Les Baux

(2 photos)
About five miles from St. Rémy is the unimaginable little village named Les Baux. It is nearly hidden on top of a bare rock spur, a couple of hundred yards wide and a half mile long. There are two parts to Les Baux — the Inhabited Village with houses, churches, and shops, and the Deserted Village where the castle and other buildings stood until the 1600s.

We have read guide books, tour books, advertisements, tourist brochures, history books and whatever — no one has really described Les Baux, and try as we might, after three or four visits we can’t either: Narrow stone streets, shops that extend into caves in the rock, outdoor fruit markets, restaurants, hotels, and St. Vincent’s Church, all built of wheat colored stone. Unforgettable.

In the 1200s Les Baux was famous as a “court of love,” where passionate verses praised ladies of noble birth. The prize for the best verse was a kiss and a peacock’s feather. At least that’s the only prize they mention.
===========
Another view.