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LOT VALLEY, AVEYRON
VAR, PROVENCE
GARD, LANGUEDOC
Bargemon is one of those fortified Provencal hill towns which is the very essence of the south of France. If a novelist was trying to invent somewhere in the sweet-scented hills behind the Cote d’Azur then this would be it; attractive and lived in over centuries by a bustling local population.
Tall, three and four-story houses crowd around a pretty, cobbled town square which shelters from the summer heat beneath a canopy of traditional plane trees. There’s an eleventh century chateau - its walls still impregnable a millennium after they were built.
The town has a couple of glorious, old fountains bubbling away and covered in moss and ferns which grow abundantly in the gentle climate.
The local region of sixteen communes based around the town of Draguignan is called the Dracenie – a legendary place of dragons. Its folklore is based on medieval tales of dragons breathing their fiery breath into the unspoilt valleys.
Bargemon is a well watered town. Springs and streams just gush from the hillside all around; the water makes it way to the surface here after percolating deep through the limestone mountains.
The town is surrounded by forests and woodland which you can explore on a whole network of walking and hiking paths.
The town has a clutch of good local restaurants
The powerful French concept of “terroir” - foodstuffs which reflect very strongly the extreme importance of a “locality” – includes many food-based products and places like an olive oil mill.
The whole area produces excellent lamb, cheese and olive oil. It’s also part of the Cote de Provence appelation for wine.
The town of Bargemon is surrounded by forests and woodland which you can explore on a whole network of walking and hiking paths. You can rent horses or mountain bikes locally for that same communion with nature, but with added adrenalin.
If you climb high into the hills around the town you’ll find a whole series of breathtaking view points.
Around Bargemon, the Dracenie tourist office is really not exaggerating at all when it calls itself “a little Eden nestled between the high mountains and the Gorges du Verdon and the razzle-dazzle of St Tropez”.
For complete information on Bargemon, and the other fifteen communes in the Dracenie district, and for the wider department of Var try these websites… www.visitvar.fr and
www.dracenie.com They have very complete information on artisan producers of pottery, paintings and food; sports in the region; gastronomy; local market days and everything else you might need. Bargemon’s own small but packed tourist office has even more options for tourists including golf and parascending. It’s run by Isabel who speaks excellent English.
Bargemon is one of those fortified Provencal hill towns which is the very essence of the south of France. If a novelist was trying to invent somewhere in the sweet-scented hills behind the Cote d’Azur then this would be it; attractive and lived in over centuries by a bustling local population.
Tall, three and four-story houses crowd around a pretty, cobbled town square which shelters from the summer heat beneath a canopy of traditional plane trees. There’s an eleventh century chateau - its walls still impregnable a millennium after they were built.
The town has a couple of glorious, old fountains bubbling away and covered in moss and ferns which grow abundantly in the gentle climate.
You will likely approach the area on the Autoroute (Motorway) A8 whether coming from the east, ie Nice; or the west, ie from Toulon, Marseille or Aix-en-Provence.
Nice is the nearest airport and Les Arc the major railway station for trains from Paris.