The official name is Saint-Paul, but as there are several in the neighbourhood, Vence (a nearby village) is usually added to the name. The old medieval village, created in the ninth century, is well known for its museums and art galleries of modern and contemporary art! Many artists and writers, including the painters Matisse, Renoir, Modigliani, Chagall and Dufy, the writers Jean Giono, André Gide, Jean Cocteau, Jacques Prévert, James Baldwin and Eduardo Lourenço, the actors Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, Romy Schneider, Roger Moore and Tony Curtis and, more recently, Théodore Tobiasse and Giuliano Mancini... lived or at least stayed there for a while, namely at the hotel "Le Robinson" (today known as the "Colombe d'Or").
"SAINT PAUL - View as we approach the village"
"VIEWS -Towards and from Saint-Paul"
"RUE GRANDE - Main Street"
CHURCH AND CEMETERY - Where Chagall is buried"
"ART AROUND THE CORNER"
"VENUS - By Theodore Tobiasse. Born in Jaffa in 1927 of Lithuanian parents, his family settled in Paris in 1931. They lived hidden during the Nazi occupation and after the war Tobiasse worked as a very successful advertising artist, first in Paris and then in Nice. He now divides his time between Saint Paul and New York"
"STREET SCULPTURES"
"SHOPS AND GALLERIES"
"FOUNTAIN"
"STREETS AND WALLS"
"MAILBOX - Perrier Bellut..."
Posts
55 comments:
Hi Folks! Saint Paul de Vence is probably one of the oldest and also one of best known villages in the Maritime Alps, France. Home to a lot of writers and painters, it is also famous for the beauty of its views and the charm of the streets inside the old medieval village. But its most valued asset is probably the modern and contemporary art one may find just around the corner!! Enjoy, leave a comment, and have a fabulous weekend... ;)
What a fantastic place!! And your photos are superb as always! Thanks for a wonderful tour! Enjoy your weekend!
Sylvia
what a quaint village!!!
i could live here forever and never want to travel anywhere else!!!
Charming narrow alleys and roads and that art work is such fun!
A living museum with modern day art, what a treasure!
It's a fantastic place! Will have to visit it. I love all the photos, but the mailbox is my favourie!!!!
Have a great week ahead!
Hello,
Very interesting information and fantastic photos. I am amazed at the wealth of knowledge you have on so many things.
Joseph
Saint Paul de Vence....what a fascinating and sublime charming french town; oh; You are the best Tour Guide one can wish to know even the smallest details and secrets about your explored places around the Globe!!!!!
I am sure you talk even French, right!!!
Magnificient pics of the architectural details!!
ciao ciao and a happy start in the new week!!
elvira
wow, one place to my 'must visit' list.
I love this kind of places!
I see, always, a great deal of cheer, happiness and ease in all of your pictures and wonder at how unique these places are, so far away from the mechanically bored humdrum of everyday life!
Very nice post! The first picture is amazing.
Quite a collection...I especially like the post box in the end :)
Wonderful shots of the place.Everything is huge here.
You have reached Saint-Paul de Vence too..wow! Thanks for sharing your memories Gil. It's really not such a small world!
~celine
I like the sulpture a lot, though she is "big" she is also very "light" at the same time:)
Delightful place and pictures. Thanks for sharing!
This is one place I'd like to visit. Thanks for the tour.
Vous voilà en France! Quand feras tu un post sur la Normandie?
Je prépare mes photos de l'Inde"
Bises à tous deux.
Very interesting to be able to walk around the town. Lovely art pieces.
i just love the stonewalls and the quaintness of these towns, don't you?
Pas encore de commentaire d' un autochtone !
La France c'est toujours les non natifs qui l'apprécient le plus.
Merci
Yes, it's a marvellous place, but if I may say so, even better during the colder months, when the village is in "working mode", less tourists, school children... But some people have to work still and you cannot always choose your moment! :-) (Looking forward to you retirement?) :-)
I love this place and so enjoyed your pics. Last year I stayed up at Vence and passed St Paul everyday on the bus - then one day I decided to get off the bus and walk around this petit village - WOW!! so quaint so absolutely worth it.
