Les Baux-De-Provence offers several themes to explore during a stay: heritage and historic buildings, collections and art, large-scale image projections, and wine and olive oil experiences. When looking for a hotel, you can first consider whether historic sites, art, or the themes of wine and olives are your main focus.
Heritage in the village and at the château
The Château des Baux-de-Provence covers five hectares and is fully classified as a Monument historique. The château’s area and its heritage status are two distinct points of reference: one describes the scale of the site, while the other describes its classification. Les Baux-De-Provence itself is also designated as a heritage site and has, among other distinctions, been named one of the most beautiful villages in France. For culture enthusiasts, it is worth keeping these two levels distinct: the village’s distinction on the one hand, and the château’s classification on the other. This makes it possible to anchor the historical focus of a stay in a specific building and in the distinction awarded to the village.
Collections, retrospective and projections
The Musée des Santons displays Neapolitan nativity figures from the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as church santons from the 19th century. The dates distinguish between two groups and offer a chance to compare different periods within the collection. The Musée Yves Brayer focuses on something else: it is housed in the Hôtel de Porcelet, a mansion in the center of the village, and presents a comprehensive retrospective of Yves Brayer’s work. Brayer is a leading figure in 20th-century figurative art and had a particular affinity for Mediterranean landscapes. This describes the artist’s connection to the region; the retrospective, meanwhile, covers his work comprehensively. The two museums therefore offer different perspectives: historical figures from several centuries and a retrospective of one artist’s work.
The Carrières des Lumières offer a different format: images are projected using around 100 video projectors across more than 7,000 square meters, accompanied by music. Unlike a collection or a retrospective, the focus here is on large-scale projections and their musical accompaniment; the figures give a concrete sense of the scale of the venue.
The Chemin des Trémaïe runs from the foot of the historic village up a flight of steps to the village center. This provides a specific route for planning your day; the steps are worth noting if you would like to include this walk in your visit.
Wine and olive oil: tasting or production
When exploring wine and olive-related experiences, you can choose between tastings and an insight into how the products are made. Mas de la Dame offers tastings of its red, rosé and white wines, as well as its olive oils. Mas Sainte Berthe offers wine tastings and tastings of olive products during the shop’s opening hours. Checking the opening hours shortly before your visit can help you take this into account when planning.
Moulin CastelaS offers another way to explore olives with a tour of the mill. Visitors learn about the work of olive growers and millers, as well as the processing of olives from delivery through to oil extraction. While the tastings focus on wine and olive products, the mill tour takes you through the stages of olive processing. You can choose between sampling the products and learning about how they are made.
Plan your stay around your interests
In this final thematic area, there is also a specific choice to make: tastings or a mill tour that follows the processing journey from delivery through to oil extraction.
Discover more destinations: La Penne-Sur-Huveaune, Eyguières, Miramas, Rousset, Coudoux, Maussane Les Alpilles, Martigues, Le Grau-Du-Roi
For the broader travel guide: Bouches Du Rhone.
