Entreveux

Does anyone have 159,000 Euro burning a hole in their pocket?  If so, that would be enough to buy you a three bedroom apartment with a ground-floor bistro/cafe in France.  Oh, and did I mention it's in a walled city fortress?  

Entreveux

Given its relatively small size, Entreveux has a surprising number of amenities including a handful of restaurants, a hotel, a library, and a hair salon.  The town itself is at the foot of the mountain with a formidable fortress sitting at the top. An intimidating sight, which is certainly what the medieval engineer, Vauban, had intended.  Until 1860, Entreveux was on the border of France, and the site for this fortress was chosen well:  the river Var coursing in front, a deep gorge in the back, and, from the safety of the mountain, good visibility for miles.   Entreveux had a military history from the 1300s until as recent as WWI when it was used to house German prisoners.  But hearing the echoes of school kids' laughter brings one back to the present.  Can you imagine going to elementary school in this sort of place?

the walled city & citadel of the fortress at the top

Like some of the best things in life, we stumbled upon Entreveux.  Someone had left behind an old guidebook in our rented apartment that made passing reference to a train line heading into Provence.  This railway conveniently links Nice to a place called Digne-les-Bains.  A further tip in "Rick Steve's France 2008" suggested that Entreveux was one of the best destinations on it's route and so a few days later we were on our way.  The "Chemin de Fer de Provence", as it's called, has been around for over 100 years.  Following the Var River, one arrives in Entreveux an hour and a half after a picturesque ride through other tiny Provencal towns.  The surrounding landscape was stunning:  olive groves, vineyards and the French Alps in the distance. 

the Var river

The moated citadel of Entreveux was a hidden gem, and we had it pretty much all to ourselves.  It had six drawbridges, ramparts with a covered watchpath, two bastionned towers, and subterranean passages.  It also had 4 neighborhood cats basking in a slice of sunlight, right outside the fortified cathedral.  Being the off-season, there were volunteer contractors doing some minor restoration work here and there.  We hiked to the very top of the fortress, and couldn't believe our luck at having found this place.  With it's "Lord of the Rings" medieval feel, Entreveux certainly gets your imagination going...