' Montélimar, two minutes' stop '
The Provençal Drôme runs its carpet of vineyards and lavender at the foot of Montélimar, charming province of province which has made nougat its national emblem. A museum to witness it, a pedestrian center with lots of shops, a century-old walkway that orchestrates the fountain's game, terraces that are happy with the hour of the aniset: Here's the song of the ciclets! But we spend more than we stay, far too curious to discover its beautiful region. High-perched villages carved in a medieval rock sink here peaceful days. Poët-Laval, among the most beautiful villages in France, Dieulefit, the capital of pottery, Nyons and its market for olives, or Grignan, Madame de Sévigné's fief: Each bourgade holds the visitor in its stone lace jupons. The country of Montélimar stands for all sauces: Donzère's chocolate shop, Truffe's house and Tricastin and vineyards delight the epicureans. We descend further south and already the relief takes a few strenuous steps, the road enlivens the feet of vine and the villages wander around some medieval remains lost in the enclave of the Papes.
Perles du Vaucluse
Classified as UNESCO heritage and labeled Art City by the Ministry of Culture, Avignon displays its admirable pedigree right away. The girl of the river was touched by grace, if not of God, at least of his disciples, between xiiith and XIV century when she became the seat of the papacy. A blessing that transformed the city's destiny, including the palace of the Papes Palace, Europe's largest Gothic palace and the only Pontifical Palace built outside Rome. The palace is an example of this prodigious past in its ramparts.
After entering Notre-Dame-des-Doms Cathedral and the Petit-Palais for a glance at the collections of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, we have to welcome the famous bridge of the city - Saint-Bénezet of its real name. Precious and baroque on the Italian, bourgeois or even vanitous facades in some neighborhoods, Avignon remains a popular city that has the glimpse of its mouthpieces and its troubadours.
Forty kilometers separate us from one of the most beautiful villages in France: Gordes, the Lubéron emblem. All stone dressed and carved in calad, the village stands up to the rocky promontory that dominates the valley of Apt. Its monumental castle, which the adjacent church makes all the more imposing, enjoys a breathtaking view of fields of olive trees and vineyards. It's crazy as some villages in Provence capture artistic sensitivity! Gorles counts in his golden book the good graces of Chagall and Vasarely, among others…
Proud Camargue
We're going south to scratch the beautiful Camargue in Arles. The one that once was metropolis of Roman Gaul - witness the arenas, the ancient theater, the thermes of Constantine and the necropolis - has since captured the soul of the guards and gypsies. We can say that she has proud character! A landscape of water and land battered by hooves, these panoramas change according to the winds, the sea and the rivers that try to take the step on the land. This nature, surrounded by man, is also the scene of wild fauna, protected at Camargue's regional natural park. The bull reigns here as an absolute master. However, he shares the star with the horse that provides him with a "diplomatic" link with men. Black bulls, white horses: There would be a few pink touches… And then the flamants come out in the distance, in these swamps over the years a ornithological reserve.
Beautiful insolent
Then we find the terrible child of Provence: Marseille, which seems all the more excessive alongside its wise neighbor, Aix-en-Provence, the cleanliness of the guesthouse that we will welcome by the way. Special hotels adorned with balconies and ironworks, elegantly paved alleys, carved fountains, bourgeois facades… Aix ranks among the cities of art and culture, the nobility of its heritage. But from Provence, we expect more character than we will find without any measure in Marseille, between the foul of mistral and wild beauty of the calanques. It changes in ways at the discretion of its neighborhoods: The Basket and Endoume reveal its heart of yesteryear when the Joliette propels it onto the contemporary stage; The gardens of the Longchamp Palace say it romantic when those of Pharo expose its passion for the Mediterranean… And we see her negotiate without a complex at the Old Port from the back of the fishing, then make his beautiful in the boutiques of the creators rue Paradis… All this under the benevolent eye of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde, the Good Mother of the Phocéean city. In the same breath, the calanques, limestone lace of shredded stones, will be tried.
Garned Bouquets
From eyes, nose or mouth, we do not know where to give head in front of the Provençal plates held by a myriad of scents and flavors: fruits and vegetables with sunshine, aromatic herbs, oils and profusion olives, earth gibeers, Mediterranean fish, etc. A simple mouse of lamb lamb with a papeton of eggplants and a Provençal tomato nail the noose to the most demanding, So what about tians, pants, barigoules, daubs, feet and packages, suppose, bouillabaisse, aiolis, tapenades and other spreads? And as if all this wasn't enough, the nobility of the wine-growing area from the southern Rhône to the slopes of Aix would be worth each meal.
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When is it? We don't necessarily think about it, but at Christmas, Provence is majestic, the sanons are out, the truffle is there and the Christmas markets are blowing.
Go there. By plane, the closest airports are those of Lyon and Marseille. By train you can arrive by the Gare de Montélimar, Avignon, Arles, Aix-en-Provence or Marseille.
AIR FRANCE - More information on the site
SNCF - More information on the site
Useful. To prepare his getaway best.
REGIONAL TOURISM COMMITTEE - More information on the site