What a beautiful and fascinating place!
That would be exactly the perfect place for me to do a vacation.
Lovely photos and details!
Love those traditional buildings and those art pieces are fab!!!
The most beautiful ecotour - Parappalaru Falls
Charming and sweet. And beautiful arts are everywhere!! One will be inspired to create art just by being there.
I am so excited to be here. Planning a trip to France in 2012 and am savoring all your beautiful photos. :)
what a picturesque town... just beautiful!
everything is so beautiful there..I love the postbox! have a wonderful week ahead :)
thank you for the delightful virtual tour!
Très beau coin !
l'art dans la ville c'est manifique et je trouve la venus tres belle (elle a quelque chose du sculpteur bottero)
This entry was like a pleasant stroll around town. It looks like my kind of place, but no snow.
Just breathtaking! How lovely to be taking a stroll down those streets! Love those street sculptures! :)
Thanks for sharing and have the most amazing week! :)
Such a picturesque village! It almost looks like a painting from a distance. Can tourisits go up to the top of the tower at the top of the village, Gil? That view must be amazing!
I liked the sculpture of the horse made out of horsehoes and the pretty mailbox!
Hello Gil! What a facinating and thrilling place! Your nice pictures and collages so well describe Saint Paul de Vence, I enjoy them very much!
Happy new week!
Lovely place !
Par excellence!. Gim, I lost my wife on the 7th February (Cardiac arrest). She was 64.
Wow This really is an interesting place.
Can imagine all these artists living there.
There is a lot to inspire you to paint there.
:)
That equine statue - all of these images really -
now feed my soul. they never would be mine without your sharing them!
Thank you
Aloha from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
><}}(°>
i am just lost in this dream art work
regards
I always enjoy visiting medieval villages like this one. They have a special atmosphere.
Beautiful place and captures!
Hi Everybody!! I have been a bit late in posting, but as some of you have also been a bit late in commenting, we have a fair deal... ;). Thanks a lot for your comments anyhow, and wish you a fantastic Sunday and week ahead!
Saint Paul de Vence is a wonderful little village as you may have seen from this post! But its beauty comes not only from the environment, but also from the fabulous collection of modern and contemporary art you may see there: inside and outside!!
Sylvia,
My pleasure! Thanks.
Star,
That is probably a bit excessive... Living there seems to be perfectly ok, but not wanting to travel anywhere else... ;)
Susu,
Everything seems to be put together to create a great joy in residents and visitors... ;)
Diane,
A living museum, that’s indeed a nice description of what we find when entering Saint Paul...
Joo,
I’m sure you’ll be crossing those roads one of these days...
The mailbox is a unique masterpiece of the kind... ;)
Joseph,
Thanks! Some things I know, others I look for... We have a saying in the Portuguese language which literally means that «knowing doesn’t take up space»; now we know it’s not exactly so, but anyhow I don’t mind... ;)
Elvira,
Great to read you again!! Thanks for the kindness; I’m flattered...
Yes, Portuguese, French, English, Spanish, German, and I understand (and won’t starve...) if I’m in a remote Italian village. ;)
xoxo
Blogitse,
It’s not that far from where you are now and it would much longer to travel from Helsinki... ;)
Rakesh,
It’s always a great treat to read your comments as they actually take us out of the «mechanically bored humdrum of everyday» commenting… ;))
Ron,
That’s how Saint Paul de Vence appears to you when you are approaching its entrance…
Part Two:
Siddhartha,
That mailbox seems to get the unanimity of the comments here; it actually deserves it…
Rajesh,
I don’t think we can say that everything is huge there; well, maybe you’re right with regard to Tobiasse’s Venus and to the Horse… ;)
Celine,
My pleasure! Have you been there too? Saint Paul de Vence definitely deserves a visit…
Ola,
She is in direct line descending from the Venus of Willendorf, no wonder the impression of hugeness… ;)
Ash,
My pleasure! I’m truly glad you liked and enjoyed the post and the views. Saint Paul deserves your esteem…
Keats,
Next time you come to Europe… The place truly deserves a visit; and the Provence around is a must … ;)
Lyliane,
On attend tes photos de l’Inde!! En ce qui concerne la Normandie, un jour je ferais un post… C’est sûr… ;)
Alice,
It’s a wonderful stroll!!
