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Home > Discover the Alpes de Haute-Provence > Towns, small towns and typical villages > Manosque
Manosque
Land of beauty in Provence | TOURIST INFORMATION |
- Manosque Tourist Office : Tel. 04.92.72.16.00.
- See also : Gréoux-les-Bains, Forcalquier, Dauphin.
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 HOME OF NATURAL REGIONAL PARKS« Manosque's real wealth is its beauty » wrote Jean Giono, of the town in which he was born with its historical heritage and a charm which is typical of the Provencal high lands.
In Celto-Ligurian, Manosque means « hill-dweller », and its landscape of hills reaching an altitude of 700 m shelter the town nestled in the Durance Valley between the Monts du Luberon and the Pays du Verdon.
A town with a thousand years of history, Manosque has kept the traces of its history in a rich heritage of ramparts, gates and towers in the heart of Provence with its olive groves, holm oaks and garrigue. |
HERITAGE |
- Notre-Dame de Romigier : XIIth century, Romanesque, golden altar-piece, paleo-christian sarcophagus, XIth century Black virgin listed Historical Monument , 1991 stained-glass windows in the choir .
- Church of Saint-Sauveur : XIIth century, late Romanesque.
- Chapel of Saint-Pancrace : XIIth century.
- Saunerie Gate : XIVth century.
- Soubeyran Gate : XIVth century.
- Mont d’Or tower.
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WORTH A VISIT |
- Ecomusée de l’Olivier : discovery of the civilisation and the men of the olive-tree, access for the visually impaired and those with reduced mobility. Conferences, free olive oil tasting. Tel. 04.92.72.66.91.
- Maison de la Biodiversité : in the hills, a preservation orchard with 350 traditional fruit varieties and a garden of forgotten varieties of vegetables. Tel. 04.92.87.74.40.
- L’Occitane : Factory visit: Tel:04.92.72.16.00.
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THE JEAN GIONO CENTRE | The Jean Giono Centre offers a wide field of activities whose aim is to make the author and his works known to all.
Documentation, researche and cultural events centre, it has a permanent « Jean Giono or the stationary traveller» exhibition, 45 panels or steps made up of photos, illustrations and quotations which invite the visitor to discover the life and works of the writer.
It also houses temporary exhibitions, a library, a video-library, literary walks, initiation courses and meetings with writers…
Open: from October to March from 2pm to 6pm from Tuesday to Saturday, around 6 Sundays during school holidays and according to the events, in summer. Tel. 04.92.70.54.54.
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THE CARZOU FOUNDATION | Taking up the themes which have inhabited his innerr dream since the beginning of his career, the Master shares his fears about the follies of humanity, genocides, moral imbalance and the acceleration of technical progress with us.
He invites us to rebuild the « New Jerusalem », a land of hope reserved for those who are pure of heart, « for those whose names are written in the Lifebook of the Lamb». Manosqe, « the town of swallows », filled with light where Jean Giono lived and wrote, is proud to have been chosen by Jean Carzou to present his dream-like and monumental « Apocalypse », a gigantic fresco covering the walls of the Chapel of la Congrégation des Dames de la Présentation de Notre-Dame.
Open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 12 and from 2.30 to 6.30pm. Tel. 04.92.87.40.49.
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LEISURE ACTIVITIES |
- Bathing lake of les Vannades : 15 ha leisure area only 5 mn from the town centre, with many sports and leisure activities: supervized bathing and access ramp for invalids, sailing, rowing, picnic areas, miniature golf course, badminton, pedalos
- Swimming pool: Open all year round. Tel. 04.92.87.61.48.
- LaForestière fishing lake : over time, the meanders of the Durance have left ponds which are always filled with water and great for fishing carp, white fish and carnivorous fish. A 19 kg carp was caught in 2006 in the very good quality water of this 9 ha lake!
- Pélicier Forest : man-made around 1905 to protect the soil from erosion, this forest covers 1.040 ha of mostly Austrian black pine, downy oak, holm oak, Aleppo pine, Scots pine and cedar. Many paths marked by the ONF.
- Les Chemins de la Résistance : 3 commented walks, starting-point Soubeyran gate.
- Les Jardiniers des Collines : commented walk in the olive-groves of the Mont d’Or with the group of olive-growers starting at the Olivette oil mill. From 1st June to 30th September. Tel: 04.92.72.16.00.
- Cinemovida Le Lido : Art et Essai, 4 air-conditioned cinemas, digital sound, Club seats. Open every day. Tel. 08.92.68.7034.
- Médiathèque d’Herbés : in the former totally renovated hôtel d’Herbés, this cultural area with efficient computer equipment houses 60.000 books, 4.000 antique books, 3.000 records, 3.700 CD. Tel. 04.92.74.10.54.
