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Apt is a fabulous market town. It's a large town, not a village; the surrounding apartment blocks are prominent, and the main road past the town and along the concrete-channeled river is pretty industrial. The beauty of Apt is the old town (vieille ville), hidden behind the walled buildings. Long, narrow streets winding between the houses, with interesting little nooks here and there waiting for discovery.
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Also: |
Apt Lavender Itineraries |
Apt Lavender Itineraries |
Avignon-Gordes-Apt Itinerary |
Nearby: |
Aix-en-Provence 55 km |
Avignon 51 km |
Bonnieux 14 km |
Buoux Fort 11 km |
Caseneuve 10 km |
Cavaillon 31 km |
Forcalquier 42 km |
Gargas 5 km |
Lourmarin 18 km |
Luberon |
Manosque 40 km |
Pertuis 35 km |
Pont Julien 8 km |
Roussillon 11 km |
Saint Saturnin-lès-Apt 9 km |
Hotels near Apt: |
Apt |
5 km Gargas |
9 km Saint Saturnin-les-Apt |
11 km Roussillon |
14 km Bonnieux |
18 km Lourmarin |
31 km Cavaillon |
On market day, the squares are filled, outside the old ports (see photo) and inside the town, and there are kilometers of streets packed with market stalls and lined with shops.
The old town is centered around the 11th-century Cathedral, on what was once an island between two branches of the river. Two ancient towers, the 18th-century Bouquerie tower and the 16th-century Tour de l'Horloge both have lovely campaniles. In some of the narrow, paved streets you'll see vaulted passages and some very lovely fountains.
Great museums in Apt.
Products
Apt has been known for its basket- and wicker-work and hat industries since the 17th century. Apt is the capital of candied fruits (fruit-confits), with the Aptuinion billed as the world leader in fruit-confits production.
Aptunion
Salignan, BP 137; 84405 APT Cedex, France
Tel: (33) 490 76 31 31; Fax: (33) 490 74 43 48
Favorite Sons
Some interesting people originated in Apt.
Joseph Aude (1760-1840), writer
François Carrière (..-1664) Franciscan Friar and King's preacher
Delpech, painter
Marc-Antoine Grossy (1604-1687), theologian
Joseph-Jean Rive, bibliographer
Joseph-Elzéar-Noël Sollier, student of David
Hadrian's horse Borysthenes died here in 121 AD.
Climbing
Aptitudes
Location:
Faubourg des Cordeliers
Tel: 0490 046 841
La Maison du Parc
La Maison du Parc at Apt offers guided tours for individuals, by rendez-vous.
Location:
Place Jean Jaures
Open: 1 Mar - 30 June
Tel: 0490 044 200
History
Name
First record, Roman: Apta Julia
Prehistoric:
There was paleolithic habitation in the Aiguebrun valley (see Fort de Buoux), just to the south. A Druids temple was located in the Rocsaliére Valley, and a Celtic-Ligurian oppidum was at Perréal.
Gallo-Roman:
"colonia Apta Julia" was an important Gallo-Roman city. The Calavon river valley was part of the Roman Domitienne Way between Italy and Spain. The location was actually an island between two branches of the river when the Romans built Apta Julia to garde the road and pacify the local Albici tribe, based on a hillfort at Perréal, 6 km to the north (near St.Saturnin). Barbarian invasions beginning in the 5th century pretty much destroyed the city, which was deserted and eventually covered over by silt from the river and the hillsides. The Roman remains are still buried around 5-10 m below the current basements. Paleo-Christian (4th, 5th, 6th c.) sarcophagi can be seen in the Chapelle St. Jean and Chapelle St. Pierre.
Medieval:
In the 10th century, the Bishops and Lords of Agoult-Simiane ruled Apt, bringing it back to life again. From the 13th century, Apt was ruled by a consular administration, growing steadily in prosperity, until stopped by the conflicts resulting from the succession of Reine Jeanne. During the Wars of Religion Apt was a Catholic town, in conflict with the Baron of Adrets. At the end of the 16th century, the Calavon flooded and seriously damaged the town. And after the floods, two successive plague epidemics devastated Apt, followed by a third in 1720.
