Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
La Coupole €€
( 04 92 76 67 01; place Serre; weekday/weekend lunches €13/18, dinner menus
€18-25)
Well-made provincial French classics -
blanquette de veau
(veal stew), roast ven-
ison, house-made rabbit pâté - are served at this small restaurant with a leafy terrace on
the town's main square. Reserve ahead.
PROVENÇAL
BISTROTS DE PAYS
A culinary revival is afoot in small towns of Haute-Provence. Ancient tiny villages in the countryside had been
dying, following the post-WWII departure of their citizens to seek work in the cities. To rejuvenate these com-
munities, in 1992 the Pays de Forcalquier created a network of country bistros, called
Bistrot de Pays
The idea is simple. Member bistros must be in towns with fewer than 2000 inhabitants, with little or no other
commerce. They must serve local dishes, made with local products (creating a market for farmers), and remain
open morning till night, always offering fresh bread, snacks and morning coffee - making them de facto gathering
places. They also provide services nobody else does, specifically tourist information, stamp and newspaper sales.
The idea is so successful that the rest of France is adopting it.
There are dozens of such bistros dotting Haute-Provence and the southern Alps, some quite wonderful, such as
the Cafe de Niozelles (
Click here
). As you drive around, look for the distinctive colourful Bistrot de Pays logo. If
nothing else, stop in for a shot of coffee and hear some village gossip and glimpse the old world coming back to
life.
Banon
POP 940 / ELEV 760M
To sample
fromage
(cheese), follow the D950 25km northwest from Forcalquier to Ban-
on, renowned for
chèvre de Banon
- made from goat's milk and wrapped in a chestnut
leaf. En route, you'll pass
Simiane-la-Rotonde
, host village of August's international mu-
sic festival,
Les Riches Heures Musicales
. In May, Banon celebrates the Fête du Fromage.
The well-known Fromagerie de Banon sells its cheese at Banon's Tuesday-morning
market, and at wonderful cheese-and-sausage shop
Chez Melchio
( 04 92 73 23 05;
place de la République; 8am-12.30pm & 2.30-6.30pm Wed-Sun Sep-Jun, 8am-7pm
daily Jul-Aug)
- unbeatable for picnic supplies. Banon's
tourist office
( 04 92 72 19
40;
www.village-banon.fr
;
place de la République; 9am-12.30pm & 3-6pm Tue-Sat
year-round, plus 10am-noon Sun Jul & Aug)
has a list of chèvre farms you can visit. Tuck
