Carpentras is sheltered by Mont Ventoux and is in the heart of the Comtadine plain.
The soft light and beauty in the countryside around Carpentras is reminiscent of Tuscany. Gardens, vineyards, orchards and cypress trees reach towards the sky. Carpentras belonged to the Popes in the 13th-century and had a large Jewish community. Carpentras was the capital of Comtat Venaissin until 1791. The town has a number of monuments and is known as “Town of Art and History”.
The construction of the 19th-century canal in Carpentras brought irrigation and transformed the countryside into an enormous garden. The Friday market fills the streets of the old town and the platan tree lined lanes, giving rhythm to life in Carpentras as it has for centuries. The atmosphere and quality of the produce rank the market as one of the best in the area. Carpentras is famous for strawberries, truffles and “berlingots”, stripy caramel sweets.
Don’t miss the Arc de Triomphe, the 14th-century synagogue - the oldest synagogue in France, the Charité, now a cultural centre, with magnificent arcades and Italian style loggias. The Gate of Orange, Saint-Siffrein Cathedral, the Inguimbertine library, the old hospital and pharmacy, 'Armand de Chateauvieux mansion, the school where Jean Henri Fabre taught, Notre Dame de Santé canal and chapel.
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