Destinations Menu
RSS
FRANCE | The Vaucluse, France Travel Guide
Saturday, November 30, 2024
8 Of 10
Fontaine de Vaucluse
Fontaine de Vaucluse, France (cc)
Photo: Joseph Plotz
Fontaine de Vaucluse
Fontaine de Vaucluse is a scenic, museum-filled village on the site of one of the most powerful natural springs in the world. It is located in a dramatic closed valley, vallis clausa in Latin (the origin of the name Vaucluse), surrounded by towering limestone bluffs and steep, stony hills. The Italian poet Petrarch, who lived here in the 14th century pining for his muse, made the “Fontaine” world famous. One of the town’s more interesting museums (and there are seven rather good ones here) is The Petrarch Museum and Library, which commemorates him. There is also a glass-blowing museum, the Cristallerie des Papes, and the Moulin à Papier Vallis Clausa, a paper mill that demonstrates how water power has been used here for papermaking since the 15th century. Shops in the Vallis Clausa Covered Arcade are geared to souvenir hunters but offer a good selection of gifts.
Last updated February 7, 2012
Posted in France | The Vaucluse
Explore the Destination
Amenities and Resources
Overview
Hotels(15)
Restaurants(4)
Attractions(28)
Activities(25)
Map 
Visitor Information
Weather Forecast
- Reported on:
Sat, 11/30/2024 - 20:00
- Reported on:
Trending Themes:
Guides to Popular Ski Resorts
-
Ischgl is a small mountain village turned hip ski resort, with massive appeal among the party-hearty young crowds. It is... Read More
-
Andorra la Vella is its own little world, and not just because it’s a 290-square-mile independent principality (a fifth the... Read More
-
Bariloche (officially San Carlos de Bariloche) is the place to be seen. It is to Argentina what Aspen is to the... Read More
-
Aspen is America's most famous ski resort. And that's an understatement. For, as a ski complex, Aspen is unsurpassed. Its... Read More
-
Zermatt is a small but glamorous mountain resort town, with a population of approximately 5,700. It is one of Switzerland's... Read More
-
St. Moritz is a glitzy, alpine resort town in the celebrated Engadin Valley of Switzerland, with huge notoriety as the... Read More
-
Lake Tahoe is the premier lake resort of America, and the largest alpine lake in all of North America. It is an absolutely... Read More
-
St. Anton, Sankt Anton am Arlberg in German, is Austria's premier ski-bum resort! It's actually a small village cum... Read More
-
Kitzbühel, a small, Tyrolian resort town in the Kitzbüheler Alps, comes with international renown and huge snob appeal, and... Read More