Vaison-la-Romaine is a village of two historical halves The river Ouvèze runs through the middle of the present-day village but in the Roman era the town was restricted to the northern side while in Medieval times it’s a place that traces southern France’s entire past There is evidence of dwellers from the Bronze Age after which the Celts arrived to build camp before the Romans conquered the region in 120 BC the evidence of which are the remains of a large Roman theatre as well as elegant villas lining the river which are decorated with intricate mosaic tiles Christianity came to the area and parts of the town – notably the southern side of the river – began to be owned by rich Counts and Bishops It is here today that you can wander the medieval town following the winding alleys uphill to the large castle France | © Lev Levin / Shutterstock | © Lev Levin / Shutterstock The best things to do There are some wonderfully diverse things to do in Vaison-la-Romaine encompassing the area’s geography and history © Lev Levin / Shutterstock The Roman remains at Vaison-la-Romaine are all in good condition for tourists to visit there is the 2,000-metre-square villa of Apollo which boasts the remains of marble flooring and a thermal bath which was divided into a public section for entertaining a private home for the family and another part that housed animals and grain The third attraction is a sanctuary where Roman people could pay homage to local and national personalities and the architecture reflects this; it’s full of grand doorways a big pool and many statues of Emperors and their wives which was probably built in the first century AD and which has been protected as a historical monument since 1862 This last is an impressive relic of a bygone age when it could entertain up to 3,000 spectators at a time It was probably used until the fifth century at which time (in the year 407) Emperor Honorius ordered the dismantling of any pagan monuments The whole site is currently undergoing restoration and is well worth a visit © Dar1930 / Shutterstock The Romans retreated from Vaison-la-Romaine in the fifth century and the village was incorporated into the area known as Provence many local families contested ownership of land and their right to rule the region The pope eventually stepped in to solve the town’s disputes and at the same time and the village gradually built itself up around the hill below Present day locals mostly live on the opposite side of the river although there are still some small cottages and the occasional shop on the path up to the castle take photos and eat a crêpe or ice cream before you leave Sign up to our newsletter to save up to $800 on our unique trips See privacy policy © PHB.cz (Richard Semik) / Shutterstock Overlooking the entire town Château Comtal offers unrivalled views of the surrounding area There are few signs so just keep walking uphill to find it through the winding medieval streets – it can be steep in places but there is a handrail to help on some of the several routes up Château Comtal was built in 1185 to celebrate the Count of Toulouse’s reign and was later fortified in the 13th century when a dungeon was added The Catholic Church took possession in 1274 and it’s now run by the French government as a historic monument  © Edna Winti / Flickr Ever since 1483, Vaison-la-Romaine has held a weekly market but it wasn’t until Pope Clement VII fixed the day by decree in 1583 that it became a regular Tuesday event It runs from 8am to 1pm and takes over the whole town – on the streets pavements and in every alleyway – selling local produce as well as everyday items Buy a plate of delicious prawns or paella from a stallholder take a seat and watch the market people go by import PrebidBidService from "/v1/js/PrebidBidService.js"; import AmazonBidService from "/v1/js/AmazonBidService.js"; window.addEventListener('intersecting',async (e) => { const element = document.querySelector('[data-id="in_article_2"]'); const slot = element.getAttribute('id'); if(e.detail.slotName !== slot) { return; } let promises = []; if(window.canRunPrebid) { const prebidService = new PrebidBidService(); promises.push(prebidService.requestPrebidBids(null [slot])); } if(window.canRunAmazon) { const amazonService = new AmazonBidService(); promises.push(amazonService.fetchBids(null [slot])); } if(promises?.length) { await Promise.all(promises).then(() => { googletag.pubads().refresh([window.addSlot[slot]]); }); } else { googletag.pubads().refresh([window.addSlot[slot]]); } }); The river Ouvèze Natural Feature © mj - tim photography / Shutterstock The river Ouvèze made headlines 26 years ago in the worst possible way; after several days of torrential rainfall in September 1992 the banks flooded and Vaison-la-Romaine was inundated with water on both sides Cross the Roman bridge built in the first century which links the Medieval and Roman parts of the town and visit the memorial commemorating the 38 dead You can also see the plaque that records the astonishing level the water reached – on that fateful day the river was above head height on the bridge which itself is several metres above current day river levels the river is a star attraction in a more positive way have a picnic on the tables underneath the Roman bridge and paddle your feet in the much calmer river of today The medieval streets of Vaison-la-Romaine | © mj – tim photography / Shutterstock | © mj - tim photography / Shutterstock About the author English writer in France Swapped a hectic life in the city of London for an easy-going southern French vibe I still work just as hard but on my own terms and on my own time and of course meeting the amazing people and seeing the wonderful things this country has to offer See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in September Guides & Tips Scenic Road Trips to Take From Biarritz See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in Autumn 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came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page but occasionally I would write from there and the words Vaison-la-Romaine would appear at the top of this column With my barrister wife having been summoned to jury service in the middle of the month lawyers are now summoned for jury service) and listening to the BBC instead of French radio Thus it was that I was able to catch a wonderful conversation between the historian Peter Hennessy and the former Labour Party deputy leader Roy Hattersley I hope that the present Labour leadership were able to listen to it because there were lessons for them to draw Lord Hattersley was able to point out where it had all gone wrong At one stage he said that whenever he criticised his Conservative colleagues in the House of Lords – about the commercialisation of the National Health Service the neglect of housebuilding or light-touch regulation of the financial system – they were always  able to retort that New Labour had started it He was generous about the younger Tony Blair who worked for him in opposition in the 1980s – "lucid very clever" – but sad that Blair had come to politics too late That was part of Blair's appeal to what turned out to be New Labour's fair-weather friends in the "centre" and even the "centre right" Of course Labour's majority would probably have been lower without Blair in 1997 but I agree with Hattersley that John Smith would still have won handsomely and the Labour party would have preserved its soul Hattersley emphasised that he was brought up to believe that trade unions were a force for good and that public spending was good for society But in the 1970s the unions behaved "hideously" and "the Labour party has not recovered" since As the common refrain from the Bank of England onwards is that low real wages are keeping living standards down and as even the Bank's governor believes the fiscal squeeze has inhibited the pace of recovery it is surely time for the Labour party to regain the courage of the convictions of Hattersley and others when it comes to economic and social policy Hattersley was always considered to be on the right of the Labour party: he believes in market forces and advocates public ownership only when it makes sense A consistent theme of his throughout his career has been an emphasis on equality – a concern he shared with those great Labour luminaries Hugh Gaitskell and Tony Crosland their common hero in turn having been RH Tawney with his celebrated book The Acquisitive Society By equality Hattersley has never meant absolute equality his belief is that it is the duty of governments to try