- Théâtre de Verdure (Open-air theatre) : in the Parc de Drouille, shows for the public in the open-air amphitheatre (seats 1.500 persons). Maison des Jeunes et de la Culture. Tel. 04.92.72.19.70.
- Karting. Tel. 06.08.69.47.27.
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MAIN EVENTS |
- Market : Wednesday, Friday and Saturday morning.
- Theatre season : Jean-le-Bleu Theatre in Manosque and the Moulin de Saint-André in Vinon-sur-Verdon. From October to May. Tel. 04.92.70.34.19.
- Rencontres Cinématographiques : end of January.
- Eurofoire : international fair, Whitsun.
- Osco-manosco : cycle-touring race, May.
- Fête du Livre (Book Festival) : mid-May.
- Semi-marathon de Provence : race, 5 km, 10 km, semi-marathon, at the Vannades, mid-May.
- Fêtes de la Saint-Pancrace : May.
- Montée aux flambeaux (Torch procession) : chapel of Toutes-Aures, May.
- Beach Volley Tour : Vannades, July.
- Muziks à Manosque : music festival in the open-air theatre, mid-July.
- Rencontres Giono : end of July.
- Festival International du Luberon : folklore, August.
- Enduro carpe : La Forestière fishing lake, August.
- Blues et polar : free festival, end of August.
- Les Correspondances : literary festival dedicated to correspondence and all forms of creation based on exchange and dialogue: readings, shows, literary cafés, meeting with writers, writing in bizarre places. End of September. Tel. 04.92.72.75.81.
- Semaine des Musiques Actuelles : end of October beginning of November.
- Festival les Givrés : music, November
- Semaine du train miniature (model train week): November.
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FOR THE FAMILY |
- Centre de l’Enfance : day camp children 3 to 12. Tel. 04.92.71.09.89.
- Ludothèque (games library).
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VILLAGES AROUND |
- Montfuron : at the easternmost point of the Luberon, Montfuron has the only windmill in the region : 350 years old (built under Louis XIV), it is still in working order. Worth a visit: windmill (Tel. 04.92.76.43.95.), chapel of Saint-Elzéard (XIIth century, listed Historical Monument), church of Notre-Dame Saint-Elzéard, old provencal roof-tiles. Lists of SELF-CATERING GITES in the area.
- Pierrevert : « the village like a boat borne by a rock », as Jean Giono used ot say, sits proudly on its ivy-covered spur. It has kep its medieval look with its old gates and ramparts and the ruins of the old mill. The wines produced on its slopes are AOC and make it the wine growing capital of the Alpes de Haute-Provence. Pierrevert also has an 18-hole golf course. Worth a visit : chapel of Saint-Patrice (XIIIth century), Portail Saint-Joseph (XVIIth century), Porte de l’église (XVIIIth century). Lists of SELF-CATERING GITES in the area.
- Sainte-Tulle : old Gallo-Roman town, Sainte-Tulle is a big village with secular trees and big shady parks near the river. Worth a visit: Antiphonaire of Sainte-Tulle (vellum book dating back to 1704), Medieval crypt and chapel of Sainte-Tulle, Tour de l’Horloge, town theatre, covered wash-house, 1609 lion head fountain, Max Tronche school (1931). Lists of SELF-CATERING GITES in the area.
- Villeneuve : on the green backdrop of a hill overlooking the Durance Valley, the green and blue-shuttered houses of Villeneuve stand above olive-groves. Worth a visit : Roche Amère (an enormous rock which can be seen from all sides, and which was torn from the Luberon mountain by the Largue river), church of Saint-Sébastien-Saint-Saturnin (XVth century), Tour de l’Horloge, chapel of Notre-Dame, medieval village of La Roque, archaeological and historical museum « From the Bronze Age to nowadays » (open from 4pm to 6pm April to September and 3pm to 5pm October to March). Lists of SELF-CATERING GITES in the area.
- Volx : surrounded by hills planted with olive groves, half-way between Forcalquier et Manosque, Volx is a big village at the easternmost end of the Luberon above the Durance plain. Keen climbers know that Volx is famous for its Rock, nicknamed « le Laboratoire du geste », and which attracts famous climbers every year to its hundred or so equipped routes.Worth a visit: church of Notre-Dame de la Roche (XIIth century), remains of the castle and the aqueduct, Soap eco-museum (open from April to October), Trou de La Capellanne (natural caves). Lists of SELF-CATERING GITES in the area.
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OTHER INFORMATION |
- Altitude : 410 m.
- Population : 20.309 inhabitants.
- To get here:
- by road : A 51 motorway, RN 96.
- by train : Manosque SNCF station.
- Public transport : Manoval. Tel. 04.92.87.55.99.
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| le Mont d'Or à Manosque |
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