Provence

Posted by Anura Samara, 17 May 2015

A long weekend in Provence. It sounds like a title for a book, but is an easy drive from Geneva.

One of the great things about living in Geneva is how easy it is to just hire a car on a Friday night and explore Europe over a single weekend.

Sisteron

We had driven past Sisteron on our return from driving in Italy and France and from the road had seen quick glimpses of its citadel high on a rocky peak over the river. So it had long been our plan to come back for a proper look and we thought we better do that before leaving Geneva.

The only problem with leaving Geneva after work and driving south to Sisteron was that we missed the views of the surrounding mountains in the dark. Arriving in Sisteron, it was clear that it was a larger town than we had imagined as we drove past. After checking into the hotel, we walked around town (in the wind – this was a constant theme for the weekend) to find dinner and get a feel for the place. The citadel was well lit up and dominated the views whenever you looked up.

In the morning, it was a steep but short climb from the town to the entrance to the citadel . The citadel itself is on many levels, first entering through a main gate into an outer wall and then further inside. As you climb, their are great views down onto the town, the river and across to the rocky outcrop facing the citadel. The grounds have “talking” information stations which give short histories in multiple languages, each one talking about a different part of the citadel’s history.

The very top of the citadel is dramatic. There are walled walkways that would have given lookouts a fantastic view looking both north and south. At the eastern end is a lookout that juts over the edge of the cliff. Built within the walls is a two storey belfry that had been used as a cell used to house important prisoners. And there is also the Lady of the Castle chapel at the top.

The citadel is just so dramatic, so we headed down to the river to take more photos from different angles. We wanted to get closer to the rock face that forms part of the Porte de Provence but the wind made it uncomfortable and trying to find a way by car led us down an ever-narrowing and rockier track – the GPS claimed it would get us there, but I thought better of it and reversed direction.

Arles

We stopped in at Arles on our way to Avignon. I never knew that France had such a rich Roman history.

We found the forum, which has a collection of monuments and ruins but it does have a full amphitheatre which looks like it is used for performances.

Just behind the forum is the arena which appears to be mostly complete. We paid to enter, but as with the arena in Verona I’m always disappointed when an ancient place is overlaid with more modern equipment. In this case, the arena is still used for bull-fighting so there is proper seating for spectactors and the interior of the ring is line with walls and gates to direct the bulls and protect the people. I guess it’s incredible to see such ancient structures still in use, but I find it spoils my appreciation of being able to stand on an in a complete structure actually built by the Romans.

Avignon

Avignon was our second overnight stop. We arrived early enough to park the car, check in at the hotel and then walk into the centre of the old town. We looked at the Papal Palace and walked down to the river to see the famous Pont d’Avignon before the sun set. We could therefore set out on the next day with a plan…

First up was the Papal Palace. I never realised that Avignon had been the seat of a series of Popes in the 14th century, who had built and then successively extended this massive palace on a rocky outcrop over the river Rhone. The palace shows the standard of many European historical sites – nearly the whole palace is accessible, with good explanations of each room as well as the overall history, design and architecture of the building. The sheer size is hard to grasp – when viewed from the main square, it’s an imposing solid front but if you want to understand the heights of its towers then you really need to stand in the gardens behind and crane your neck to look upwards. The palace was the true headquarters of the church, rather than just the home of the Pope, so there are many rooms devoted to the various bureaucratic functions of the church. We had a drink in the café at the top of the walls – it has a great view, although access is restricted by the physically narrow staircase.

We then walked through town and down to the Pont d’Avignon. I have to admit from the start that I haven’t heard the song, so knew less than nothing about this bridge before seeing it. The bridge as it is now is only the remains of a bridge that at the time stretched nearly a kilometre across the river, marking the crossing between the papal territory and France. But now the bridge ends abruptly in the middle of the river. There’s access from the bridge on to the city walls, which we walked along to climb to Rocher des Doms, a large park at the top of the cliff overlooking the river. From here, you get great views across the river to Villeneuve-les-Avignon and then back over the Papal Palace.

Nimes

Nimes is nearby, so we thought we’d stop to look at the Roman Arena there. Nimes really feels like a city where they are trying to get their planning right – nice wide boulevards with pedestrian areas, and the central square a real hub of community activities. As with Arles, the arena seems to be nearly fully intact and similarly is used for modern events such as bull-flighting.

Orange

We’d heard about the Roman Theatre in Orange – one of the last nearly intact ones left. So as Orange was roughly on the way home, we figured we’d stop there before the theatre closed to visitors and then continue home.

However, we hadn’t planned for French holiday traffic, which turned a planned 45 minute trip into something closer to 2 hours. We arrived literally with minutes of the closing time, but with some directions from a friendly local we clambered through the scrub and up the hill behind the theatre to a spot where you can look directly down into the theatre. With the full background of the rear wall, you suddenly realise how spectactular a roman theatre was – not just the amphitheatre which is what remains of most of them. With the wall behind the stage and the rocky outcrop behind, the theatre is effectively fully enclosed whilst still open to the sky. From the front, there’s just a solid wall but inside are rooms that would have been used to support the actors and the staging of plays.

Categories: France

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