The best cultural visits to make
in the Var

Provence, a culturally rich region

Our beautiful region of Provence is part of the Pays d’oc (southern France), within which it has some specificities.

The culture of Provence, with its strong cultural identity, is deeply Latin and Mediterranean.

It is full of treasures to visit without moderation.

Cultural visits in Provence

“To visit Provence is to discover Roman antiquity, the Middle Ages and the presence of the Popes, the Renaissance and the Classical period have each enriched the heritage of the Vaucluse, a welcoming land for centuries.

The spiritual life, Christian, Protestant or Jewish, the agricultural or rural activities have led men to build and develop the landscape.

Today, the visitor finds in this wealth of the past as many reasons to satisfy his curiosity, as many tours and ideas for walks.”
Quote from the website Vaucluse Tourisme en Provence.

The Santon museum in Gréoux-les-Bains

You will be transported into the wonderful world of santons

A unique sound and light show on a miniature village.

With an area of about 180 m², nearly 300 santons from 40 cm to 80 cm high where a grandfather tells the story of santons to his grandson.

You will be able to see the daily life in our villages and countryside of the Basses-Alpes at the beginning of the XXth century.

A great moment of dream and emotion that you will not forget.

Contact the Santon Museum of Gréoux-les-Bains

Santon Museum
36 Avenue Des Alpes
04800 Gréoux-les-Bains
(Alpes de Haute-Provence)

Tel : 04 92 77 61 08
Fax : 04 92 77 64 59
Web : santonsmoine.free.fr

The Templar Castle

Castle classified as a historical monument since 1840

The Templars would have decided to build a castle in Gréoux les Bains for the virtues of its waters, beneficial to the convalescence of the injured knights. It is also said that the castle never belonged to the Templars, that it is only a legend.

The first stones of what later became the castle of the Templars were probably laid in the 12th century. Property of the Count of Provence until the 14th century, it was given to the Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem.

The inner courtyard is used as a backdrop for open-air shows, while exhibitions follow one another in the vaulted Salle des Gardes.

Visit the Templar Castle of Gréoux-les-Bains

Castle of the Templars
5, avenue des marronniers
04800 Gréoux-les-Bains

Tél : 04 92 78 01 08
Fax : 04 92 78 13 00

Living prehistory in the 21st century through the museum

Here begins the story

It is in the heart of the Regional Natural Park, in Quinson, on the banks of the Verdon, that the General Council of the Alpes de Haute-Provence has built one of the largest museums of prehistory in Europe, the Museum of Prehistory of the Verdon Gorge.

The results of more than 50 years of archaeological excavations, on about sixty sites, retracing nearly one million years of human history in Haute-Provence, are preserved and exposed to the public.

The permanent exhibition retraces this long history, in a way that is often spectacular and playful, but also scientifically rigorous. In fact, it was an extensive scientific council that made it possible to gather all the data required for this project.

The Museum of Prehistory of the Gorges du Verdon has for objective to assume three main missions:

To preserve the archaeological heritage of Provence;
Participate in archaeological research;
To give back to the public the results of these excavations and studies.

It is integrated in a concept of prehistory in Quinson, with the guided visit of a major archaeological site, the Baume Bonne cave and its thematic path and a reconstructed prehistoric village on the banks of the Verdon.

Archaeological sites in an exceptional natural setting, a museum to go back in time and meet its origins, a prehistoric village to find the gestures of our ancestors, such is the journey proposed by the Museum of Prehistory of the Gorges du Verdon.