The Manosque area, where Giono's footsteps still echo, bordered to the east by the Valensole plateau and the Verdon canyon, and to the west by the Luberon and the Forcalquier area, welcomes you to the gates of Haute-Provence. Behind you, the mountain of Lure and its country and in front of you, the Durance which runs through its vast plain. In the past, the Durance River was a barrier, as it was sometimes "untamable" and separated the two regions. Today, regulated by numerous dams from Serre-Ponçon, it has become more compassionate and easy to cross, allowing free circulation in the whole country around Manosque.This small town, located at the extreme tip of the Luberon, is, for all Provençals, the country of Jean Giono, the famous writer. Son of a shoemaker, the author was born there in 1895 and never left it for long. Better than anyone else, he knew how to describe the specific character of this town where, in his words, "the streets circulated between the farms stuck together" Once a medieval town protected by its ramparts and a tower now in ruins (the Mont d'Or tower, dating from the 10th century and from which you can enjoy a magnificent 360° panorama), this city is no longer only turned towards its opulent agricultural past. The tourists, numerous now, appreciate the old city with its friendly atmosphere. If the ramparts of the medieval enclosure, which followed the line of the current boulevards, have disappeared nowadays, the architectural heritage remains very present in the old city, in particular with its famous "roofs" where one tends to imagine Giono's Hussar.Manosque also hosts today many workers of the nuclear research center of Cadarache (the famous ITER project, for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor). Researchers and tourists alike appreciate this dynamic, lively and peaceful town with its many fountains, squares and beautiful plane trees. They also enjoy walking in its welcoming and cool streets as well as on the nearby hills: the Mont d'Or and the hill of Toutes-Aures, where the primitive city was located and where a perched chapel dedicated to Saint Pancrace remains. If there is little left of the vast fortified enclosure which followed the line of the large boulevards of today, except for two fortified gates, the architectural heritage of the city is very rich
