Pernes-les-Fontaines, Provence, France
Pernes-les-Fontaines is a nice town located 25 km east of Avignon. It is famous for the fact that there are about 40 fountains in the town. You can simply walk the alleys to discover them. Don't also forget to climb up the tower for great views of amazing surroundings.
Parking in Pernes-les-Fontaines
The town has several parking lots. We parked in a small parking lot at Cours Frizet (P1; GPS: 43.998417, 5.055270) located in the northwestern part of the town, but you can also park your car in a larger parking lot located a little further along the same street (P2; GPS: 43.999608, 5.057359 ), as well as on the west side in the parking lot at Cours de la République (P3; GPS: 43.998845, 5.062349).
The old town
We left the car in the parking lot, and then walked a few dozen meters down the Avenue Jean Jaurès street and finally came at the entrance gate (A: GPS: 43.997661, 5.055929) which allows to enter the old town. We moved the Rue Gambetta passing the Tour Ferrande tower on the right - a building from the 13th century with a square base. The use of this tower, built at the request of Order of Saint John, remains somewhat problematic. Perhaps it was used to store the archives of the order.
We walked the Rue Victor Hugo and Rue Neuve and we got to the school buildings (with separate buildings for boys and girls - it is interesting if this division is still present) and the Center Culturel Municipal Les Augustins located in the former Augustinian convent church in the Louis Giraud square (B, GPS: 43.997531, 5.058778).
Then we headed towards the Tour de l'Horloge tower by going upstairs at Rue de Brancas (C; GPS: 43.998498, 5.059362). This tower is the only remaining trace of the 12th-century castle of the counts of Toulouse. If you enter the panoramic terrace, you have the opportunity to get beautiful views of the area, and sometimes reaching the Mont Ventoux.
We ended our visit by walking around various narrow streets of the old town and admiring the fountains that can be found here at every step.
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