Things to see and do Pernes-Les-Fontaines

It is the only vestige (12th century) of the castle of the Counts of Toulouse fell into the lap of the terrible Maingre that reigned terror in the Mont Ventoux area in the 15th century. Watchtower at the time of the Popes, then the clock and bell with wrought iron were added, and that were supposed to represent the silhouette of Queen Jeanne, wife of the brother of Saint Louis. At top is a weather vane depicting a mouse chased by a cat. It gave birth to two Pernois sayings: "It is high as the cat of Pernes" and "it is in the middle like the cat of Pernes". This old dungeon also hosted the prisons of the city. The gallows still stands. They can be seen during a guided tour within the tourist office). You can access a panoramic terrace offering stunning views of the countryside and comtadine of Mount Ventoux, by taking a lovely calade and a rather steep staircase!

A must, this 12th-century tower contains a rare pictorial decoration. On two floors, you can discover medieval frescoes of the 13th century that have been remarkably preserved which tells the adventures and struggles led by Charles d'Anjou - brother of Saint Louis - in southern Italy, in the manner of a life-size cartoon. Its central character, Charles Anjou, is particularly well represented with his royal crown and white dress covered with lilies.

A typical building of the romanesque churches of Provence of which most elements date from the 12th century. Have been mentioned as a major priory in the 13th century like an important prieure, the Notre-Dame-de-Nazareth church would have been founded, according to the legend, by Charlemagne. The latter would have built the humble chapel that it was at the beginning, in thanks to the Virgin for the victory that he had just earned on the Saracens. The building was rebuilt in the following centuries. Here you can still see the traces of the fire lit by the baron of the Adrets in 1562. Inside, you can also notice the organ built in the 16th century then restored in 1975. Some chapels keep the traces of old paintings. Outside, you are attracted by the imposing appearance of its fortified bell tower, one of the characteristics is that there seems to be no way to access it. Its fame is such as the church was part of the first list of the French historical monuments, in 1840.

The church was rebuilt in 1867 on the site of the former Augustinian monastery of the 12th century. In 1987, after  being abandoned for 25 years, the cultural centre moved there, thus profiting from the many rooms of this magnificent building and its extraordinary vaulted show room. All murals paintings of Charles Barbentan are still visible in the sumptuous room on the 1st floor.

In the cobbled and vaulted cellars of this beautiful mansion of the 16th century, Hôtel de Brancas, you will discover an amazing collection of fifty bikes, from the velocipede of 1870 to the bike Paris-Beijing 2008, through the historical tandem of the first paid holidays in 1936. In the city that saw the birth of the famous Vélocio (Paul de Vivie, 1853-1930), brilliant inventor and figure of bicycle touring which significantly contributed to the improvement of cycles (detachable hubs, shifting of speed, equiangular frames, ...), Musée Comtadin du Cycle is of course a must-see!

Pernes has made a small "secular miracle" with its chapel of White Penance, as it has become a centrepiece of pernoise cultural activity. Located in 1152 on the ruins of a pagan temple dedicated to Diane, she was the first church in the village. Intimately interwoven in the heart of its medieval rampart, it almost disappeared several times during its nine centuries of history. The twentieth and his escapades were almost right from her, exhausting to ruin and the her into the forgotten memory after the opening of the Augustins cultural centre, in another historic church in the city. Priory, chapel, place of catechism, daycare, nursery school, variety room, festive room… It is finally in 2004 that the chapel opens its doors to the public and finds all its youth together with its walls, its soil, its alcoves, its original niches and its two mini chapels.