Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sleeping & Eating
Hôtel du Poète €€€
( 04 90 20 34 05;
www.hoteldupoete.com
; r €95-240; mid-Feb-Dec; )
Drift
asleep to the sound of rushing water at this elegant small hotel inside a restored mill on
the river's banks. By day lollygag poolside in sun- dappled shade on park-like grounds.
HISTORIC HOTEL
Pétrarque et Laure €€
( 04 90 20 31 48; place Colonne; lunch/dinner menus from €17/26)
Fontaine-de-Vauc-
luse's restaurants tend towards the
touristiques;
this one is no exception, but manages to
serve reasonably priced, good-quality food (try the local trout). The sun-dappled courtyard
has mesmerising river views.
BRASSERIE
THE LEGEND OF ST VÉRAN
Il était une fois
- once upon a time - Fontaine-de-Vaucluse was plagued by a vile half-dragon, half-serpent called
the Couloubre. Enter St Véran, who slayed the beast and saved the town. A statue outside the village's 11th-cen-
tury Romanesque church, Église St-Véran, commemorates the slaying. Follow the legend up the cliff to the 13th-
century ruins of a castle built to protect the saint's tomb - views are as incredible as the tale.
Information
Tourist Office
(
www.oti-delasorgue.fr
;
Résidence Garcin;
10am-1pm & 2-6pm daily
May-Sep, Mon-Sat Oct-Apr)
By the bridge, mid-village.
Getting There & Away
BICYCLE
The tourist office has an English-language brochure detailing three easy back-
roads biking routes. Bike shops in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (
Click here
) (8km west) deliver
to Fontaine.
