Barbentane, Provence, France
Barbentane is a small town located near Avignon, in Provence. Interesting things in the town are the medieval ramparts and buildings, the Anglica Tower, a pretty palace Château de Barbentane, and the Le Moulin de Brétoule windmill in the immediate vicinity. Barbentane is located near the town of Tarascon and Abbey Saint-Michel de Frigolet.
Parking in Barbentane
The car can be parked on the borders of the old town (1; GPS: 43.899310, 4.746008) or in the very center (2; GPS: 43.899487, 4.747544).
Château de Barbentane
First at all, we visited interesting palace Château de Barbentane. From the Cours Jean Baptiste Rey street turn into a small Rue des Pénitents street, which shortly leads you to the entrance to the palace (A; GPS: 43.900022, 4.747624). This beautiful building was built in the second half of the seventeenth century. Entrance to the palace was free. We took advantage of this opportunity and we made some nice shots of the building and nearby sculptures. It looks like since 2014 touring the palace is no longer possible. Too bad, because it was really worth a look. The palace, however, is privately owned and the owner just has the right to decide whether to make it available to the public.
Towards the Anglica Tower
There is a twelfth-century Romanesque church in the old town, with an interesting bell tower (B; GPS: 43.898630, 4.747769). We walk some narrow streets and pass under medieval arches, heading toward a very visually interesting object - the Anglica Tower (Tour Anglica) (C; GPS: 43.8974161, 4.7483100). It was built probably at the place where once was an oppidum, or fortified settlement. The tower is 28 meters high and 10 meters wide, and was built in the years 1364-1365 in order to improve the defense capabilities of the town.
Le Moulin de Brétoule windmill
When you leave the town you can stop at a fairly large parking lot (3; GPS: 43.896495, 4.743164) near the windmill called "Le Moulin de Brétoule", and then come closer to it (D; GPS: 43.896829, 4.744237). Once at the village were six windmills built in the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Only one survived to the present time. Nearby the windmill you can find a few benches where you could sit and relax in the shade of pine nuts.
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