Cliffside village famed for ceramics
A ravine splits the cliff, and a village fills the gap. Water tumbles down through the centre of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, the sound of it threading through every corner of town.
The streets here climb steeply, but the views open up as you go. From the higher lanes, the valley drops away below – olive groves, red-tiled rooftops, and the wide plain stretching out towards the Valensole plateau.
Those streets and alleys are lined with faïence workshops, their windows stacked with hand-painted ceramics in the deep blues and warm whites. The Musée de la Faïence gives the whole tradition its proper context.
High above the main square – 227 metres (745 feet) up, strung between the two cliff faces – a golden star hangs on a chain. A knight placed it there on his return from the Crusades, or so the story goes.
Climb the ravine path to Notre-Dame de Beauvoir and the effort repays you immediately. The Romanesque chapel dates from the 12th century, cool and quiet inside, with a terrace that opens out over the rooftops and – on a clear day – all the way across to the lavender fields beyond.
View Provence
