| SAINT PAUL DE VENCE - PICTURE GALLERY | ||
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| Hotels in Provence - Alpes - Cote d'Azur | Hotels in Cote d'Azur | |
| Saint-Paul or Saint-Paul de Vence is a commune of the Alpes-Maritimes département, in southeastern France. Also known as St. Paul-de-Vence, which is handy, since there are nine other "St. Paul"s in France and a slew of St. Paul-de-somewhere's.
St. Paul is a beautiful medieval fortified village perched on a narrow spur between two deep valleys. Its location gives you a great view of the village from the La Colle road to the east or the Cagnes-Vence road to the west. Although the village itself is one of the most intact medieval examples of the region, with much of the ramparts still there, it's hard to see anything inside the village except other tourists. "Off season", the village is full of tourists. During the summer and holidays, the village is so packed with tourists that they walk shoulder-to-shoulder through the narrow streets. Except for the ramparts and the typical old houses, the most predominant things to see in the village are the scores of art galleries, tourist shops, pseudo "artisanal" shops; all very expensive. Vence, 3 km up the road, is also beautiful, more relaxed, has more realistic shops and art galleries, and fine terrace cafés. The Russian born painter Mark Chagall is buried in the Saint Paul-de-Vence cemetery. At the entrance, take the first right and the next left. Chagall has a simple white tomb. The small stones are added by visitors as tributes (from a Russian and Jewish tradition). |
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