Provence Blog by ProvenceBeyond

Cycling Tour de France 2011 in Provence

The route for the 2011 Tour de France cycling race has just been announced, and we have the information in Beyond's Sports-Cycling section. The route begins in the northwest of France (Vendée, Brittany), then runs southeast from Le Mans to the Massif Central, and then west-to-east across the Pyrénéess to the Alpes.

Nages Oppidum - Home of the Gauls for a few centuries

Known as the Oppidum de Nages or the Oppidum des Castels, this hilltop fortress was built in the 8th century BC and lived in until the 1st century AD. It's located by the village of Nages-et-Solorgues, just a few km southwest of Nîmes.

Nages-et-Solorges village, near Nîmes

The small village of Nages-et-Solorges sits on the Vaunage plains southwest of Nîmes. The village is best known for the ancient Oppidum de Nages that sits on the adjacent hilltop.

 

Verne Chartreuse (monastery) near St-Tropez

The Chartreuse de la Verne is a beautiful, large monastery isolated in the wooded hills of the Maures mountains, only about 20 km west of Saint-Tropez. The original Chartreuse was founded here in the 12th century. The current buildings are from the 17th-18th centuries.

Gastée Dolmen & Boussière Dolmen in the Var

We've added a couple of Neolithic megaliths to Beyond: the Gastée Dolmen and the Boussière Dolmen. Both of these Neolithic tombs are in a wooded area a couple of km east of Cabasse village in the Var department.

 

Saint Maurice-Navacelles village, Hérault

We've added the Hérault village of St-Maurice-Navacelles to Beyond. Located on the Larzac Plateau in the upper Languedoc-Roussillon region, this small village is very close to the Navacelles Cirque and numerous dolmens and menhirs.

Neolithic Menhirs of Le Coulet, Larzac Plateau

We've added a page for the group of 4 Neolithic Le Coulet Menhirs, just a few km south of the Cirque de Navacelles, and close to the Ferrussac Dolmens.

 

Cirque de Navacelles in the Gorges de la Vis

We've added a page for the beautiful Navacelles Cirque, a deep circular basin at the bottom of the rugged Vis river canyon. It's located at the edge of the Larzac Plateau, at the southern edge of the Massif Central.

 

Prunarede Dolmen

We've added the Prunarede Dolmen to Beyond. These are actually two Neolithic burial dolmens, on the limstone Plateau of Larzac, in the Hérault department.

 

Dolmen of Prunarede in the Languedoc-Roussillon

We've added a page for the Prunarede Dolmen, a Neolithic burial site in the Hérault department, near the Cirque de Navacelles and the village of La Vacquerie-et-St-Martin-de-Castries.

We've also put online in Beyond a page describing Dolmens.