to offset or mitigate the inequality imposed on people by society Now it so happens that concern about inequality is all the rage these days, being manifested by everyone from leading American economists such as Paul Krugman and Larry Summers to the bestselling French economist Thomas Piketty and my new friend Mark Carney I have referred before to the impressive speech Governor Carney made at the Financial Times conference on "inclusive capitalism" earlier in the summer when he observed that all the research suggests that "relative equality is good for growth" Carney even talked about that concept dismissed by the right wing It is becoming clear that the governor cares deeply about unemployment and the low level of real wages – deeply enough to have accepted an invitation to address the Trades Union Congress annual conference next month Meanwhile the present chancellor is on record as wanting even more cuts in the public services if the Conservatives win the next election Such a programme would undoubtedly hit the poor most George Osborne and his ilk seem to have a visceral hatred of public services It is as extreme as the obsession of the old left with nationalisation for the sake of it I sometimes wonder whether it ever occurs to the "cutters" that the public sector not only provides essential services but that it is also a major customer for the private sector's goods and services even people unfortunate enough to be on "welfare" or "handouts" buy from the private sector This is the archive of The Observer up until 21/04/2025 The Observer is now owned and operated by Tortoise Media Porte and Lopez in action on the Giant of Provence Summit meeting: Nairo Quintana looks to continue sequence at Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge 2020 start list Bardet ruled out of Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge following Route d'Occitanie crash We pick up the action in the opening kilometres of the second edition of the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge which brings the peloton from Vaison-la-Romaine to the summit of Mont Ventoux for a total of more than 4,000m of climbing Last year an epilogue to the Critérium du Dauphiné this year's event is a preamble to the Tour de l'Ain it is a staging post en route the Tour de France which is just over three weeks away.  124 starters were flagged away from the start at 10.36 CET and there was an immediate flurry of attacks The race has settled since then and we pick up the action after 15km with eight riders out in front with a lead of 3:30 over the bunch The escapees are: Carmelo Urbano Fontiveros (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) Jose Gonçalves (Nippo Delko One Provence) Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Euskaltel-Euskadi) Marlon Gaillard (Total Direct Energie) and Robert Scott (Canyon dhb p/b Soreen) The leaders hit the day's first classified climb where Arkea-Samsic are setting the tempo on behalf of the pre-race favourite Nairo Quintana The Fontaube is a relatively gentle ascent and unlikely to do much damage beyond steadily adding metres to that daunting overall altitude gain of 4,000m There isn’t much by way of flat on today’s route as the race winds clockwise around Mont Ventoux before reaching the base of the Giant of Provence at Bedoin after 89km they ascend 13.2km as far as Chalet Reynard site of Quintana’s win at the Tour de La Provence earlier this year and Thomas De Gendt’s victory on the shortened stage here on the 2016 Tour de France That is far from the end of the day’s climbing drop down Mont Ventoux and then circle back to Bedoin to do it all over again The second and final haul up Mont Ventoux is the whole nine yards – or the whole 19.4km – as competitors climb all the way to the observatory at the top Arkea-Samsic's steady pace-setting on the ascent has chipped away considerably at the deficit A reminder of the eight escapees: Carmelo Urbano Fontiveros (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) The Dutch champion remains in an induced coma after he was injured in an horrific crash in the finishing straight of stage 1 of the Tour de Pologne in Katowice on Wednesday "His situation is stable at the moment and later today the doctors will try to wake Fabio up,” read the statement from Deceuninck-QuickStep though delegations from Astana are also prominent towards the front They have both Miguel Angel Lopez and Aleksandr Vlasov in their ranks today Vlasov was 4th at Chalet Reynard in February's Tour de La Provence after winning the previous day's uphill finish at La Ciotat The Russian arrives at the foot of Mont Ventoux in sparkling form having been the last man to withstand the Ineos assault on the Col de Beyrede at the Route d'Occitanie on Monday He placed third there and third in the general classification.  the city near the Finnish border that was also home to 1994 Giro d'Italia winner Evgeni Berzin Vlasov won the under-23 version of the Giro in 2018 and this is his first year at WorldTour level after joining Astana from Gazprom-Rusvelo during the off-season.  The break covered 39.4km in the opening hour of racing Carmelo Urbano Fontiveros (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) This race marks Nairo Quintana's first competitive outing in just under five months His last appearance ended in victory atop at La Colmiane on the final stage of Paris-Nice and that was his fifth triumph since signing for Arkea-Samsic after claiming his overall victories at the Tour de La Provence and the Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var and his mountain stage wins at Chalet Reynard and the Col d'Eze “I really wanted to start the season well and that’s what happened,” Quintana said “In hindsight and taking into consideration what happened in the world since I’m going into the upcoming races above all with tranquillity I need to find those same good sensations before the Tour.” It's been a relatively brisk morning of racing so far and the escapees are not far from Bedoin and the first of the day's hauls up Mont Ventoux Arkea-Samsic continue to patrol the head of the peloton Marlon Gaillard (Total Direct Energie) and Robert Scott (Canyon dhb p/b Soreen) hold an advantage in excess of five minutes over the peloton with those two ascents (or rather one and two-thirds ascents) of Mont Ventoux still to come Trek-Segafredo and Astana continue to lead the peloton it's worth recalling that last year's winner Jesus Herrada is on hand as part of a strong Cofidis squad that also includes Guillaume Martin The Frenchman will ride the Tour de l'Ain and the Criterium du Dauphine as he builds towards the Tour de France The leaders have passed through Bedoin and are about to take on the first ascent of Mont Ventoux Their lead over the peloton stands at just over 4 minutes The break is grinding through the forestry at the foot of Mont Ventoux A reminder that they will not go all the way to the exposed summit on this first ascent They will instead swing off to the right at Chalet Reynard and drop to Sault before circling the base of the mountain for a second and full ascent Dylan Groenewegen has made his first public response to his role in the crash at the Tour de Pologne that saw his fellow countryman Fabio Jakobsen sustain serious injury Jakobsen underwent facial surgery overnight and remains in an induced coma His Deceuninck-QuickStep team described his condition this morning as stable I can't find the words to describe how sorry I am for Fabio and others who have fallen or been hit," Groenewegen wrote on Twitter the health of Fabio is the most important thing Ik vind het verschrikkelijk wat er gisteren gebeurd is. Ik kan de woorden niet vinden om te beschrijven hoe erg ik het vind voor Fabio en anderen die zijn gevallen of geraakt.Op dit moment is vooral de gezondheid van Fabio het allerbelangrijkste. Ik denk aan hem, constant.August 6, 2020 At the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge there has been an uptick in the intensity of the main peloton despite the temperatures in excess of 30°C Garikoitz Bravo (Euskaltel-Euskadi) attacks from the break as the gradient bites further on Mont Ventoux. Basque teams in orange have some previous on the Giant of Provence. Iban Mayo set the record time up Mont Ventoux when he won the time trial here en route to overall victory at the 2004 Dauphiné Bravo's attack has fractured the break beyond repair 15 seconds ahead of Marlon Gaillard (Total-Direct Energie) Jose Goncalves (Nippo Delko One) and Alessandro Monaco (Bardiani-CSF) while the a rapidly shrinking peloton is just two minutes down and picking off the remnants of the break Garikoitz Bravo (Euskaltel-Euskadi) reaches Chalet Reynard alone at the head of the race The Basque begins the descent off the mountainside with a lead of 30 seconds or so over Gonçalves Astana took up the reins in the peloton on that first ascent of Mont Ventoux The Kazakhstani squad succeeded in thinning out the bunch considerably and their deficit on Bravo stands at two minutes It remains to be seen whether Astana are riding in support of Miguel Angel Lopez or Aleksandr Vlasov but Lopez is building towards his Tour de France debut and he will surely want the chance to gauge his own form on this mighty ascent Astana have brought a very strong climbing team to this race with Lopez and Vlasov joined by Hernando Bohorquez he approached both the UCI and ASO with a barrier designed to protect sprinters who crash in bunch sprints as Wednesday's horrific crash at the Tour de Pologne demonstrated McEwen stressed that he did not condone Dylan Groenewegen's manoeuvre in the sprint but he pointed out that the design of the finish area seemed to exacerbate the consequences of the crash.  "I put forward a barrier design to both the UCI and the ASO at the same time for exactly the circumstances like this," McEwen said The board on the front of the barrier also has to come down at an angle and meet the road Everything has to deflect the rider back onto the road "The barriers in Poland flew every which way and it looked to me like they were made of plastic One of them broke into pieces and that doesn’t happen with the metal ones There’s a lot to be done in regard to safety in the last few hundred meters.”  Read the full story here Back at the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge Bravo has extended his lead over the chasing trio to more than a minute while his buffer over the peloton has extended to 2:40 Alessandro Monaco (Bardiani-CSF Faizane') and Marlon Gaillard (Total Direct Energie)  who has 2:05 in hand on the chasers and 2:30 on the peloton Alessandro Monaco (Bardiani-CSF Faizane') and Marlon Gaillard (Total Direct Energie) are on the cusp of being caught by the peloton The Astana-led bunch have swept up the three chasers and they are 2:23 down on the lone leader Garikoitz Bravo (Euskaltel-Euskadi) Pierre Latour (AG2R La Mondiale) reportedly had mechanical trouble ahead of the first ascent of Mont Ventoux but the Frenchman is safely on board this reduced peloton All of the pre-race favourites - men like Quintana the Astana duo of Lopez and Vlasov - are in this peloton which is a little under 30km from the foot of Mont Ventoux Seconds are dropping off Bravo's lead and the peloton is now at 1:45 Arkea-Samsic were controlling the peloton in the early part of the race on behalf of Nairo Quintana but they're content to allow Astana hold the reins for the time being as they sweep past the Gorges de la Nesque Joe Dombrowski is also on hand for UAE Team Emirates today in his first race since the Volta ao Algarve in February.  Astana continue to pile on the pressure in the peloton on this undulating approach to Mont Ventoux There are strong delegations from Trek-Segafredo and Arkea-Samsic lined up behind the Astana cohort at the head of the peloton All eyes will be on Nairo Quintana once the road begins to climb again but he will surely face stiff competition from Lopez 33km to go and our lone leader has  1'13 on the peloton  Trek and Arkea contributing to the chase In the very distance we can see the summit of Ventoux but today's race only goes as high as Chalet Reynard The road continues downhill until we reach the base of the final ascent It's all Astana  on the front right now with the gap at 1'24 Quintana has reportedly had ten days off the bike but he  was flying earlier in the season and it will be fascinating to  see how he gets on here and he has his team tucked behind Astana and Trek for now A final feed before the climb as Astana ease up slightly This should allow Bravo  to extend his lead before the climb with the gap currently at 1'24 with 25km to go The wind is picking up but it's a cross-wind at the moment as the road levels out and then gently starts to rise Back in the main field we're down to about 40-50 riders Cofidis come the front as they look to position Martin before the final climb but the reduced peloton has closed to within 20 seconds of the Basque on this the beckoning antechamber of the Bald Mountain Bravo checks over his shoulder and sees the group of favourites inching ever closet to him Bravo is caught by a peloton made up of perhaps 50 or so riders We can expect the this front group to be whittled down considerably once the gradient begins to bite Arkea-Samsic and Cofidis have men on the front of this group while the powerful Astana delegation are tucked in right behind them though Toms Skuijns leads his Trek-Segafredo teammate Julien Bernard Giulio Ciccone and Richie Porte towards the head of this reduced peloton The gradient is relatively gentle at this point but the road will start to tilt upwards presently The intensity is already rising a notch or two in this peloton and some riders are being jettisoned off the back Julen Amazqueta (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Simone Petilli (Circus-Groupe Gobert) attack from the front group and open a small lead as the gradient stiffens considerably into double digits Amazqueta later pressed on alone but he was quickly pegged back by the reduced peloton where Joe Dombrowski and Tobias Ludvigsson are among the riders dropped from this ever-reducing front group Astana have whittled down the front group still further and now Edward Ravasi (UAE Team Emirates) has attacked alone Pierre Latour (AG2R La Mondiale) sets out in lone pursuit of Ravasi and the Frenchman is about to make it a duo at the head of the race Latour accelerates as soon as he catches Ravaii and he puts a small gap into the Italian He has about 15 seconds or so in hand on the reduced group of favourites The Astana hierarchy is defined with 9.5km to go as Miguel Angel Lopez is dropped from the group of favourites Latour initially looked to be struggling to shake off Ravasi but now he has found his rhythm and accelerates again to stretch out a decent buffer has been caught by the group of favourites Latour has 12 seconds in hand on a group of fifteen riders or so who has clawed Latour's lead back to 9 seconds with 8km of climbing to go Just 13 riders in this group behind Latour Guillaume Martin and Jesus Herrada are also in here for Cofidis Skujins swings over and now Tejada takes over for Astana and so Cofidis come to the front to keep piling on the pressure.  Pierre Latour is fully committed to his effort at the front of the race and his lead over the group of favourites is 12 seconds Fernando Barcelo sets the pace for Cofidis with Guillaume Martin on his wheel Fabio Aru sits in fourth wheel and looks relatively comfortable though few riders are making it look as effortless as Quintana Quintana rarely betrays signs of suffering on good days or bad.. looks back and then climbs out of the saddle again Now Guillaume Martin accelerates from the chasing group behind and sets out in lone pursuit.. That was a very crisp acceleration from Guillaume Martin and he looks well capable of maintaining his effort as he bridges across towards Latour There was no immediate reaction from the group of favourites.  Guillaume Martin catches Latour and rides side by side with his fellow countryman This duo have a lead of at least 15 seconds over the chasers where Fabio Aru has launched an acceleration of his own Tejada tracked Aru's move and refuses to come through when the Italian asks for a turn Quintana et al back up to Aru and Tejada.  