Twenty five miles east
of Avignon, between Carpentras and Cavillion in
deepest Provence is the must see town of Isle
De La Sorgue.
Provenc al villages are almost
without exception pretty places steeped in history going as far back as Roman
times and sometimes further and Isle De la Sorgue is no exception. The locals call it an island city, but
island town is nearer the mark, nestling
in the plains of Comtat Venaissin at the foot of the plains of Vaucluse,
It is quite a large entity by Provencal standards and is busy all year around.
The several canals that run through the village are what really define its island character. There are a number of quiet and small streets running through the village, many with small rivers or streams running through them, it is a delightful place to walk around with almost every where that soothing sound of running water to calm the senses. There are a number of moss covered wheels which hark back to an earlier time when the power of the river was used in the local industries which were the creating of silk and the manufacture of paper from the verdant forests of the area. This is now no longer the case.
The several canals that run through the village are what really define its island character. There are a number of quiet and small streets running through the village, many with small rivers or streams running through them, it is a delightful place to walk around with almost every where that soothing sound of running water to calm the senses. There are a number of moss covered wheels which hark back to an earlier time when the power of the river was used in the local industries which were the creating of silk and the manufacture of paper from the verdant forests of the area. This is now no longer the case.
Isle De La Sourge was once a famous cray fishing
centre, with a reputed 35,000 crayfish caught each day at its height, but now
adays the tourist is king and the shops tend to have local produce, especially
olive oil and the local rose wine in abundance, although some crayfish can be
found for sale.
Art galleries now abound
in the village including the famous Maison Hotel Donadel de Campredon built
in the 18th century, now converted into a museum showing such great
artists as Miro, Mauguinand
Dufy and a display area dedicated to René Char. Isle
De La Sorgue is also a renowned centre for antiques with a reputed 300 shops or
dealers located in the town.
The highlight of the antiques season is both the Easter break and 15th August when antiques fairs are held with up to 500 dealers descending on the town.But back to the history, the Collegiate Church of Notre Dame des Angeshas an exceptionally fine Baroque interior and the old pharmacy has an interesting collection of Moustier faience, whatever that is, I asked some locals but none could explain it, but as it is displayed in a pharmacy it must have some medical application.
The highlight of the antiques season is both the Easter break and 15th August when antiques fairs are held with up to 500 dealers descending on the town.But back to the history, the Collegiate Church of Notre Dame des Angeshas an exceptionally fine Baroque interior and the old pharmacy has an interesting collection of Moustier faience, whatever that is, I asked some locals but none could explain it, but as it is displayed in a pharmacy it must have some medical application.
Many other pretty
village abound in the area, Cavillion is worth a visit as is Carpentras, in fact there are dozens of relatively unknown places to explore
in the area.
Getting to the area
requires a car. Public transport is not very well
developed and it would otherwise be very difficult to visit the other
villages in the area. The nearest airport is Marseilles which
has some international flights and is about 70 kms distant.
A little further away is Nice International Airport, which has flights to many
UK airports including all 4 London airports, and offers flights daily to New
York and Montreal, plus you can fly direct to Moscow and Dubai as well as most
provincial French towns and Paris.
