addition to a library and archives, the sleek, modern structure houses the Musée d'Art Contemporain (Contemporary Art Museum), with a permanent collection of works that date from 1960 and onward and fall into three categories: French painting and sculpture; English, American, and German works; and Mediterranean styles. There are often temporary exhibits of new work, too. Atop the museum, enjoy spectacular city views over lunch at the Ciel de Nîmes. The restaurant, which closes at 6 pm, is also an excellent spot for afternoon tea or a drink.

This gargantuan, neo-Byzantine, 19th-century fantasy was built under Napoléon III—but not before he'd ordered the partial destruction of the lovely 11th-century original, once a perfect example of the Provençal Romanesque style. You can view the flashy interior (think marble and rich red porphyry inlay) of the newer of the two churches; the medieval one is being restored.

Nîmes Cathedral was damaged by Protestants during the 16th-century Wars of Religion but still shows traces of its original construction in 1096. A remarkably preserved Romanesque frieze portrays Adam and Eve cowering in shame, the gory slaughter of Abel, and a flood-wearied Noah. Inside, look for the 4th-century sarcophagus (third chapel on the right) and a magnificent 17th-century chapel in the apse.

Fragments from a Gallo-Roman basilica were used to build this solemn, Romanesque cathedral, whose cloister is surrounded by richly sculpted columns and arches.

Built in a pure Provençal Romanesque style in the 12th century, this cathedral was soon dwarfed by the extravagant palace that rose beside it. The 14th century saw the addition of a cupola, which promptly collapsed. As rebuilt in 1425, the cathedral is a marvel of stacked arches with a strong Byzantine flavor and is topped with a gargantuan Virgin Mary lantern—a 19th-century afterthought—whose glow can be seen for miles around.

The onetime home of the Bishops of Uzès, the original Saint-Théodont was built in 1090 on the site of a Roman temple, but it was demolished during the ensuing religious wars. Though the impressive Fenestrelle Tower—a ringer for the Tower of Pisa minus the tilt—remains, it is too delicate to actually visit. The 19th-century neo-Romanesque facade shelters a pared-down interior and one of the oldest pipe organs in France. The views from the grounds are lovely.

Many eras of architectural history are clearly delineated and preserved here. The cathedral has a double nave—Romanesque and Gothic side by side—and a Merovingian (5th-century) baptistery, its colonnade mostly recovered from Roman temples built to honor pagan deities. The deep bath on the floor is a remnant of the total-immersion baptisms that used to occur here, marking the forsaking of one's old life (going down into the water) for a new life in Christ (rising up from the water). Shutters hide the ornate 16th-century carvings on the portals, opened by a guide on request. The guide can also lead you into the tranquil Romanesque cloister next door, with carved pillars and slender columns.

The extraordinary 15th-century Triptyque du Buisson Ardent (Mary and the Burning Bush) was painted by Nicolas Froment in the heat of inspiration following his travels in Italy and Flanders, and depicts the generous art patrons King René and Queen Jeanne kneeling on either side of the Virgin, who is poised above a burning bush. To avoid light damage, it's rarely opened for viewing; check with the tourist office beforehand.

At the easternmost point of the Etang du Vaccarès, La Capeliére has a good visitor center with maps as well as exhibits on wildlife. There are three sentiers de découverte (discovery trails) radiating from its pond-side position, each leading to a small observatory.

You can pick up maps and get other information at this center, just up the D570 from the Parc Ornithologique at Pont de Gau. To explore this area, you'll have to strike out on foot, bicycle, or horseback (the park's website has a downloadable English-language brochure with stables clearly marked on a map). Note that you are not allowed to diverge from marked trails.

The bounty of the cardinals nourished this abbey, whose name translates, literally, to the Charterhouse of the Valley of Blessings. Inside it are spare cells with panels illuminating monastic life; the vast 14th-century cloître du cimetière (cemetery cloister); a smaller Romanesque cloister; and, within what remains of the abbey church, the Gothic tomb of Pope Innocent VI. Theatrical events are staged here during Avignon's annual theater festival.

Despite Tarascon's modern-day drawbacks, with the walls of its formidable château plunging straight into the roaring Rhône, this ancient city on the river presents a daunting challenge to Beaucaire, its traditional enemy across the water. Begun in the 15th century by the noble Anjou family on the site of a Roman castellum, the castle grew through the generations into a splendid structure, crowned with both round and square towers and elegantly furnished. René the Good (1409–80) held court here, entertaining luminaries of the age.

The castle owes its superb preservation to its use, through the ensuing centuries, as a prison. It first served as such in the 17th century, and it released its last prisoner in 1926. Complete with a moat, a drawbridge, and a lovely faceted spiral staircase, it retains its beautiful decorative Renaissance stonework and original cross-mullioned windows.

Fontaine has its own ruined château, perched romantically on a forested hilltop over the town and illuminated at night. First built around the year 1000 and embellished in the 14th century by the bishops of Cavaillon, the castle was destroyed in the 15th century and forms little more than a sawtooth silhouette against the sky.

If you're disinclined to spend your vacation sniffing and sipping, climb the hill to the ruins of the château. Though it was destroyed in the Wars of Religion (1562–98) between Catholics and Huguenots and its remaining donjon (keep) blasted by the Germans in World War II, it still commands a magnificent position. From this rise in the rolling vineyards, you can enjoy wraparound views of Avignon, the Luberon, and Mont Ventoux.