Shades of Pantani on the Ventoux in 2000 as Miguel Angel Lopez battles his way back up to the rear of the Quintana group have a lead of 20 seconds or perhaps more.. He makes a couple of sustained accelerations and he eventually shakes off Latour The Cofidis rider is alone at the head of the race but now he has recommitted himself to his effort He surely won't catch the smooth pedalling Martin which do not appear to be the most reliable Trek-Segafredo's Elissonde and Porte lead the group of favourites Guillaume Martin emerges from the selva oscura at the base of Mont Ventoux bursts into the light of the exposed upper reaches He has 20 seconds in hand on Latour at Chalet Reynard and a little more on the 11-strong group of chasers Martin is still pedalling very smoothly indeed and is managing his advantage well over the chasers though we can surely expect some fierce accelerations from Vlasov Tejada sets the pace with Elissonde and Porte behind him Aru and Tony Gallopin are also in this group.. Vlasov accelerates from the chasing group and he bridges swiftly across to Latour He drops Latour after a brief tussle and sets off in pursuit of Martin Guillaume Martin leads Vlasov by 24 seconds Porte and Quintana have caught and passed Latour Richie Porte accelerates in a bid to catch Vlasov and Quintana can't hold his wheel.. It's each man for himself on the upper reaches of Mont Ventoux Vlasov catches Martin and he climbs from the saddle in an attempt to blast past him Richie Porte gets to within 25 metres or so of the Vlasov-Martin tandem bu then the Russian accelerates once again and they distance Porte Martin couldn't hold Vlasov's searing acceleration The Russian is alone at the head of the race and seemingly destined for victory and this duo will attempt to claw back Vlasov but unless the Russian has over-estimated his strength it's hard to imagine they'll see him again before the top Quintana and Lopez make up the third group on the road but they look to be out of contention for the honours at this late juncture Richie Porte drops Martin and sets off alone in a bid to close the gap on Vlasov Quintana is in the fourth group on the road with Lopez and Kenny Elissonde This has been a determined effort from Richie Porte Even now and then he claws back a few metres on Vlasov but the Russian is holding on to most of his advantage on this upper slopes Vlasov carries a lead of 14 seconds into the final kilometre He keeps checking over his shoulder for Porte who is producing a fine ride and is poised to capitalise should Vlasov crack Vlasov keeps grimacing and keeps looking over his shoulder but the Tasmanian may just run out of road who has steadied himself considerably in these closing metres Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana) wins the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo) takes second at 14 seconds Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) is third at 56 seconds The Frenchman deserved a podium place at the very least given his courageous attack Another brave effort came from Pierre Latour (AG2R La Mondiale) Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) is 5th at 1:36 Lopez (Astana) is a little behind him in 6th Kenny Elissonde (Trek-Segafredo) comes home in 7th place while Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic) is 8th at 1:54 or so and he confirmed his status with victory on Mont Ventoux It's the Russian champion's second win of 2020 after his stage win at the Tour de La Provence in February like 1994 Giro d'Italia winner Evgeni Berzin and he signalled his talent two years ago by winning the under-23 version of the Giro This is Vlasov's first year at WorldTour level Astana's Miguel Angel Lopez had a more trying ascent of Mont Ventoux though he does come home in 12th on the day 1 Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana Pro Team 04:56:39 2 Richie Porte (Aus) Trek-Segafredo 00:00:18 4 Pierre Latour (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 00:01:29 5 Fabio Aru (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 00:01:38 6 Harold Tejada (Col) Astana Pro Team 00:01:43 7 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Trek-Segafredo 00:01:51 8 Nairo Quintana (Col) Arkéa-Samsic 00:01:57 10 Valentin Madous (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 00:02:32 Richie Porte had praise for Vlasov's display at the Route d'Occitanie earlier in the week but the Australian rode well to push the winner all the way to the summit here "He’s some talent," Porte said after the Route d'Occitanie's summit finish at the Col de Beyrede "When we saw Superman López collecting bottles from the team car the day before we wondered what was going on and clearly that young guy Vlasov was their pick for this race He’s going to make a real name for himself.” Aleksandr Vlasov on his victory: "It's a very famous mountain I'm happy with my performance and with the teamwork I hope to get some good results in the Giro dell'Emilia or Il Lombardia That was Guillaume Martin's first race since February and an encouraging return to competition as he builds towards the Tour It was also Nairo Quintana's first outing since Paris-Nice and it's worth bearing in mind that the Colombian spent some time off the bike after he crashed in training at the end of June Both riders will line out at the Tour de l'Ain Thanks for joining our live coverage of the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge today on Cyclingnews. A full report and results are available here Almost every hobby cyclist knows the Letape du Tour The original Gran Fondo of the Tour de France is a real highlight in the cyclosportive-race-calendar and is also an excellently organised event But there are lots of other events which leads over spectacular mountains and roads to create a real Tour de France atmosphere 2024Start – Finish: Saint Michel de Maurienne – Col du Galibier (Saint Michel de Maurienne)Routes: 115 km / 335 hm 35 km / 2100 hmTour de France climbs: Cols de Beau Plan | Col du Télégraphe | Col du Galibier it is one of the stone myths that generations of Tour de France participants have climbed the Tour de France has been on the 2642 meter high Alpine pass more than 60 times the Galibier was “crossed” twice the Alpine giant is part of the 4th Tour stage on July 2nd The Le Galibier Challenge is the first high mountain event in the French amateur calendar and leads on the long route over Cols de Beau Plan Col du Télégraphe with the finish on the Col du Galibier The double pack of Télégraphe and Galibier adds up to a climbing party of over 30 kilometers and more than 2000 meters in altitude the time is stopped at the top of the Col du Galibier – after a total of 78 kilometers on the long route the descent to the finish town of Saint Michel de Maurienne is made at a free pace The distance of 110 kilometers includes the descent into the valley Organizer’s website 93 km/ 2200 hmStart – Finish: Ronchamp – La Planche des Belles-FillesTour de France climbs: Le Ballon de Servance | Le Col d’Oderen | Le Col du Hundsruck | Le Ballon d’Alsace: | La Planche des Belles-Filles Tradition meets modernity at this Gran Fondo in the Vosges The two routes lead over epic Tour de France passes While the 13.2 kilometer climb to the Ballon d’Alsace was the first official mountain ever at the Tour de France in 1905 the finish at Les 3 Ballons is on the Planche des Belles Filles made it onto the Tour de France route for the first time in 2012 but has since been the scene of thrilling uphill finals six times – most recently in 2022 This year also saw the newly launched Tour de France for women end with a victory by Annemiek van Vleuten Organizer’s website 2024Start – Finish: Vaison la Romaine – Mont Ventoux / Vaison la RomaineRoutes: 122 km* / 3600 hm 100 km* /2600 hmTour de France climbs: Mont Ventoux Off to storm the “white giant of Provence” both distances end at the top of the bare mountain at 1909 meters altitude The ascent on the long variant is classic via Bedoin and the Chalet Reynard The shorter route leads via Sault to the Chalet Reynard and then further up as a warm-up at the foot of the 21 kilometer long and on average 7.6 percent steep climb there are still some smaller passes to master the day is only over after a neutralized 30 kilometer long descent from the summit down to Vaison la Romaine Organizer’s website 2024Start – Finish: LourdesRoutes: 157 km / 4064 hm 99 km / 2321 hmTour de France climbs: Col d’Aspin the Pyrenean pass Tourmalet was not only part of the Tour de France – on the 5th stage – but also the roof of the Vuelta a España which the pros had to climb on the 13th stage of the Vuelta Ambitious amateur cyclists can take on one of the most legendary passes in cycling on June 24 the approach is “classic” via the Col d’Aspin 12 kilometers long and on average 6.5 percent steep the road winds up to almost 1500 meters in altitude A form test before it goes over the big one From the west side of Sainte-Marie-de-Campan almost 1300 meters in altitude have to be overcome on about 17 kilometers the route leads predominantly downhill over the final 50 kilometers to the finish and pilgrimage town of Lourdes 2024Start – Finish: Bourg d’Oisans – Alpe d’Huez / FranceRoutes: 177 km / 5000 hm 226 km / 6300 hmTour de France climbs: Col du Glandon The marmot – but the event is by no means as cute as the frolicsome rodents the route is similar to a queen stage of the Tour de France After the