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Home > Discover the Alpes de Haute-Provence > Towns, small towns and typical villages > Simiane la Rotonde
Simiane la Rotonde
Between Ventoux, Lure et Luberon | TOURIST INFORMATION |
List of SELF-CATERING GITES in the district
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 MORE ABOUT THIS "VILLAGE DE CARACTERE"At the south-western end of the Alpes de-Haute-Provence, at the limit of the Vaucluse, Simiane-la-Rotonde is perched on a rocky spur of the plateau d’Albion in the middle of a triangle formed by the mont Ventoux, montagne de Lure and the Grand Luberon.
Built in terraces and overlooked by the Rotonde, former dungeon of the Agoult-Simiane castle (XIIth century), the oldest civil example of Provencal Romanesque art. In the Luberon natural Regional Park and the Pays de Forcalquier, this land is at the meeting point of Mediterranean and Alpine influences : it is the happy home of the olive-tree, which is almost at its northern limit, and fine lavender, whose cultivation starts at this altitude.
Proud of its landscapes, and the biggest lavender and hybrid lavender cooperative in France, with demonstrations around essential oils in the feudal castle, and the rose garden of the abbey of Valsaintes, Simiane-la-Rotonde is one of the most remarkable perfume plant sites in France.
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HERITAGE |
- Church of Sainte-Victoire : end of XVIth century.
- Saint-Jean belfry : decapitated by lightning in 1987, it still rings.
- Old covered market : XVIth century, panoramic view.
- Old village : beautiful XVIth and XVIIth century mansions, doors with diamond-patterns, leintels in cut stone, cobbled streets.
- Ostau Montjallard : majestic XVIIth century gate with its pilasters and an entablature decorated with a freize and surmounted by balusters.
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WORTH A VISIT |
- The Castle : Visitors to the castle of Simiane-la-Rotonde can plunge into the thousand-year history of a building which replaced an ancient Roman oppidum. Listed Historical Monument in 1841, it highlights past legacies and scientific and agronomic research.
- Rotonde : inexpressive stone masks, from a medievl bestiary top the capitals of the hall, beside contemporary works which are renewed for subsequent exhibitions. A festival of ancient music rings each summer in August The walls of this beautiful building which once welcomed troubadours are filled in August with the notes of an festival of ancient music.
- History Room : in a very beautiful Romanesque room, the architectural elements found in the courtyard during the latest archaological dig and handwritten documents recounting local events.
- Rennaissance Appartments : restored, they welcome exhibitions on the topics of the natural, agricultural and architectural heritage.
- Sainte-Victoire aromatherapy laboratory : in the south wing, introduces visitors to the benefits of aromatic molecules obtained from essential oils. Tel. 04.92.75.98.90.
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NEARBY |
- GR 4 : towards the Gorges de Vaumale.
- Saut du Moine : bathing in giant potholes formed by erosion.
- Gorges d’Oppedette.
- Carniol : church with semi-circular gate decorated with flowers.
- Valsaintes : remains of a XIIth century Sistercian abbey transferred to Boulinette in XVIIth century : superb rose-garden open all year round.
- Beautiful villages : Gordes, Roussillon, Ménerbes, Montbrun-les-Bains, Brantes.
- Cedar forest of Bonnieux.
- Provencal Colorado.
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MAIN EVENTS |
- Patron Saint's Feast Day : weekend of 1st May.
- Art de Mai : exhibitions.
- Abbaye en roses : celebrates the blooming of thousands of roses. Free visit of the parc and the abbey-church. Mid-May to mid-June from 2 to 6pm.
- Medieval Festival : beginning of June.
- Lavender Garden : beginning of July to mid-August.
- Riches Heures Musicales de la Rotonde : international ancient music festival, July and August. Tel. 04.92.75.90.47.
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LAVANDER AND LAVANDIN | Simiane-la-Rotonde is in the heart of the lavender and lavandin production basin. Concentrated in the departments of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Vaucluse and Drôme provençale, this stretches over 5.000 ha for lavender and 15.000 ha for lavandin contributing to 90% of world production. Set up at the foot of the village and founded in 1979, the Société Coopérative Agricole des Plantes à Parfum de Provence is the biggest in France.
It gathers stocks and commercializes 34 % of the national production of essential oil of fine lavender and 40 % of the national production of essential oil of lavandin, with over 420 tonnes distilled by the 330 members. It also commercializes clary sage, sage, peppermint, hyssop and tarragon.
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OTHER INFORMATION |
- Altitude : 650 m.
- Population : 532 inhabitants.
- To get here :
- by road : A 51 motorway Pertuis or Manosque exit, then D 51. Coach station. Tel. 04.91.49.44.25.
- by train : Avignon or Aix-en-Provence TGV station then coach.
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