Les Baux de Provence

Les Baux, set against the craggy limestone range of Les Alpilles, is a place which has contributed more than any other to the romantic image of Provence. Though today it is a half-ruined village with a population of barely five hundred, in the Middle Ages it was a community of at least six thousand inhabitants ruled by a family famously described by the poet Mistral as “as race of eagles, never vassals” ~ the epitome of the powerful, independent spirit of Provence.

The small village below the enormous ruins of the castle is made up of no more than two narrow streets lined with a number of severe but elegant Renaissance mansions dating from the period when Les Baux was rebuilt as a wealthy Protestant stronghold.

The perched village of Les Baux ~ a parched landscape of white rock & olive trees

The ruins in the medieval citadel extend like the vestiges of an ancient site.

The dramatic “bau” or escarpment

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Click here for photos of the Olive Tree & Olive oil.

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