descent down to Saint Michel de Maurienne the double pack of Col du Telegraph and Col du Galibier awaits – a total of 2000 meters in altitude over more than 35 kilometers from where it goes up the 21 hairpin bends to Alpe d’Huez to the finish For those who still haven’t had enough and want to see more marmots in the mountains the organizer has a bonus: At the Ultrafondo Marmotte Alps the route is extended over the Col de Sarenne and it goes up to the Alpe a second time The Alpine double pack is reminiscent of the 18th stage of the 2013 Tour de France Organizer’s website 2024Start – Finish: Cluses – CarrozRoutes: 130 km / 3500 hm 100 km / 2400 hmTour de France climbs: Col de la Colombière Only a few kilometers after the start in Cluses the climb to the Col de la Colombière begins A Tour de France pass that is regularly found on the route map of the Tour de France Most recently in 2018 when Julian Alaphilippe won the 10th stage in Le Grand Bornand The climb is 18.4 kilometers long and is almost treeless in the sun The participants have to climb over 1100 meters in altitude to the pass crossing at 1613 meters easy-to-ride descent to Le Grand Bornand rewards the efforts of climbing the race leads through the Aravis Valley over the Glieres plateau to send the participants over the Col des Fleuries in the further course A climb that is at the beginning of the 15th stage of this year’s Tour de France which is in Carroz – not far from the start town of Cluses Organizer’s website Date: tbdStart – Finish: BarcelonnetteRoutes: 122 km / 3300 hm 59 km / 1690 hmTour de France climbs: Col de la Cayolle The event in the French Maritime Alps is small but fine Because it is limited to only 500 participants Les 3 Cols sends the starters on an epic ride over three two-thousanders The event is modeled on the 16th stage of the 1975 Tour de France when Felice Gimondi Eddy Merckx and Bernard Thévenet fought an unrelenting battle here and Merckx lost the Tour against Thévenet The Tour de France often visited the 2240 meter high Col d’Allos in the early years Simon Geschke won his Tour stage in the jersey of Team Giant-Alpecin in 2015 at Allos Organizer’s website Date: tbdStart – Finish: La Chambre – Col de la MadeleineRoutes: 135 km / 4700 hm 60 km/ 2650 hmTour de France climbs: Col du Mollard The finish is at almost 2000 meters – the Col de la Madeleine One of the high mountain passes of the Tour de France the legendary pass in the Savoy Alps has already been the scene of a Tour de France stage 25 times there has never been a mountain finish there That is reserved for amateurs at the Cyclosportive de la Madeleine The Col is climbed in the race from the south via the small town of La Chambre – the climb is 19.3 kilometers long with an average gradient of 8 percent hobby athletes can climb one or more alpine passes as a warm-up before The hardest is certainly the 135 kilometer long route with a total of four passes – Mollard a view of the Mont Blanc massif rewards and compensates for all the hardships Date: tbdStart – Finish: VaujanyRoutes: 118 km / approx 43 km / 1800 hmTour de France climbs: Col de la Croix de Fer Copyright: GFNY This amateur race from the GFNY series starts in the mountain village of Vaujany in the middle of the French Alps the participants are faced with the climb to the Col de la Croix de Fer at 2067 meters altitude The road winds for a good 25 kilometers first through the forest and then past the Lac de Grand Maison to the summit Although the climb is only 5 percent steep on average on which the Tour peloton also struggled up on the 12th stage in 2022 While the participants of the shorter route may climb just under 5 kilometers back up to Vaujany after a cooling descent the starters on the longer route face a second “heavy chunk” After 20 kilometers with an average gradient of 7.4 percent the participants have climbed the Tour pass which was crossed for the first time in a Tour de France in 1947 the last remaining grains can be shot at the 8.6 percent final climb to the finish town Organizer’s website Date: tbdStart – Finish: Argelès-Gazost – Luz ArdidenRoutes: 163 km / 5600 hm 106 km / 4085 hmTour de France climbs: Col du Tourmalet The Marmotte Granfondo Pyrénées is worthy of a queen stage of the Tour de France Not because of the impressive altitude gain of 5000 meters on the 163 kilometer long route It’s the resonant names of these climbs in the Pyrenees: twice the Col du Tourmalet Col d’Aspin and the final climb to Luz-Ardiden Mountains where the Tour has already been decided and that have written and will continue to write history the Tourmalet was the final climb of the 6th stage And the Pyrenean climb made the decision at the 2023 Tour de France Femmes For those who find all this climbing too much 106 kilometer long distance and save themselves the Hourquette d’Ancizan and Aspin and also finish in Luz-Ardiden – after a final climbing party of 13 kilometers with an average gradient of 7.5 percent Organizer’s website Cylcosportive Events 2025: The Most Beautiful Marathons in the Alps Events 2024: The five cycling monuments for amateurs and hobby cyclists Gravel-Worldchampionships 2024: Qualifyings for Hobby Cyclists Events 2024: Cyclosportives with 300 and more Kilometers Western Michigan University's award-winning vocal jazz ensemble ensemble invited to perform at the Choralies International Festival in France this July Sarah Zegree is handling donation questions at 269-779-0943 Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025) © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us) The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Advance Local Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here Ad Choices Riders will take on one of cycling's most iconic climbs in a new one-day race called the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge is the first professional one-day event to feature the iconic French mountain with a win atop the climb providing a considerable accolade for a rider's palmarès Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) is the most notable starter with 12 teams taking the start line in Vaison-la-Romaine including WorldTour outfits EF Education First you'll be able to follow along with all the action as the race is being broadcast on Eurosport 2 between 1215-1415 followed by Col des Aires at 3km and 5.4 per cent After that comes the first real test for the peloton the 11.6km Col de l’Homme Mort with an average of 4.9 per cent.Over the next 80km there are a few smaller tests before cycling’s most iconic test appears it is a brutal finale to the new one-day race The race will take the classic ascent up Ventoux from Bédoin Mont Ventoux, which has featured in the Tour de France 16 times, is steeped in cycling history, both glorious and tragic. The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox! The climb first featured in the Tour in 1951, but not as a summit finish, although 10 stage finishes have since featured at the summit. A Ventoux finish line first appeared in 1958, with an individual time trial from Bédoin to the top won by Charly Gaul. In 1967, Brit Tom Simpson died on the slopes of the 21km climb. Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1 *Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1 Jonny was Cycling Weekly's Weekend Editor until 2022 I like writing offbeat features and eating too much bread when working out on the road at bike races Before joining Cycling Weekly I worked at The Tab and I've also written for Vice and worked freelance for The Telegraph (I know but I needed the money at the time so let me live) I also worked for ITV Cycling between 2011-2018 on their Tour de France and Vuelta a España coverage Sometimes I'd be helping the producers make the programme and other times I'd be getting the lunches Just in case you were wondering - Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen had the same ham sandwich every day a splash of lilac amid the green oaks and vines hidden well out of sight of the road to Entrechaux running water and the buzzing of unfeasibly fat bees Arvicus used to work in the vineyards of Gigondas but an injury to his hand lost him his job 'So how many kilos do you produce each year?' 