Religious Sights in Provence

This magnificent building was built for Pope Benedict III in 1335 as a residence and a 'grand project'. It's the largest Gothic palace in the world (at 15,000 square metres) and is in the top ten most visited monuments in France (over 650,000 visitors per year).

The synagogue of Carpentras is the oldest synagogue still in activity in France.

The Petit Palais museum owes its name to the familiar name of the Archbishops Palace in which it is installed, name that it was given by reference to the great neighbouring palace: the Palais des Papes.

Beautiful baroque architecture, examples of 17th- and 18th-century frescoes and furniture and a large terraced garden.

The medieval church of Notre-Dame du Puy was raised to cathedral status in 1244, when the bishop transferred from Antibes to Grasse.

The remarkable architecture and sympathetic restoration work make this one of the best Carmelite abbeys in the Vaucluse region and one that is less frequently visited by tourists.

A great way to discover the religious heritage of the area and a great example of Romanesque architecture.

This large cathedral was originally built in 1096 and has undergone many additions and modifications over the centuries.

Once connected to the cathedral by a semicircular vaulted corridor, the baptistery is a beautiful building situated in the narrow streets of Venasque.

This old Romanesque style church dates back to the 10th century and was modified in the 12th century. Its austere exterior matches very plain interior decor, very typical to the Romanesque style of the old ages.

This church lies at the centre of what was the old Medieval village of Vaison la Romaine. It was built in the 11th century over the remains of early Christian buildings.

From the outside you can't really tell what a beautiful cathedral this is, rich with carvings, gold leaf and painted walls, ceilings and archways.

Classified as a historic monument this 15th-century catholic church is located in the heart of the village of Biot.

Graves, mausoleums and sarcophagi at this site date back to the beginning of the Roman empire, but it wasn't until the early Christian period that there was a large flurry of activity here.

Pope Benedict XIII ordered the reconstruction of this building after the original Romanesque church collapsed, in 1404.

Located in Collobireres, the old Carthusian monastery of Our Lady of La Verne is close in distance from the major tourist towns.

At the centre of the town's activity, the Church of Saint-Michel opens on to a square crossed by one of the main roads.

This chapel was originally built after a local woodsman saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary in the clouds above the site in 1519. The first stone for the building was laid a month after the vision.