Holiday homes in Monteux

Monteux lies in the Comtat Venaissin plain, close to Carpentras, at the gateway to Mont Ventoux. The town calls itself the capital of fireworks: up to five fireworks factories once worked here, and every summer the great Feu de Monteux draws a huge crowd. Above the rooftops rises the Tour Clémentine, the 28 metre keep of the 12th-century castle. It is the only part that survived the fire of 1415, and it is named after Pope Clement V, who often stayed there. Protected as a historic monument since 1910, it is lit up every evening. The church of Notre-Dame-de-Nazareth grew from 1325 around a chapel of the Antonine friars and is protected for its rare timber roof. Stroll through the old centre past town gates, fountains and trompe-l'oeil murals, and step into the workshops of the Traversée des Arts. At the Lac de Monteux you can paddleboard or canoe, and the Wave Island water park and Parc Spirou are right nearby.