'Kilos We made 600 grammes last year,' he says with a laugh It takes several hundred flowers to make a pinch of saffron Persuading chefs to part with £25 for a single gram of anything is always going to be a struggle not least because adulterated saffron abounds (the real stuff leaves a yellow stain - not red - on your fingers 'And the more Michelin stars they have the more difficult it is,' he grumbles There are some exceptions: 'Laurent Deconinck at L'Oustalet doesn't discuss price He just wants the best.' I make a note of the name Candied fruits from Confiserie Clavel in CarpentrasMichael PaulWe think of Provence as an abundant larder but the truth is it's remarkably difficult to eat well in the area I think of as 'my Provence' the former papal territory for 500 years known as the Comtat Venaissin or simply 'the Comtat' 'It is a wasteland for restaurants,' admits Walter Wells formerly of the International Herald Tribune and a part-time resident of Vaison-la-Romaine He has three decades' experience of the area - twice mine - but I am determined to snuffle out the best that this 'forgotten' part of Provence has to offer the serious eater and prove him wrong and you get a sense that life is still lived here in the shadow of that Tour de France icon Mont Ventoux (which stands at 1,909 metres) Horses still plough between the vines (kinder to ancient roots as the sun sinks and wood smoke spirals from stone chimneys it means that the daube - the classic Provençal stew with its fall-apart beef and tang of citrus - is gently simmering over the embers Selection of cheeses at La Fromagerie du Comtat in CarpentrasMichael PaulMy wife and I set off over the next few days ricocheting from the olive mills of Vaison to the chocolatiers of Avignon the confiseries of Carpentras to the winemakers of Gigondas - and everywhere else in between - following a relay of recommendations like greedy truffle pigs chasing an irresistible scent truffle-hunters don't really use pigs They always try to eat the truffles,' says Florence Plisson probably the world's largest truffle wholesaler Based on the outskirts of the village of Puyméras handling around 16 tonnes of the elusive fungus every year supplies his wife Patricia's annual truffle workshop as well as the holy trinity of France's greatest chefs: Ducasse In Plantin's reception area I am assailed by a pungent scent: is that mushrooms 'I don't smell it any more,' Plisson says The aromas are even more overwhelming in the processing room 'It's mainly for the mushrooms,' Florence explains 'Sellers sometimes try to increase the weight by filling the morels with stones or metal.' Truffle farmers are not averse to similar tricks 'Sometimes they try to tape two together to make one big one,' Plantin's chief buyer it is Hinterlang who visits the local truffle markets in Richerenches (Saturdays) and Carpentras (Fridays) and receives the steady procession of weather-worn men with string for belts who turn up bearing sacks of the stinky black tubers The current price for winter truffles is about £1,050 per kilo A starter of beef on a sauce of fresh herbs at L'OustaletMichael Paul'The Vaucluse is the best place in the world for truffles but actually they are ripest in January and early February,' says Laurent Deconinck a one-room restaurant in the hillside wine village of Gigondas that is recommended by many as the best in the region With its bare wood tables and minimalist floral displays it wouldn't look out of place on the Left Bank and has fed visitors to this bustling little wine mecca for half a century Three years ago it was taken over by Francois and Jean-Pierre Perrin The brothers are major names in the French wine trade as owners of Château de Beaucastel and numerous other domaines not to mention as managers of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's vineyard They had fresh ambitions for the restaurant 'The idea is that we develop dishes from the wines instead of the other way round,' Deconinck tells me after a perfectly executed lunch of langoustines but we have added pine nuts to give that fatness that helps develop the flavours of the wine on your palate Or beef with fresh juniper - that goes well with a grenache.' He serves local truffles with cod: 'We salt the fish for a few hours There's a wonderful earthiness to the dish.' Behind L'Oustalet's kitchen is an excellent cave swish accommodation recently built above the shop 'Gigondas is getting better and better,' enthuses Danis 'There's a new generation of winemakers here now It is easier to be organic or biodynamic because the Mistral wind dries out the fungus and it is quite common to have very ancient old vines.' Swathes of France's vineyards were eradicated by the phylloxera outbreak of the mid-19th century but in Gigondas some vines that were not grafted on to American rootstock to combat the plague survived 'You can really taste the difference with pre-phylloxera wines The minerality is very high because the roots take up their richness from deeper in the soil.' with 18th-century handpainted wallpaperMichael PaulThe base for our tour of the Rhône wine villages - Rasteau Vacqueyras and Beaumes de Venise - on this western side of the region is La Mirande hotel in Avignon more than 3,500 people queued to get into our bedroom when conceptual artist Sophie Calle took up residence as part of the Avignon theatre festival The walls of room 20 were hung with her work and she invited visitors to sit beside her on the bed 'and whisper me your story' Everyone gets involved,' Stein tells me 'I like the mix between this Gothic city of the popes and the roughness of the place today.' It's true but his hotel is one of the most captivating in France 18th-century-style decor and treasures hidden in plain sight such as the Impressionist paintings which hang here and there Squished against the mighty walls of Le Palais des Papes the 14th-century building has been home to a rogues gallery of cardinals and mayors over the centuries until reopening as a hotel-restaurant in 1990 following a two-year restoration There is also a well-preserved 19th-century kitchen in the basement the venue for cooking courses and intimate dinners Chef Jean Claude AubertinMichael PaulWe dine in the ground-floor restaurant serviced by the kitchen of chef Jean-Claude Aubertin - my kind of French chef 'No one knows how to turn vegetables any more,' he sighs 'I have to teach them when they arrive in my kitchen.'Of Avignon's many charms with its exquisite collection of Impressionists) a shop dedicated to fancy loo paper and bathroom accessories) But I regret to say that its restaurants are resting on their laurels: the food at one supposed highlight is comically bad (50 minutes after being seated the city has one of the best young chocolate-makers in France like me,' Aline Géhant tells me when we chance upon her shop one afternoon I know from experience that creating glossy ganaches like hers is anything but simple another of her specialities: Rasteau wines are a particularly good match for her signature lavender and thyme ganaches Life is still lived here as it has been for centuries A poppy-strewn olive grove near Beaumes-de-VeniseMichael PaulFrom Avignon we motor north to the hilltop monastery While browsing the monastery shop's excellent collection of foods produced by different orders around France - Augustinian jams Trappist beer - we fall into conversation with one of the 51 monks who live here We continue our journey onwards to visit a winemaker intent on rescuing the reputation of the much-maligned Ventoux appellation dominated by large cooperatives selling bottles for as little as a couple of euros 'The dodgy reputation is changing,' Corinna Faravel assures us as she pours generous glasses of her elegant 2011 vintage 'There is still so much prejudice against Ventoux wines people don't realise there are great terroirs here The soil is very ancient in Le Barroux.' 'A lot of people came to see the young I think they imagined I'd employ someone else to do the work Her first two years were wipeouts due to terrible weather appears to approve of her wine: 'He's never told me frankly what he thinks of it but I judge by how much is left in the bottle.' We return that evening to Vaison on a tip from chef Deconinck: the Bistro du'O on pigeon and an excellent spelt risotto (spelt has been grown in the region for thousands of years) There is something about the Vaucluse: fall for its charms The place does seem to inspire a kind of dogged commitment moved here from Switzerland and renovated a four-storey 17th-century townhouse in the quiet village of Méthamis turning it into a contemporary maison d'hôtes called Metafort 'We were looking for a place with lots of air and space,' Philippe previously an executive at watchmaker Omega for 25 years explains as we look out at Mont Ventoux from the attic room's terrace We wanted to use original materials as much as possible but to contrast that with contemporary furniture.' As a result with its bare stone walls and mid-20th-century Scandinavian furniture we open the sliding glass doors to the rooftop patio slowly push the bed along its rails outside and sleep beneath the stars in the shadow of the blue mountain [GalleryThumbnails##FullWidth##FeaturedIds1218655¬¬1218623¬¬1218624¬¬1218625¬¬1218626¬¬1218627¬¬1218628¬¬1218629¬¬1218630¬¬1218631¬¬1218632¬¬1218633¬¬1218634¬¬1218635¬¬1218636¬¬1218637¬¬1218638¬¬1218639¬¬1218640¬¬1218641¬¬1218642¬¬1218643¬¬1218644¬¬1218645¬¬1218646¬¬1218647¬¬1218648¬¬1218649¬¬1218650¬¬1218651¬¬1218652¬¬1218653¬¬1218654] Gary VennWHERE TO STAYLa Mirande A 14th-century mansion with 26 rooms. Avignon (+33 4 90 14 20 20; www.la-mirande.fr) Metafort A contemporary, Scandi-chic maison d'hôtes east of Avignon. Méthamis (+33 4 90 34 46 84; www.metafort-provence.com) Bistro du'O New restaurant in old bishop's stables. 