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Home > Discover the Alpes de Haute-Provence > Towns, small towns and typical villages > Saint Michel l'Observatoire
Saint Michel l'Observatoire
The Haute Provence village that talks to the stars | TOURIST INFORMATION | |
List of SELF-CATERING GITES in the district
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 MORE ABOUT THIS VILLAGE IN THE LUBERON REGIONAL PARKThis perched village is known as one of the most beautiful in the Pays de Forcalquier, is close to the stars: surrounded by lavender fields, green hills and aromatic plants, under the skies of Haute-Provence reputed to be the purest in Europe, Saint Michel was chosen as an astronomy observatory. After the CNRS, which in 1937 set up the Observatoire de Haute-Provence in this region which is perfect for astronomy, the Alpes de Haute-Provence department also set up the Astronomy Centre in 1998.
And as for comets, the planets of the solar system, stars and interstellar matter in the galaxy, they will no longer be a secret for you, you can set off along charming paths winding between the terraces planted with olive trees to discover the Luberon Natural Park. You will see old chapels, oratories, beautiful old restored farmhouses and in Lincel, a neighbouring village, a castle with its garden of secular cedars at the top of the village.
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HERITAGE |
- Low church of Saint-Pierre : XIVth and XVth centuries.
- High church of Saint-Michel : XIIth and XVIth° centuries, superb terrace.
- Chapel of Saint-Jean-de-Fuzils : XIth century, listed Historical Monument.
- Chapel of Saint-Paul : listed Historical Monument.
- Tour de Porchères : listed Historical Monument.
- Village : beautiful XVIIth century facades.
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THE ASTRONOMY CENTRE | Set in the middle of ten hectares of holm oaks and garrigue, it broadcasts scientific culture by welcoming over 10.000 visitors a year. It is completed by a museum area in the heart of the village which shows part of the instrument heritage of the l’Observatoire du CNRS with the reconstruction of a 60s photo laboratory.
School children and the general public can observe the sky with sophisticated equipment such as the 300mm and 60cm telescopes, and above all, the siderostat, unique in France, which enables you to look at the sun in broad daylight, or take part in workshops (meccano and robotic, multimedia, building micro rockets…). With an exceptional natural heritage, Saint-Michel l’Observatoire is also a place where fundamental research and the transmission of knowledge, star-gazing and the poetry of space all cohabit.
Among the main points of the year, don't forget the Eté Astro which offers, in July and August, observation evenings, the night of the Perseids and the Night of science-fiction, plus the Science Week in October. Tel. 04.92.76.69.09.
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THE OBSERVATORY OF HAUTE PROVENCE | Set up in 1937, it still has an important international role: every year, 150 à 200 French and foreign astronomers come to observe the sky, using state of the art equipment designed and developed by the technical and scientific staff of the Observatory.
The most famous piece of equipment is the Elodie spectrograph, with which, the Swiss astronomists Mayro and Queloz discovered the first exo-planet in 1995: it gravitates around the star 51 Peg, a sun which is over 40 light-years from our own!
Technical teams provide their skills permanently for big international projects for ground and space astronomy and the Observatoire houses a geophysical observation station which is a member of the Network of Detection of Stratospheric Change.
Open : July and August, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 1.15 to 4.15pm, from the beginning of the spring holidays to the end of the Autumn holidays on Wednesdays from 2 to 4pm, groups on Tuesday or Thursday afternoons by appointment. Tel. 04.92.70.64.00.
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LEISURE ACTIVITIES |
- Hiking : GR653D (Road to Saint-Jacques de Compostelle), 6 PR, Chemin des Etoiles marked with boards telling the story of astronomy.
- On horseback : marked circuit « les Lumières du Luberon », 3 to 4 days from Saint-Michel l’Observatoire.
- Bike : on the « Autour du Luberon en Vélo » itinerary, 236km circuit, which goes through Cavaillon, Apt, Forcalquier, Manosque, Lourmarin.
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PEASANT ITINERARIES |
- A tire d’ailes : from the landscape around bee-hives, from the honey house to the old-fashioned bee-hives, to the honey extractor, bees tell their secret. Honey and gingerbread tasting, direct sale. Ferme Apicole le Mouleron. Open all year round, visits every Tueday from July to October inclusive. Tel. 04.92.76.65.22.
- Le parcours du Grand Jas : on the footsteps of a herd of goats along the Domitian Way, landscape, natural heritage and biodiversity. Cheese-tasting, direct sale. Open all year round, visits every Wednesday from 9.30am to 12.30. Tel. 04.92.76.60.58.
- De la graine à l’huile essentielle : starting from the farm of Le Moulin Brun, in Aubenas-les-Alpes, explanation of how lavender and other aromatic plants are cultivated. Visit of the distillery according to harvest. Tel. 04.92.76.61.19.
- Drop by drop... grain by grain : an ancient flour mill driven by the waters of the Largue and organic farm, the Moulin Brun is the starting point for a walk which is rich in peasant knowhow and natural heritage. Farm produce tasting. Tel. 04.92.76.61.19.
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MAIN EVENTS |
- Fête votive : June.
- Fête Nature et Traditions : September.
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OTHER INFORMATION |
- Altitude : 543 m.
- Population : 911 inhabitants.
- To get here :
- by road : A 7 motorway from the north to Avignon and N 100 through Apt then D 105, from the south A51 motorway to Manosque then D 907 and D 105.
- by train : ManosqueSNCF station, Avignon TGV station.
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