La Barben

This week is was a visit to see the Chateau de La Barben, which is open, now that the weather is closer to normal.  La Barben, like any good fortified castle is perched up on the hill, and seems to grow right out of the rock.

Gardens, Terraces, towers, what's not to like?

 The coat of arms of the Forbin Family who owned the castle for 500 years.  3 leopards under a crown.

 There is no photography at all allowed inside the castle, as it is a private residence, and guided tours make sure that the valuables stay inside the castle.  Here we are outside on a terrace, looking down on the peasants.

 The view up from the terrace.

 Ok, I broke the rules, and took an inside picture.

And via the wonder of the internet here are some pictures of the inside of the chateau, which is also run as a bed and breakfast.

 This first room is a reception room, the tapestry and every thing else is old.  The floor tiles are a typical provencal clay tile, dating from the 1400s.  I ripped my floor up way way way sooner than that.

One of the bedrooms that you can stay in as part of the B&B.

On the drive to Barben several of the roads were diverted due to a road cycling race, which as it turns out, despite our best efforts to take a route around the cyclists, we took a route right through the peleton.