Our Blog - Cote d'Azur - Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France

The village of Saint-Paul-de-Vence was not originally on the itinerary for the trip, but after we had a French friend mention it, we decided to try to fit it in. Saint-Paul-de-Vence sits on a rocky outcrop and was fortified during the 14th and 16th centuries.

Just at the entry of the village is Square General de Gaulle, lined with century-old plane trees. In 1911, a tramway line from Cagnes to Vence opened, bringing with it a set of artists such as Paul Signac, Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso.

Here you can see the high fortification walls and the main gateway into the village. There is a "discovery walk" around the fortification that you can take and learn about the history of the village and the fortifications.

As we entered, Lucy decided she wanted a picture with the Lacan cannon, which sits at the Vence Gateway. This gate in the 14th century wall has arrow slits to help defend the North-facing entrance. The cannon was used during the battle that François 1st had against his rival Charles Quint in 1544.

The village itself is really cute, with these little, narrow alleys with lovely medieval houses. It tended to be the most touristic of the smaller villages in the area that we visited, with quite a few art galleries and workshops.

A couple of the buildings had little niche's with statues inside.

In the middle of the village is this fountain, built in 1850. At the top of the urn are 4 spouts that look like open snake's mouths that pour the water into the basin below.

Here we have made our way through the village to the other end to where the "bastion" is, and another gateway into the city. From there, we got a nice look at the valley below.

To finish, Lucy and Susan at the bastion wall overlooking the valley.