Provence has its fair share of little hill towns, built on top of a high hill or rock which provides a good view in all directions, and natural defenses against attackers. The more precipitous the surrounding cliffs the better!
These towns are generally difficult or impossible to drive into and park, so usually we must park in spaces provided on the outskirts and walk up into the town.
Les Baux-de-Provence
I guess these places are all "Something-de-Provence" because there is another Something somewhere which is not in Provence? (true)
Baux is the place where the name "bauxite", for aluminium ore, was coined (in 1821). It is topped by the ruins of a fort, and there is a large flat area at the top providing views out to the south. Hat-tip to Marie for drawing our attention to Baux!
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| The wild poppies are out everywhere. |
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| Park then walk up to Baux. |
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| The higher the cliffs the better! |
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| The villagers must stay fit on these steep streets. |
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| A little rocky church in Baux. |
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| The view from the plateau above the village. |
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| They have a trebuchet and a battering ram on display at the fort. |
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| Simple crepes for lunch, in a tiny cafe. |
Roussillon
We visited Roussillon which is distinguished by the rich ochre-coloured cliffs it sits upon. These were a source of local industry, mining and processing the ochre for use in paints, etc., until 1930 when it became uneconomic. It is now a protected landscape. As you can see from the pictures the whole town reflects the colours of the ochre deposits.
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| Large sundial, in Roussillon. |
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| I think this is a piece of art. |
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| The warm ochre colour palette of the town. |
We found a nice little patisserie with fresh sandwiches here, so that was lunch.
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| Found these tasty little plums beside the road near Bonnieux. |
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| Bonnieux, behind a cyprus tree. |
There are rows of cyprus trees everywhere across this landscape. We tend to associate them with Tuscany and Italy, but they are common here too.
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