Les Baux
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Les Baux

At the top of the Alpilles ridge, 7km southwest of St-Rémy, lies the distinctly unreal fortified village of LES BAUX-DE-PROVENCE, where the ruined eleventh-century Citadel is hard to distinguish from the edge of the plateau, whose rock is both foundation and part of the structure.

Once Les Baux lived off the power and widespread possessions in Provence of its medieval lords, who owed allegiance to no one. When the dynasty died out at the end of the fourteenth century, however, the town, which had once numbered 6000 inhabitants, passed to the counts of Provence and then to the kings of France. In 1632, Richelieu razed the feudal Citadel to the ground and fined the population into penury for their disobedience. From that date until the nineteenth century, both Citadel and village were inhabited almost exclusively by bats and crows. The discovery in the neighbouring hills of the mineral bauxite (whose name derives from "Les Baux") brought back some life to the village, and tourism has more recently transformed the place. Today the population stays steady at around 400, while the number of visitors exceeds 1.5 million each year.

The lived-in village has many very beautiful buildings. There are half a dozen museums, one of the best being the Musée Yves Brayer in the Hôtel des Porcelets (mid-Feb to March & Oct–Dec daily except Tues 10am–12.30pm & 2–5.30pm; April–Sept daily 10am–12.30pm & 2–6.30pm; €4), showing the paintings of the twentieth-century figurative artist whose work also adorns the seventeenth-century Chapelle des Pénitents Blancs. Changing exhibitions of contemporary Provençal artists' works are displayed in the Hôtel de Manville (hours vary, check with the tourist office; free). The museum of the Fondation Louis Jou in the fifteenth-century Hôtel Jean de Brion contains the presses, wood lettering blocks and hand-printed books of a master typographer (April–Oct Fri–Mon 2–5pm; rest of year visits by reservation only, tel 04.90.54.34.17; €3), while the Musée des Santons in the old Hôtel de Ville (daily 8am–7pm; free) displays traditional Provençal Nativity figures.

Following the signs to the Château will bring you to the entrance to the now-abandoned Citadelle de la Ville Morte, the main reason for coming to Les Baux (daily: Jan & Feb 9am–5pm; March–June, Sept & Oct 9am–7.30pm; July & Aug 9am–9.30pm; Nov & Dec 9am–6pm; €6.50) and where you can find ruins and several more museums. The Musée d'Histoire des Baux in the vaulted space of Tour de Brau has a collection of archeological remains and models to illustrate the history from medieval splendour to bauxite works. The most impressive ruins are those of the feudal castle demolished on Richelieu's orders; there's also the partially restored Chapelle Castrale and the Tour Sarrasine, the cemetery, ruined houses half carved out of the rocky escarpment and some spectacular views, the best of which is out across the Grande Crau from beside the statue of Provençal poet Charloun Riev at the southern edge of the plateau.

The tourist office is at the beginning of Grand-Rue (daily: July & Aug 9am–7pm; Sept–June 9am–6pm; tel 04.90.54.34.39, www.lesbauxdeprovence.com). You have to park – and pay – before entering the village. Nothing in Les Baux comes cheap, least of all accommodation. There's just one moderate option, the Hostellerie de la Reine Jeanne, by the entrance to the village (tel 04.90.54.32.06, fax 04.90.54.32.33; €40–55; closed mid-Nov to mid-Feb), with a good restaurant (menus from €20). If you're feeling rich and want to treat yourself, head for the luxurious hotel-restaurant Oustau de Baumanière, just below Les Baux to the west on the road leading down to the Val d'Enfer (tel 04.90.54.33.07; over €150).