The medieval village of Tourtour is situated 27 km northwest of Draguignan in the Var department. Tourtour is an unbelievably picturesque and well-restored village, classified as one of the prettiest villages in France. Unfortunately, Tourtour is a holiday resort to an extent that it is almost dead out of season. It is well worth a visit, though, especially because of its fabulous location.
- Walking and hiking tours in the area
- Cykling routes.
- Exhibitions.
- Golf – There are lots of golf courses in the department of Var. Most of the courses can be found on the French golf union’s website. Unfortunately the website is in French. Seek under Guide de golfs and then under the region Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur: http://www.ffgolf.org/#
- Vieux lavoir, old wash house.
- The old olive mill, moulin à huile, still in use.
- Eglise st. Denis: Roman church from the 10th century, restored in the 19th century.
- Château from the 15th century.
- Tour sarrasine, Sarracene tower.
- Musée des Fossiles
- Château from the 12th century.
Tourtour is denominated village dans le ciel, “the village in the sky”, and from a distance it seems exactly as if Tourtour hovers between heaven and earth.
Tourtour lies 650 metres above sea level and boasts of spectacular views to all sides. On a clear day you can see the Massif des Maures, France’s most southern mountain range, the Luberon mountains, Ste. Baume and Cézanne’s Ste. Victoire near Aix-en-Provence.
Tourtour is a remarkably charming village with lots of old stone houses, well-restored facades, old fountains, gates and squares blooming with flowers.
Here, you can enjoy a cup of coffee under the shady plane trees.
In the centre one can find an imposing Château from the 14th century with 4 massive, round towers, one in each corner – one dates back to the 12th century.
The castle is very neatly restored and is still in use. In the village there is also an old olive mill from the 17th century as well as the small
Musée des Fossiles, displaying dinosaur eggs and fossilized shellfish. At
Rue de Lavoir, on the outskirts of the village there is a fine old wash house.