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By Christel Detsch
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Entrevaux is a small town in the department Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, 43 miles from Nice, in the foothills of the French Alps. To get there you can take the train from Nice or go by car on the D-6202, both of which follow the winding Var River whose milky, sediment-rich water gushes from the high mountains through steep gorges toward the coast where it empties into the bright, blue water of the Mediterranean. As you get closer to Entrevaux the valley opens onto fields and meadows where the people have long enjoyed the benefits of the Var's rich minerals deposited by the river during floods on the low-lying land. Gardens and orchards have sprung up on the south side of the river where peach and cherry trees bloom in spring and the branches are weighed down with fruit in the summer. Terraced olive groves cover the hillside on the north and an old olive mill in the village gives testimony that olives have been a staple in Entrevaux for centuries. The small garden plots where the trees grow have stayed in the same families for a long time. In late spring the owners come and prune the trees whose black and green fruit they harvest in the winter. Some declare that their trees go back to the time when the Greeks had settled in Nikaia, which is today Nice, in the 6th century B.C. and introduced their olive trees to this area. When one looks at the thick, gnarled trunks that grow out of the stony soil and are able to produce new, green shoots year after year, one may well believe this claim. |
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Beneficial as the floods were, they brought destruction which topped only when the Saracens swept through the area in the 10th century. It was then that the citizens decided to relocate from the fertile land by the river to a huge rock that is surrounded on three sides by the Var. On the forth side rises a steep cliff upon which stands a citadel. A gigantic rock in the shape of a lying dragon across from the village and the river forms a natural barrier and helped those who manned the citadel to control access to the hinterland. The Var River rushes past the rock and the dragon in a riverbed strewn with white, smooth pebbles. |
| During the winter and early spring, when thunderstorms and rain can drench this otherwise dry area, the river swells and it's color changes from milky-blue to chocolate brown to nearly black. Protected behind thick fortifications and trusting their bridge that has withstood the elements for hundreds of years, the citizens of Entrevaux barely pay attention to this spectacle, but the visitor is in awe as he gazes at the roaring river. Nature and man have truly worked together here to create a unique place in a dramatic setting. |
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The houses of Entrevaux rise behind a well-preserved wall whose turrets and guard towers speak of a time when France and Savoy battled for its possession. A drawbridge spans the Var and lets the visitor enter the town through the Porte Royale past the old prison. The commandant of the citadel languished here when he remained loyal to the king during the French Revolution. Now a mannequin dressed in the garb of the late 18th century illustrates these historic times. The visitor can follow any of the three narrow lanes that meet at the l'Eglise de Notre Dame, which is built into the massive fortification that surrounds the town, more suggestive of a fort than a place of worship. A section of the church, it is said, dates back to the times of the Templars. Compared to many churches in the countryside of France this is a well preserved little gem. Two olive trees grow in front of it on a terrace that has been paved with whitish stone, the same stone that litters the countryside and gives this landscape its luminous lightness. Inside the church it is dark and solemn except by the ornate altar with its bright painting illustrating Mary's assumption into heaven, stained glass windows, gold covered arches and a blue, star studded dome that rises above it. The church is well worth a visit because the organ has been restored and an organist accompanies the congregation during mass on Sunday. The priest has a strong baritone voice and loves to sing with a natural skill that tells of his love of music. The church is open every day for visitors. Behind the church is the Porte d'Italie, pointing the way to Italy across another drawbridge and past thick walls with firing slits. Through here the way leads to the olive groves and garden plots where the inhabitants grow their vegetables and keep their chickens. The path leads steeply up the hillside and the visitor might pause to catch his breath while the French gardener walks by him with a friendly Bon jour, M'sieu, 'dame and never stops once. |