Ms. N.,
Great to read you back here after so long... Those old stones are surely impressive; and the combination with modern art works perfectly!!
Daniel,
Qu’est-ce que je peux dire? Nous avons en portugais un proverbe: «les saint de chez ne font pas des miracles»… En France aussi, il semble… ;)O
Peter,
Early June wasn’t that bad; The Parisians had not migrated to the Provence yet and the «starlettes» of the Cannes Festival were already gone... ;))
Even if I do not manage to retire, I look forward to the end of this year when supposedly I’ll regain my normal twenty two working days holidays, and also the ability to plan them... ;))
Part Three:
Dianne,
If you were staying in Vence (I would prefer to stay in Saint Paul... ;)), it makes sense anyhow to stop at Saint Paul... I’m sure you were not deceived with what you have seen there...
Nicole,
Definitely! And entirely different from what you may see either in Kuwait or Egypt!!
Friend,
I’m glad that you enjoyed, and I can imagine you strolling around the village and entering every shop and art gallery... ;)
Leo,
You must be right: like the water runs to the sea and money to the wealthy, it probably is also true that art brings art... ;)
Lynn,
Planning for 2012? Oh dear what a great luck... I can’t even plan for the next week!!
Eye,
Picturesque indeed, but probably much more than that... It must be an exciting experience to live there with that entire art environment around...
Mariposa,
The mailbox did make unanimity in these comments! Actually deserved... It’s amazing!!
Magic,
My pleasure!!
Gattina,
Mieux que quelques villes aseptiques et sans qualité qu’on trouve maintenant partout en Europe… ;)
Olivier,
Tu as raison: je me demande si c’est Theo Tobiasse (1927-) qui a été influencé par Fernando Botero (1932-) ou le contraire… ;)
Ted,
Fortunately there was no snow there… ;). But I tell you, I’m sure you would enjoy Saint Paul a lot...
Yvonne,
It is a great pleasure to stroll around Saint Paul de Vence; and if you manage to find one of the many artists or writers living around, the treat is complete!!
Part Four, and final for the time being...:
Pat,
Visitors may climb to the top of the tower, I believe, but you don´t need to do it to have some fabulous views of the surrounding fields... The sculpture made out of horseshoes is amazing!!
Pietro,
I’m glad you liked!!
G@tto,
Further to Sardinia, are you a Provence fan?
P.N.,
I’m truly sorry to read the infaust news... My thoughts are with you in this terrible circumstance...
Lady,
Do you want to make a try? Art flourishes... ;))
Cloudia,
The horseshoe statue is indeed amazing!!
Seema,
You’ll find your way... ;-)
Juka,
It’s true that there is a special atmosphere in the medieval European small villages...
Regina,
Thanks!
Charmant surtout les fleurs mais le cheval comme de l'Apocalypse et mangé de vers me fait peur...
Lucie,
Le cheval de l'Apocalipse: je n'aurais jamais songé... ;)
Hi Gil! I'm sorry it took me awhile to get here but I'm glad I did it when I could take the time to soak in all these photos – what an amazing place! Really stunning in so many ways. Definitely on my list now!
Have a great week.
Georgianna
Georgianna,
Great to read you back here!! I'm truly glad you enjoyed...
How did I miss this? I've been to Carcassone several times but I think this is so wonderful. I know the town is full of incredible art but I love the bright and beautiful mailbox!! Now that I am using my walker with wheels ( and a seat - need to rest when I get tired ), I know it would be hard to maneuver in a place like this but I'd be happy just to find a spot to park and take in the ambiance.
Carmen,
This wasn't to be missed... Carcassone is beautiful, but Saint Paul is much closer to the cruise roads, in particular when they anchor around Nice...
Such a beautiful little town. So very peaceful. I wish I had a nice little studio apartment at St. Paul de Vence.
Jen,
I entirely share your wish... ;)
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