Gordes

Gordes is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in southeastern France. The residents are known as Gordiens. The nearest big city is Avignon.

The village is a member of the association, The Most Beautiful Villages of France.

Tourism and main attractions

The most striking monument remains the castle, the most visible part of which is in the Renaissance style. Built in the center of the village, this imposing building, redesigned in 1525, was classified as a historic monument on July 4, 1931 and currently houses a painting museum dedicated to Pol Mara, a Belgian artist, as well as the tourist office. Inside, several fireplaces, including one dating from 1541, decorate the rooms.

On the square south of the castle, a fountain, already mentioned in 1342, was for a long time the only water point in the upper part of the village.

Even further south, going down towards the belvedere, stands the church of Saint-Firmin built on the foundations of an old church from the 13th century, rebuilt in the 18th century and dedicated to Saint Firmin. The square tower, which probably dates from the 14th century, serves as a bell tower, undoubtedly an old belfry, and has the particularity of having an exterior staircase which leads nowhere, proof that another building was once attached to it. At its foot is the door to an old prison.

Next door, accessible via rue du Four, the Palais Saint-Firmin (former Hôtel Gaudin-de-Lancier), its gardens and cellars (rooms, cisterns, underground staircases, oil mills, etc.) are listed on the inventory of historic monuments since March 4, 1998.

Several streets in calade (Provencal word for alleys paved with stones) start from this place to the south of the castle to reach the remains of the old fortifications including the Porte de Savoie formerly Portal de Costubague, already mentioned in 1540, the Pluvinal hotel and the Pluvinal chapel, a 17th century religious building which owes its name to its proximity to the Pluvinal hotel, the André Lhote house, whose facades have been listed on the inventory of historic monuments since October 28, 1949.