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There is a third drawbridge, the Porte de France or Porte Guillaumes, which points the way west to France. It leads onto a sun-baked trail along the Var River past a shrine of St. Peter to a lake and camping place from which the brave can embark on a kayaking or rafting trip down the Var. One can sign up for such adventures at the camping place where all the gear is supplied from helmets to wetsuits to life jackets. It must be fun because before one can see the rafters drift past Entrevaux in the fast current of the river one hears them laughing and shouting. They are then picked up by buses several miles beyond the village. |
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The breath of history clings to the village of Entrevaux because its citizens have altered little. The fountains, arches, balconies, ancient doors and narrow stairways have not changed over the centuries. They are still used and many houses are lovingly restored. More and more façades are being painted in the pastel colors of Provence, yellow, ochre, pink; and the craftsman who has carefully returned a house to its former splendor puts his signature in a corner. There is a communal bake house that features a huge oven, which can hold dozens of loaves of bread. On special days those men in the village who still know how to work it display their skills here by producing breads in all shapes, long, round, crisscrossed. Wood is piled in the large stone oven where it burns for a long time until the right temperature has been reached. After the glowing embers have been cleared out the bread is pushed in on long wooden handles. It is hottest in the back of the oven and certain breads go there; cakes go in the front where it is cooler. All depends on the temperature. If it is too hot the bread rises too fast and collapses. There is much natural pride in preserving these old traditions, and the people of Entrevaux don't preserve them for the tourists but rather for themselves. The old customs are part of who they are, and they live in the modern world without forgetting the past. Entrevaux is a living town, not a museum, a town with great restaurants and the perfect mom-and-pop-store that sells everything you need to enjoy a vacation in France: good wine, local cheese, paté and olives. Of course, one can buy many other things because the villagers shop here rather than go to the supermarket in the next town. There are several good restaurants in Entrevaux. One of the best is the Restaurant Pont Levi across from the river. It features a nice terrace outside which is packed nearly every day in the summer. The menu is small but excellent: grilled lamb chops, duck breast in red currant sauce, truite meunière (trout à la miller), and the dessert is heavenly, especially the apple cake. The owners, Patrick and Emma, have perfected their menu over many years and the result is a meal of consistent high quality served in a tasteful atmosphere. There is also a crêperie with chairs and tables set up outside in one of the narrow streets. A crêpe with lettuce, ham and cheese, or Gorgonzola with walnuts, followed by a crêpe Suzette, accompanied by a bottle of cidre, while looking up at the old houses around you and gazing at the stars above--what could be more romantic? |
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Every visitor to Entrevaux wants to explore the citadel, the masterpiece of Vauban, military engineer under Louis XIV, that rises above the cluster of red-tiled roofs. An impressive rampart with regularly spaced firing slits zigzags up the cliff. Take water along. It's a hot, long walk. There are two alternative routes: one through the Porte d'Italie and the olive groves, that's the easier one; the other through the Porte Guillaumes, that's the hardest one. Paul, the caretaker of the citadel, has a heart for dogs and at the bottom of the rampart are bowls with food and water for the pets. Once on top one crosses a drawbridge and enters into the spacious courtyard where Louis' soldiers assembled and practiced the art of war. Year after year more rooms are restored: the large dining hall with its two fireplaces, the kitchen with oven and cistern. There are underground walkways that lead in and out of the citadel, small prison cells that were last used for German officers in World War I, but the most fabulous place is the commandant's quarters at the very top. Naturally, he had the nicest accommodations: a smooth tile floor and an ornate fireplace and a kitchen next to it with a stone basin and pipes that channeled the rainwater into it. These rooms have not been restored yet, but there is an authenticity that transports the visitor back to another time. The view is spectacular. Below huddle the houses of Entrevaux and to the east and west stretches the Var valley. Like a thin, silver thread the river meanders towards the sea and gets lost in the delicate haze of blue sky and green hills. As the visitors take in the breath-taking panorama they realize that it was well worth it to leave to busy Côte d'Azur for an excursion to this beautiful village in the foothills of the French Alps. |
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PHOTO CREDITS: Christel Detsch
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