1 Rue du Château, Vaison-la-Romaine (+33 4 90 41 72 90; www.bistroduo.fr) L'Oustalet Fêted one-room dining room. Gigondas (+33 4 90 65 85 30; www.loustalet-gigondas.com) Truffe Plantin, Route de Nyons, Puyméras (+33 4 90 464 144; www.truffe-plantin.com) Pascal Arvicus For saffron. L'Or Rouge des 3 Rivières, Le Jas Nègre, Entrechaux (+33 6 15 81 21 01; www.or3r.fr) Abbaye Sainte-Madeleine Hilltop monastery shop. Le Barroux (+33 4 90 62 56 31; www.barroux.org) Martinelle Wines, La Font Valet, Lafare (+33 4 90 65 05 56; www.martinelle.com) Aline Géhant Chocolatier, 15 Rue des Trois Faucons, Avignon (+33 4 90 02 27 21; www.agchocolatier.e-monsite.com) Silvain Frères Traditional nougaterie. Route de Vénasque, Saint-Didier (+33 4 90 66 09 57; www.nougat-silvain-freres.fr) Le Vieux Moulin Artisanal extra-virgin olive oil from local groves Puyméras (+33 4 90 12 02 57; www.vieuxmoulin.qc.ca) Confiserie Clavel For traditional fruits confit, as well as chocolates, jams and ice creams. Place Aristide Briand, Carpentras (+33 4 90 29 70 39; www.clavel-confiserie.com) This feature first appeared in Condé Nast Traveller August 2014 he experienced what he describes today as “a full-on psychotic breakdown” Depleted by long periods of heavy drinking and overwork the then-journalist found himself in the lobby of a hotel in Scotland His head was “full of noise”; he heard voices brass bands and orchestras; every street sign and fragment of conversation formed part of a horrifying test one which he became convinced that he would not survive When two plain-clothes police officers noticed his erratic behaviour Campbell was arrested for his own safety and then hospitalised newly elected as leader of the Labour Party It showed how much Blair wanted Campbell as his press secretary that he was prepared to follow him to his holiday home; Campbell remembers that he had already “said no about ten times I took a month to say yes.” Before he did finally agree to the role that would make him instrumental to the fortunes of the party Campbell told Blair: “‘I need to talk you through all the things in my character and in my life that could become a problem.’ I had done things in my past …silly things… and I said ‘I know you know about the breakdown And it was about cracking up under pressure’… And he said ‘what if I’m still bothered?’ and he said: ‘I’m still not bothered’.” Campbell remembers this exchange as an expression of support from his new boss; when he participated in the launch of the Time to Change campaign in 2007 it featured on the campaign’s first poster ads But a more cynical view might read Blair’s comments more literally: that he really wasn’t bothered He understood the risk that the most stressful job in politics might hold for Campbell’s mental health “I’m not going to pretend that Tony was perfect on this stuff,” Campbell concedes and he’d say ‘I’m really worried about you what are we doing about that interview in the Observer…’ and he’d give me about 20 things that he wanted me to do that morning I don’t think he…” And then the press secretary’s instincts kick in and I think you’re entitled to expect that the people around you are going to work for you well.” Campbell calls Westminster “a laboratory against good mental health” high-pressure environment in which MPs work are “For all the fuss there was about expenses most of them could make more money doing other things actually most of them are going to be working their balls off in their constituencies… The pressures are quite intense “I was talking to a Labour MP this morning He’d been out in his constituency yesterday This is not a very nice lifestyle at the moment.” The pressure on MPs has been greatly increased by Brexit partly because the decision-making process has been so drawn out and partly because of Theresa May’s attitude which he describes as “we’d be able to get it all done if it wasn’t for these terrible MPs.” This is dangerous rhetoric doing his thing about ‘we’re going to put the fear of God into these people’ these politicians that have fanned this – they’re playing with fire.” For all that he has divided opinion in the past Campbell’s open discussion of his own mental health has led MPs “from all parties” to approach him for advice on dealing with anxiety He was recently approached by a Conservative MP and former minister who he says “thought they were maybe on the edge of a breakdown I put them in touch with somebody that I think they should see.” Another MP contacted him because “they were getting absolutely chronic anxiety And they’d heard me talk about what anxiety actually is I know somebody who’s a specialist in dealing with adult anxiety that I’ve spoken to and put in touch with mental health experts.” One politician whom Campbell tried repeatedly to persuade of the benefits of openness was his friend Charles Kennedy the former Liberal Democrat leader who died in 2015 “Charles and I talked a lot about his drinking and about his mental health more generally He was worried about what the media would do he was worried about what his opponents would do He was worried that his constituents would think he’d done something wrong.” the impossibility for many politicians of being open about one’s innermost fears and compulsions in a game in which any sign of weakness is exploited by one’s rivals that Campbell says Westminster must try to change “It’s different for me,” Campbell concedes “because I was never an MP – but I’ve got a very public profile Blair once told Campbell that being prime minister was “a conspiracy against normality… You can’t really have a normal life Everybody thinks they could do the job better than you.” during which time he has written two newspaper articles (on behalf of other people) and a note planning the next stage of the People’s Vote campaign “and I don’t think that will ever stop.” Campbell’s psychiatrist refer to Campbell’s addictive nature as his “demon” While he recognises the danger of giving in to his obsessive side – he observes that his psychiatrist is “probably a little bit worried” about the intensity with which he is working on the People’s Vote campaign – Campbell says that it is for him a matter of choosing the right things to be addicted to In Downing Street he began running – “I realised that I could get addicted to it very quickly but also that it could be very good for my mental health” – and ran to and from work every day He classes his commitment to Burnley FC as a kind of addiction a necessary “release… I could feel myself back in the real world for a couple of hours.” He has also found “If I’m being honest then I think it’s probably my latest addiction He describes the time after he left Downing Street in 2003 as a period “decompression” in which “I didn’t know what to do with my life At the time I was quite profoundly suicidal It was all a bit weird.” It took Campbell a long time to emerge from this “massive depression” and when Gordon Brown began asking Campbell to return he wrestled with the risk to his mental health When the first volume of Campbell’s diaries was published one early reader told him they’d got the feeling that Campbell was unhappy in government very happy that I did it.” While the MPs who approach him about their own mental health fear the stigma of being exposed “Somebody once wrote about me ‘Alastair Campbell has had a successful career despite a history of mental health problems’ think about saying that any success I’ve had has been in part because of a history of mental health problems I think I’ve got a more empathetic understanding of people I think if you know what it feels like to feel like absolute shit and to feel like death might be preferable to life… it does give you a sense