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Home > Discover the Alpes de Haute-Provence > Towns, small towns and typical villages > Cereste
Cereste
The hyphen between the Pays d'Apt and the Pays de Giono | TOURIST INFORMATION |
- Cereste Tourist Office : Tel. 04.92.79.09.84.
- See also : Banon, Manosque, Saint-Michel-l’Observatoire, Mane, Dauphin, Forcalquier.
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 MORE ABOUT THIS VILLAGE IN THE LUBERON REGIONAL PARKCéreste, the limit of the Pays d’Apt and the Pays de Giono, is at the entrance to the Alpes de Haute-Provence, protected in the north by the monts du Vaucluse and to the south by the Luberon range. Céreste has always been a passage, located as it is on the three-thousand year old Domitian Way, and fully assumes its past.
The Celts were the first to inhabit this land, and they had already made the most of Céreste's privileged location in the heart of the Ubac, the grand Luberon, and the Calavon and Encrême valleys. In the Middle Ages (XIIth century ) the Abbey of Carluc was a resting place for the pilgrims of Provence and those on their way to Compostella: the Priory and its tombs cut into the rock bear witness to the size and beauty of its foundation in the charming ravin de Cure.
Céreste is famous for its limestone rocks: everywhere you walk you see limestone in various forms (the white limestone of the grand Luberon, in plates) which gives the region its geography. Today the village has been modernised peripherally, which preserves its intrinsic Provencal character.
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HERITAGE |
- Grand Clapier : biggest and oldest monument in Céreste, a rampart barring the end of the Grand Clapier and characteristic of the Iron Age.
- church of Saint-Miche : XVIIIth century, provencal bell tower.
- Old village : fountain, stone houses, narrow streets
- Maison civile romane : unique in Europe (XIIth century).
- Chapel of Saint-Georges.
- Vallon du Nid d’Amour : beautiful fountains, old dove-cotes, ancient fords.
- Roman bridge.
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THE PRIORY OF CARLUC | A privileged location in the regional heritage, the Romanesque priory of Carluc is a well-preserved medieval complex. A church, the remains of a gallery and two other churches. Carolingian necropolises, anthropomorphic tombs and rock developments.
The site hosts a music festival, the Nuits de Carluc, in July. Visits on Monday at 4.30 pm, on Wednesday and Saturday at 10am. Please register beforehand at the Tourist Office. Tel. 04.92.79.09.84.
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LEISURE ACTIVITIES |
- Hiking : a number of circuits in the Luberon Natural Regional Park. Guided hikes twice a week in July and August. Tel. 04.92.79.09.84.
- Riding centre. Tel. 04.92.79.05.64.
- Swimming pool.
- Tennis. Tel. 04.92.79.09.84.
- Media library : point cyb. Tel. 04.92.79.06.95.
- La Strada travelling Cinema : every 2 weeks.
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MAIN EVENTS |
- Market : Thursday morning.
- Art de Mai.
- Nuits de Carluc : music, July.
- Fête patronale : mid-July.
- Journées de l’Art : artists exhibit in the village, in chapels, cellars, beginning of August.
- Festival du Luberon : folklore, August.
- Journées du Patrimoine : mid-September.
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VILLAGES AROUND |
- Montjustin : proudly perched on its promontory, the great wall with its towers surrounding the village is very impressive. The houses have been perfectly restored. Worth a visit : remains of ramparts, ruins of the church of Notre-Dame des Neiges (XVIth century), XVIth and XVIIth century houses. Lists of SELF-CATERING GITES in the area.
- Oppedette : tiny village perched on a promontory which looks as if it has sprung from the rock and which is perfectly integrated into a wild landscape of rocks and canyons hollowed out by the Calavon river to form the Gorges d’Oppedette. The tighly-packed houses are in perfect harmony with the surroundings. Worth a visit: Gorges d’Oppedette, where the GR 4 andt 6 meet above the Gorges. Lists of SELF-CATERING GITES in the area.
- Reillanne : beautiful perched village dominated by one of the towers of the former castle on which a belfry was built in 1889, and by the chapel of Saint-Denis, rebuilt in 1858 to give thanks to the virgin to whom the pénitents blancs had prayed for rain. Worth a visit: church of Notre-Dame de l’Assomption (XIth century), Tour Saint-Pierre (XIth century), remains of ramparts, archeological remains, Museum des Amis des Arts. Lists of SELF-CATERING GITES in the area.
- Sainte-Croix-à-Lauze : this XIth century village owes its name to the limestone slabs or lauzes used for roofing, and which are no longer used but were the wealth of the region. Arts and crafts or angora goat breeding have taken over in this still agricultural area. Worth a visit: XIIth century castle, church of the Invention de la Sainte-Croix (Romanesque remains), oratory of Notre-Dame de la Salette, fossiles in the former lauze mine. Lists of SELF-CATERING GITES in the area.
- Vachères : perched village in preserved natural surroundings with extraordinary landscapes: at the highest point (910 m) you have a sweeping view of 7 departments! Don't miss the magnificent Museum of Paleontology and Archeology. Worth a visit: ruins of the chapel of Saint-Christophe and the fort, Plateau des Moulins (ruins of a windmill), Romanesque church of Notre-Dame de Bellevue. Lists of SELF-CATERING GITES in the area.
- Villemus : picturesque little village whose fame dates back to the Lords of Villemus who held the village in XIth century. Then brown coal, lime and bituminous sandstone mined in XIXth century gave it a mining tradition which is now present only in the memories of the elderly. Worth a visit: ruins of the castle (10 metre high tower, remains of walls), church of Saint-Etienne (XVIIth century), traces of the Romanesque Sainte-Trophime chapel, oratory of Saint-Joseph. Lists of SELF-CATERING GITES in the area.
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OTHER INFORMATION |
- Altitude : 385 m.
- Population : 1.045 inhabitants.
- To get here :
- by road : A 7 and A 8 motorways Cavaillon exit, A 51 motorway, Manosque or Pertuis exit, then N 100.
- by coach : regular Avignon-Digne or Marseille-Banon lines.
- by train : Avignon TGV station , Manosque SNCF station.
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