Fontaine de Vaucluse is one of the most visited places in the Vaucluse: In the summer months the streets are literally full of tourist. The key attraction other than the village and the River Sorque is the gigantic spring. This source is the most powerful on France and fifth in the world. 630 million cubic meters of water flow out every year.
Not knowing if there is any car parking area in the village center, husband stopped by a paid car park area at the entrance. From there, we walked into the village.
From the outlook of those houses, we could tell this is a very old village. Fontaine de Vaucluse was built around a spring in a valley. It was named after the spring, the source of the River Sorgue.
Quite a long walk before reaching the center…Fontaine de Vaucluse is a medieval village tucked in a “closed valley”, 25 km east of Avignon.
A key feature of this place is an amazing and unique sight of a river gushing up out of the ground, of which husband said worth a visit. About 10 minutes later, finally we arrived at the center. The village of Fontaine de Vaucluse is squeezed into the sharp end of a narrow valley and takes its name from the beautiful and mysterious spring feeding the river Sorgue.
It’s very hot walking under the hot sun. Luckily those big trees had given us a very cool shade of shelter.
There are many shops at the center, indicates this place is not so “closed” but touristic instead. Never mind about it being touristic, this village is charming to tour around.
We walked a bit further in, then we saw this crystal clear river again, running through the village.
It was peak hour for lunch, so it’s not so easy to find a table in good restaurant like this.
This restaurant is the same too, full house.
We thought we would have sweated a lot walking to the source of water. Luckily, the path are quite shady with big trees along. Furthermore, there are quite some small shops to stroll around, so it’s a pleasant walk.
Souvenir stalls line up the walk up to the source…
The running river on the right hand side is especially charming…
Awesome river front….
Simply mesmerizing….
A charming restaurant, Restaurant Philip sits just next to the river.
It’s truly a blessing to enjoy this beautiful view while dining. of course, dining at a place like this won’t be cheap.
but yet, it’s still worth it, as long as one still afford the price.
Almost to the end point…
Met this terminally ill tree…can collapse anything, I think.
This is the source of Fontaine de Vaucluse, at the foot of a cliff 240 m high. The Sorgue comes from an immense underground network of waters, and it’s the biggest in France and one of the biggest worldwide.
It wasn’t until 1985 that the mystery of its origin was partially revealed. The lowest point is at -308 m depth attained by a robot submarine, and still no bottom.
Most recently, colored dye has been used to prove that the source originates somewhere high up on the Plateau de Vaucluse, flowing 20-30 km through rocky underground passages before it arrives at the still-looking pool.
If the season is dry, there won’t be much water, but at a maximum this source produces water at an amazing 200 m3/sec, making it one of the most powerful resurgent springs in the world. The seemingly still water is actually a full-fledged river gushing up out of the depths.
William was curious enough to walk to the bottom end…good for him.
On the way back, I bought this handmade clock as souvenir. It costs me Euro 27.5, quite reasonable. This is the lady who made all these, I wish her a big success in the future.
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