Office de Tourisme
Tel (+CDT): 04 90 74 03 18; Fax: 04 90 04 64 30
Web: www.ot-apt.fr
Email: omt.apt@free.fr
Dates
Every Tue - (Mar-Oct) Brocante, Place St.Pierre
Every Sat - Marché - Morning, through the entire town center, and it takes all morning to see it all; come early to get a parking place. One of the biggest and best.
Last Sun Apr - Fête de Sainte Anne
Every May - La cavalcade (corso)
Every May - Salon des produits du terroir
Every May - Festival de jazz (www.jazz.free.fr)
3rd Sun Oct - Fête de la Vendange
Museums & Sites
Some great museums here.
Roman Theater Museum - In the Nassau mansion, built (inadvertently) over the remains of the Roman theater.
Rue de l'Amphithéatre
Open, Summer: 10h-12h, 14h30-17h30 daily;
Open, Winter: 14h30-16h30 except Tuesday; 10h-12h, 4h30-17h30 Saturday
Wine
Apt is in the region of the Rhône Valley Côtes de Luberon wines and the Côtes de Ventoux wines.
Transportation Apt
Bus
Department 84, Vaucluse Buses
See Beyond's Bus Schedules Page 2: Vaucluse Department for downloading Vaucluse bus-lines map [Plan global des lignes] and bus-line schedules [pdf for each line] (link for PDF files).
• Avignon has train or bus connections to Aix-en-Provence, Arles, Nîmes, Saint Remy-de-Provence, Paris.
• Cavaillon has bus connections to Aix-en-Provence, Arles, Saint Remy-de-Provence.
• Pertuis has bus connections to Aix-en-Provence and Marseille.
- Bus (Autocar)
- Gare Routière
- Tel: (33) 490 74 20 21
- See also Luberon page.
Sports
- Swimming Pools (Piscines)
- Piscine Viton
- Open: end July to beginning Sept
- Plan d'eau
- Open: mid June to beginning Sept
Cycling
The Luberon en Vélo cycling path runs 100 km between Cavaillon, Apt and Forcalquier. See also Cycling-Shops.
Camping
Rock Climbing
Cycling
Gallego René
Location:
all Bourguignons
Tel: 0490 741 929
Cycles Guy Agnel
Rental and Repair
Location:
86, quai du Général-Leclerc
Tel: 0490 741 716
Passion Ocre
Piaggio-MBK-Yamaha-Sunn-GT-Scott
Location:
422 av Victor Hugo
Tel: 0490 746 364; Fax: 0490 74 52 68
Peugeot Cycles
Rental and Repair
Location:
753, quai Lançon
Tel: 0490 741 643
Cycles Ricaud Patrick
Rental and Repair
Location:
44 quai Liberté
Tel: 0490 741 643; Fax: 0490 74 16 43
Swimming (Piscine)
Piscine municipale de Viton
Location:
Viton
Tel: 0490 047 869
Piscine Plan d'Eau
Location:
rte St Saturnin
Tel: 0490 743 809
Hiking
Maps:
IGN (1/25,000) #3242 OT "Apt, Luberon"
Didier Richard (1/50,000) #14 "Luberon, Sainte-Victoire"
The GR9 (Grande Randonnée) passes through the center of Apt. To the north, the GR9 follows small roads up the wide valleys and fields to join cross the GR6 near St. Saturnin-d'Apt, then climbs the slopes of the Plateau de Vaucluse. To the south, the GR9 crosses the wild Aiguebrun valley at the magnificent Fort de Buoux. From there, several trails go into the Luberon or west to Bonnieux.
Reader's Comments
Our stay in Provence was for a week at a house rental in Apt, actually it was a short drive down a dirt road just below the hilltop town of Saignon. This rental was arranged locally through an agent for vacation rentals in Western Europe.
It is too bad that the town of Saignon doesn't have a web site or you have a picture of it because it is certainly a small but interesting town to tour its streets and view the valley from its high viewpoint above Apt. Its ruins are lit up at night as well.
From here we used this as our home base to visit many of the hilltop or perched villages of the Luberon and onward to Aix-en-Provence and even a day trip to Saint Tropez! This was a little too far, especially having to travel over the Luberon Mtns. and down through Aix to get to the A-8!
Lodging - Hotels
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Photo gallery of 3 photos for Apt