of other people’s pain comes from me having a determination to get good out of bad.” Campbell’s first policy recommendation would be “a really major anti-stigma although he says this would need to be “matched by services” for the treatment and support of those who were led to seek help businesses and others are already doing this work and better education and awareness about mental health “need not cost that much money” But good policy can only be made if it has clear goals and Campbell warns that while health secretaries and ministers “all talk the talk about how we need to understand the importance of mental and physical health going together and understanding when pressure becomes stress… their own lifestyles are absolutely run contrary to doing that in practice.” mental health treatment is seen as necessary and expected – “there’s not a top sportsman in the world now that doesn’t have some sort of psychological support,” Campbell points out – but Westminster continues to see questions of mental health and wellbeing as difficult to discuss in its own workplaces The country that brought the world the principle of utility which defined general happiness as the objective of government has in recent years lost sight of this principle: “the combination of austerity followed by Brexit,” he argues is “the worst possible recipe for the mental wellbeing of the country.” Alastair Campbell: Depression And Me will broadcast in May as part of the BBC’s Mental Health season If you need an answer to that you haven’t been paying attention to the past two millennia: to the Romans who built a playground around Avignon; or to Van Gogh and Cézanne who reinvented art after experiencing Provence’s saturated colours craggy good looks and inky nights alive with stars You may also have overlooked the produce that is the envy of France that causes tables to groan in markets such as Vaison-la-Romaine and that produces a high-spirited seasonal cuisine to make Dordogne dishes seem stodgy You’ve tour-grade cycling up Mont Ventoux and rafting in the Verdon Gorge for starters All this without talking about Provence’s giddy escapism Not just the romance of its perched villages but its knack of making afternoons happily drift away over something chilled on sunny squares It personifies that much-mythologised concept You go for an idea as much as a destination ● Best vineyard hotels in France● The most beautiful French villages Drop a pin anywhere into a map and there’ll be a postcard-pretty villa with eau de nil shutters The trick is to match it to your ideal holiday chic boutiques and Michelin-star dining plus day trips to such A-listers as Arles whatever people mutter about summer crowds — make for the Var I’d suggest a day trip to Marseilles for the Grotte Cosquer — a reproduction of an underwater cave with 500 works of paleolithic art in the Vieux Port — opening in June A final thought: also in June comes Downton Abbey: A New Era in which we see the nation’s favourite fictional aristos on hols they went to the Var resort of Le Pradet because they wanted style Some of the entries below contain affiliate links If you click on one of these links and make a purchase we will earn revenue The revenue generated enables us to go on investing in our award-winning journalism All entries were chosen entirely independently based on the writer’s first-hand knowledge and research TarasconIt was a silk factory for the monks in nearby Frigolet Abbey then an escape in the Alpilles hills for the supermodel Inès de la Fressange Now it’s your turn to stay in a rural four-bedroom house that’s new to the market this year but far quieter than the usual villa hotspots it’s true oh-là-là stuff deep in Peter Mayle territory: terracotta floors a pool among olive trees.Details Seven nights’ self-catering for eight from £3,799 (vintagetravel.co.uk) Sign up for our Times Travel newsletter and follow us on Instagram and Twitter markets and pre-2008 house prices await in the south of France Homes & Property | Where to live renting and decorating in London from our award-winning experts I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice Think of Provence and it is the famous names in the Luberon and Alpilles that first come to mind: St Remy a little flatter and perhaps less perfectly pastoral but where homes come with far less punchy price tags “Buyers in Provence generally want a detached house and they can find far better value if they focus around L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and Vaison-la-Romaine,” says Laetitia Hodson of Knight Frank “They are a little further from the coast but on average prices are 30 per cent below those in prime Provence.” A lively market town 45 minutes from Marseille airport and 30 from Avignon L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue’s 20,000 population ensures year-round life with restaurants bars and shops while the legendary Sunday antiques market brings dealers and eager furniture shoppers “The British dream is a stone house with pool and views within easy reach of a boulangerie,” says Hodson “Increasingly buyers want a property that will rent so it has the potential to earn some income I currently have buyers looking to run yoga retreats or B&Bs.” A potential B&B in Le Thor with eight bedrooms and over an acre of grounds has been reduced from £1.1 million to £874,000 rural village 10 minutes from L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue towards Avignon encircled by fields of maize and apple trees a stone farmhouse 20 minutes’ walk from the nearest shops has been partially renovated by a Swiss family into a comfortable four-bedroom family home “It’s a buyer’s market,” confirms Franck de Mondesir from Janssens Estate Agency in L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue “Property prices are still 10 to 15 per cent below the 2008 highs and sellers are now more realistic on prices.” There’s even better value to the north around Vaison-la-Romaine small thriving villages and the distinctive cycling hotspot of Mont Ventoux It’s also where the Mistral blows through on occasion and the best houses face south Homes currently for sale include a beautiful three-bedroom 18th-century stone house with generous living space 15 minutes’ walk from the village of Tulette The current owners have painstakingly restored the house from a ruin adding a densely planted Provençal garden and swimming pool The £1.1 million price tag would be closer to £1.7 million if it were in St Remy in the Alpilles, says Knight Franks’s Laetitia Hodson she says a newly built four-bedroom house in mint condition in Vacqueyras — east of Orange and north of Carpentras — with delightful gardens would be at least £1.4 million in prime Provence Further north in Séguret, officially designated one of France’s most beautiful villages a four-bedroom townhouse on three floors with a garden and pool is £611,000 The house is built into the stone hillside at the top of the village well protected from winds and with lovely views are five minutes’ walk down a cobbled path Musician and writer Axelle and Ian de Caumil live in Caromb Today the couple live there with their daughter Jun renting out two flats to short-term guests and are Airbnb Superhosts for the good and experienced service they offer “We really appreciate the relaxed Provençal pace,” says Axelle “The simple things like children playing outside the joy of swimming in the lake and taking lazy afternoon walks There is art and culture everywhere and if we need a city fix Avignon is 30 minutes away while Paris and London are direct via the superfast TGV and Eurostar.” Their work is increasingly international so after seven years the couple are selling their home for £786,000 The house has terraces filled with fig and almond trees and a fourth apartment still to be renovated “It’s time for someone else to fall in love with the house and Provence,” says Ian Prince Louis steals the show at VE Day parade as he keeps dad William looking sharp and mimics brother George Prince Louis steals show with sweet antics at VE parade VE Day 2025 fashion: best looks from the day VE Day 2025 fashion: Princess of Wales to Lady Victoria Starmer Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in major blow for Putin ahead of Victory Day celebrations Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in blow for Putin David Beckham extends olive branch to son Brooklyn amid 'family feud' Pregnant Jesy Nelson reveals plans for future in message from her hospital bed after surgery Pregnant Jesy Nelson reveals plans for future in message from hospital