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Day Trip to Les Baux de Provence

A visit to the stunning medieval village with the best castle in Provence

featured in Sights reviews Author Nicola Henderson, Site Editor Updated

After a busy visit to Arles, you would do well to leave the city for the expanse of the Alpilles, an impressive limestone range to the north-east. With an eerie luminosity the mountain chain is at once inviting and distant. But there's also familiarity: the barren, almost white rocks remind you of the Roman theatre and the Arena you left behind in Arles. And the crowds near and in Les Baux-de-Provence will rival and surpass those you encountered in the city.

If you take the Alpilles route to St. Rémy-de-Provence, you should choose the slight detour to Les Baux. Even if you do not want to visit (and you may have your reasons), you will be more than awed by the sight of this village, and its castle ruins, on top of a steep cliff. Bau in Provençal means escarpment and if ever you wanted to see the word illustrated, here it is.

When your eyes move down from the lofty spectacle, you will soon see that you're not the only visitor to Les Baux. Along the departmental road, a continuous string of parked cars soon begins on either side. The - pricey -  parking lot below the village is most likely full. You have a choice: either you join the almost 2 million visitors per year and park up, or pass on with just a distant impression.

Les Baux itself is a cramped village that dwells below the extensive ruins of a Medieval castle. All this on a ledge of 200 meters wide and 900 meters long. In the midst of thousands of summer tourists it may seem hard to feel its ancient history, but a quiet side street, a climb to the ruins, or a stolen view of the Alpilles around could bring you a sense of history.

Whilst the village is as charming and pretty as you could wish for, it is the wonderful Medieval castle that attracts all the visitors. It is a vast, ruinous place which has been brought back to life by the placement of walkways amongst the ruins, capapult games, archery lessons, and plenty of Medieval re-enactments. You can easily spend a whole day here with the kids. Even if you don't want to join in the frivolities, the views from the castle over the Alpilles and the Bouches du Rhone are spectacular. With vineyards and olive groves and white spiky mountains, it is a glorious sight.

When we visited this summer, the narrow, traffic-free, cobble-stoned streets were jam packed. All of a sudden, above the din of all those visitors, we heard the sound of a guitar and an ensemble of voices. A group emerged, singing chansons of Georges Brassens. Then the leader of the troupe invited everyone to join them for a free concert on the grounds of the castle. It was as if the troubadours had never left. 

Find out more about Les Baux de Provence.

 

 

Location

Map of the surrounding area