Vacqueyras
Pop. : 1,077.

Department : Vaucluse

You will see its elegant Provençal bell tower standing atop a 12th century watch tower. As you wander around Vacqueyras, you'll come across fountains, old age-worn doors, windows overflowing with flowers, and beautiful old houses looking onto the little streets. You'll no doubt notice the sundial and its half-Latin half-Provençal inscription. At the foot of the village you'll find Cours Stassart, lined with plane trees. It was laid out in the 19th century, to replace the defensive ditches beneath the ramparts.

As you leave the village, heading for Sarrians, you might like to stop at the "Espace Botanique de Coste de Coa" a botanical centre in an area of 1,000 m² presenting a number of botanical trails and a signposted tour to learn about Mediterranean vegetation, trees and aromatic plants.

Vacqueyras is still essentially an agricultural community, and produces one of the three major vintages of Côtes du Rhône de Vaucluse. The vineyard extends as far as the Dentelles de Montmirail. The Vacqueyras vineyard has been renowned for many years, but it was only in 1990 that the local wine-growers obtained official recognition of the quality of their wines, which have now become a Côtes du Rhône appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC). If you wish you can taste it free of charge at the La Vigneronne wine co-operative, on the secondary road taking you to Gigondas. Vacqueyras is not just well-known for its wine. One of the most famous troubadours, Rimbaut de Vacqueyras, was born here in the 11th century. He was the son of a knight, but became a juggler and plied his trade at the court of the Prince of Orange. He must have been quite a performer to still have people talking about him 9 centuries later !

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