Clansayes, Provence, France
Clansayes - a small town located approx. 50 km north of Avignon, at the top of the hill. It has an interesting defensive tower and offers great views of Provence.
Parking in Clansayes
We approach to the village by the road D571, and then park the car in a large parking lot near the standing alone tower with a knight inside (P; GPS: 44.371933, 4.808443).
Towards the old town
Next, we go along the road towards the town. The only option is to climb the hill next to three large cypress trees (A; GPS: 44.371081, 4.807305). In the distance we see the defense tower and some elements of the church (B; GPS: 44.371446, 4.806558) from the twelfth century.
The Templar tower and the mistral
We are already at the top. The Templar tower (C; GPS: 44.371672, 4.806655) looks really impressive - it is 20 meters high and was built on the rock. We tried to get inside, but the door was closed - perhaps someone from the village has the keys (probably local authorities), but we don't want to waste time, the more that the town looks almost abandoned - of course it is not true - however we are already accustomed that in this type of villages sometimes it's not possible to meet a single inhabitant. Let's better use the great opportunity to get some beautiful panoramic shots of the surroundings (D; GPS: 44.371671, 4.806401). Unfortunately we experience how very cold and sharp mistral is on the top, despite the fact that we have the second half of June. And this day it was blowing really hard!
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