Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
As you walk on the windblown spur ( baux in French), you'll pass kid-thrilling me-
dieval siege weaponry (go ahead, try the battering ram). Good displays in English and
images help reconstruct the place. Try to imagine 4,000 people living up here. Notice
the water-catchment system (a slanted field that caught rainwater and drained it into
cisterns—necessary during a siege) and find the reservoir cut into the rock below the
castle's highest point. Look for post holes throughout the stone walls that reveal where
beams once supported floors.
Forthemostsensational views,climb totheblustery topofthecitadel. Hangon.The
mistral wind just might blow you away.
The St. Blaise chapel across from the entry/exit runs videos with Provençal themes
(plays continuously; just images and music, no words).
Picnicking: While there is no food or drink sold inside the castle grounds, you are
welcome to bring your own and use one of the several picnic tables (best view table is at
the edge near the siege weaponry). Sunset dinner picnics are memorable.
Lower Town
After your castle visit, you can shop and eat your way back through the new town. Or you
can escape some of the crowds by following my short walking tour, below, which covers
these minor but worthwhile sights as you descend (all stay open at lunch except the Yves
Brayer Museum).
• Follow the main drag (grand Rue Frédéric Mistral) downhill. On the right a few short
blocks below the castle exit, find the flags.
Manville Mansion City Hall
The 15th-century city hall occasionally flies the red-and-white flag of Monaco amid sev-
eral others, a reminder that the Grimaldi family (which has long ruled the tiny principality
ofMonaco)ownedLesBauxuntiltheFrenchRevolution(1789).Infact,in1982,Princess
Grace Kelly and her royal husband, Prince Rainier Grimaldi, came to Les Baux to receive
the key to the city.
Exit left out of the city hall and walk uphill to the empty 1571 Renaissance window
frame ,markingthesiteofafutureCalvinistmuseum.Thisbeautifulstoneframestandsas
a reminder of this town's Protestant history. This was probably a place of Huguenot wor-
ship—the words carved into the lintel, Post tenebras lux, were a popular Calvinist slogan:
“After the shadow comes the light.”
• Continue walking uphill, and turn right on Rue des Fours to find the...
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