Religious Sights in Provence

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

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.

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.

One of the famous Cistercian abbeys, the Abbaye du Thoronet was built in the late 12th century. This is a magical place, set in beautiful countryside of the Var. The abbey is wonderfully tranquil, surrounded as it is by woods and small streams.

The building of the church and the adjacent convent began in 1295. It is now the only large Gothic church in Provence.

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.

The cathedral of our lady of Nazareth, or Notre Dame de Nazareth, lies in the centre of Orange not far from the river.

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

With the arrival of French pope Clement V, Avignon was transformed into a religious and artistic centre. The grand Notre Dame cathedral has existed since the twelfth century, but the current building has been subjected to a number of alterations. The eye-catching gold statue of the Virgin Lady on the top of the tower is six metres in height and weighs 4,500 pounds.

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

Aix's cathedral has its origins in the 5th century and it has been added to throughout the centuries.

The heart of the old town of Sospel opens out into a wide sunny square dominated by the colourful facade of the Saint-Michel cathedral.

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).

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.

Formerly a Roman Catholic cathedral it is now a protestant church in the centre of the town of Uzes.

St. Pancras chapel was restored by a local team of volunterrs. It overlooks the town of Digne les Bains and offers a panoramic view of the various surrounding peaks.