Tourist Attractions & Monuments en Provence

This suspension road bridge, located at the confluence of the Durance River, has always been an essential crossing point between Aix-en-Provence and Manosque. First built in the 15th century, it has undergone several destructions and reconstructions due to its strategic importance and lucrative toll. You can see the piers of the former suspension bridge, dating from 1832. Over time, various types of bridge were built, including a suspension bridge dating from 1835, which is now a listed monument. Despite damage during the World Wars and the Liberation, the bridge has always been rebuilt. The latest modern version dates back to 1988.

To the south of the rampart is the Fort, now a café. Two adjoining buildings reinforce the rampart at the rear, visible for a short distance. Erected in 1377, this rampart forms the eastern facade of the second enclosure of the old village of Grambois. It is built of rubble stone and is two metres thick, overlooking the village square dedicated to it. Featuring 8 narrow archways, it faces north, opposite the church.

Behind the monumental cross, built in 1753, stands the Tourrache, a tall rectangular tower whose projecting brackets at the top form the north face of the rampart. During the Wars of Religion in the 16th century, several improvements were made to the Grambois ramparts. However, despite these precautions, the Savoyard army stormed and pillaged Grambois in December 1590, marking the most tragic episode in its history. The tower was later used as a consular house in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The restored streets of the old village of Grambois are mainly cobbled, with occasional staircases featuring mule steps. Going down the rue de la mairie, two houses catch the eye with their magnificent facades. The first is set against the wall of the fortified enclosure. Its elegant basket-handle porch, topped by a mullioned window, is a real eye-catcher. The second, at the corner of Portail Neuf, rests against the surrounding wall and features a superb arched porch topped by an oculus.

In 1236, the Count of Forcalquier granted the castle to his vassals Pierre and Guillaume Jourdan. In 1388, it became a refuge for a third of the population when Bastide des Jourdans was fortified against danger. A 1555 inventory describes a relatively modest building that retains its original medieval structure, with a ^13th-century base belonging to the Jourdan brothers. The square tower and main building were erected in the late ^14th and early ^15th centuries. Between 1530 and 1790, the Astouard and Coriolis families successively owned and renovated the property. The last lord, Joseph de Coriolis, died in 1784. At the end of the ^19th century, a painter and notary (ancestor of the current owner) bought it and restored it to its current state. Today, Château de la Bastide des Jourdans is privately owned and not open to visitors, except on rare occasions.

The village church was built in the late 12th century as an annex to Saint-André de Villeneuve. Later, it became a parish attached to the chapter of Aix Cathedral. The original medieval church was partially rebuilt and enlarged in the 17th century to accommodate a growing population. Work was carried out in 1610 to enlarge the nave and add a bell tower. Over the following centuries, a number of modifications were made, most notably in the 19th century, when the bell tower was raised and the roof replaced. Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century furniture can be seen inside. Although the church is closed, keys can be obtained from the town hall for visits.

Departing from Place Montfort, which has been Place du Marché since 1817, this little train will take you through 2,000 years of history in around three-quarters of an hour. First, we head for the 14-hectare Gallo-Roman city, through the sites of Puymin and La Villasse, where gigantic villas alternate with temples, sanctuaries and an ancient theater... Then, holding your breath, you'll cross the elegant Roman bridge over the Ouvèze to reach the upper town, dominated by its belfry. This part of the town flourished in medieval times. Wander around the castle, the ^12th-century cloister adjoining the cathedral and the Saint-Quentin chapel. Finally, we return to reality in the lively streets of the Provencal village.

Until the end of the 17th century, Cadenet had no fountains within its ramparts. Water supply depended on wells and cisterns: wells provided drinking water, while cisterns were used to collect and store water. After the abolition of feudal rights, the water from the château was redirected to the town and distributed to five new fountains built in 1806 under the 1st Empire. Today, water is still of great importance to the population, but the village fountains are now supplied with water from the city network. You can discover these fountains and wash-houses as you stroll through the village.

The fountains

Fontaine Maudite / Fontaine aux Pois-Chiches / Fontaine de l'Horloge / La Fontaine de la rue du 8 mai 1945 / Fontaine et Lavoir des Hérauts / Fontaine au Grotesque

Washhouses

Avenue Gambetta washhouse / Fontaine de l'Aube washhouse / Rue Raspail washhouse and fountain

Since 1995, we've been going way back in time, to the hamlet of Les Bruns. Once again, Roman presence is attested as early as the first century of our era. First a small rural building, followed in the 2nd century by a Gallo-Roman villa. A villa in the sense of a group of dwellings, since it comprises a farm on the one hand, and a dwelling and thermal baths on the other. 27 rooms on no less than 1,000m2. In the dwelling house, archaeologists even discovered the family archives in the master's study. The particularity of this villa is that it is 80 meters long, in contrast to the classical organization of buildings around an atrium. On the walls, blue was found in the bathtub, yellow in the frigidarium and red in the outdoor pool. For all these reasons, this is a highly valuable archaeological site.