Fontaine de Vaucluse

Fontaine de Vaucluse

A mysterious spring

only 10 minutes away from Cavaillon

The village of Fontaine de Vaucluse is located in a valley, at the foot of the Vaucluse Mountains cliffs. This valley inspired the name of the Vaucluse department : Vallis Clausa, or the Closed Valley.

This small village, which is well suited to a “short sunday walk”, allows you to enjoy a freshness resulting from the proximity of the spring. You can enjoy there the historical remains and monuments, or visit the local craftsmen workshops (glass and cristal, stationery, confectionery, jewels and pottery), or even the ecomusem of santons (small terracotta figurines).

The fountain legends

The fountain of Vaucluse is an enchanting site which always intrigues and attracts tourists. It looks really different depending on the seasons : calm and quiet during summer, looking like it is sleeping at the bottom of the abyss, the spring then flows into bubbling waterfalls during the spring, with the snow melting. Then, during the autumn, with the heavy rains, the water level increases gradually in the abyss, until it overflows on the rocks into waterfalls.

Scientists and poets tried to solve its mysteries, making assumptions which seem more or less reasonable. In 1597, a latin manuscript evokes a tradition locating the origin of the spring around the Indian Ocean. Today this assumption seems rather unlikely, but the actual techniques haven’t always managed to find about this origin.

Fontaine de Vaucluse and its activities

Geologists, hydrologists, cavers and divers tried many explorations. It was 23m deep in 1878, and today a link was established, thanks to chemical trackings, between the spring waters and an abyss that is 668m deep and located 40km away. This researches helped us to have a better understanding of the fountain’s functioning and how it is fed.

From Fontaine de Vaucluse, you have the ability to descend the river by canoë or kayak, and you have free hiking paths guides at your disposal in the tourist office of Fontaine de Vaucluse.

Follow the river, and contemplate the change in the landscapes in l'Isle sur la Sorgue which will remind you of Venise