Fayence

Towns and Villages - by Provence Beyond

Villages > Fayence      

Nearby:  | Bagnols-en-Forêt 16 km | Bargemon 20 km | Cannes 39 km (0h40) | Draguignan 32 km | Fréjus 30 km | Grasse 31 km | Mons 13 km | Montauroux 12 km | Saint Cassien Lake 12 km | Saint Paul-en-Forêt 10 km | Saint Raphaël 33 km | Seillans 7 km | Tanneron 24 km |

Below: | Flying | Bread Oven - Le Four du Mitan | History | O.T. | Dates | Transportation | Sports | Hiking | Lodging Hotels |

North of Fayence, the D563 road goes through oak-forested hills to Mons, and beyond to the Route Napoléon. As you get closer to Mons, you'll discover deep gorges cutting through the hills, with rocky cliff faces showing here and there through the green vegetation.

Flying

The airfield on the plain just south of the town is a major sailplane (gliders) center. Founded in 1935, the gliding club is considered the best in Europe, and you'll see sailplanes here from across France and other European countries. The 1995 world championships were held here in September.

Bread Oven - Le Four du Mitan

In 1522 the local Bishop (l'Evêque de Fréjus Nicolas de Fiesque) had four bread ovens built in Fayence. Named rather prosaicly as: le four plus haut (the highest oven), le four plus bas (the lowest oven), le four du mitan (the middle oven), and le four du hameau Saint Paul.

The Fayence village bread ovens were used at different times by village bakers or as communal ovens. Two of them, the le four plus bas and le four du mitan were active bread ovens for about 400 years, serving until 1947.

Le Four du Mitan has been turned into a rather nice little museum (free entry). In addition to the realistic decor, an audio-video presentation is available to the visitors. The Four du Mitan was the largest of the villages bread ovens, and was located, along with a chapel, in the building just beside the present-day museum.

History

Name
First record, 909: Fagentia; 1119: Favenze
In Latin, Faventia Loca means a favorable location.

Gallo-Roman: Vestiges of Roman occupation were found at Notre-Dame-des-Cyprès (1 km west), at La Bégude (20 km southwest) and at the Moulin de Camandoule.

Medieval: The Saracen invasions devastated Fayence, leaving the town deserted, although the Monks of Lérins had an important convent here (at the Notre-Dame-des-Cyprès) from the 11th century on. In the 12th century, Alphonse 1st d'Aragon gave the fief of Fayence to the bishops of Fréjus. In the 1391, Turenne destroyed the village of Callian, 5 km to the east, and the fleeing people came to Fayence, repopulated it for the first time since the Saracens had passed through. In the 18th century, Monsignor de Fleury decided the château of Fayence was too expensive and useless, and had it destroyed.

Office de Tourisme

Tel: 04 94 76 20 08; Fax: 04 94 84 71 86

Dates

beginning Aug - Foire à la Brocante:
mid Aug - Foire:
end June; 13-14 July - Fête:
8 Sept - Fête (4 days)

Transportation

Bus: Fayence - Frejus - St Raphael
About 7 buses a day (depending on the day of the week).
One route (a) passes St Paul and Bagnols; the other route (b) passes St Cassien and Les Adrets.
Transports Gagnard     [2003]

Fayence Saint Paul-en-Foret (a) Bagnols-en-Foret (a) Saint Cassien (b) Les Adrets (b) Frejus Saint Raphael	15 min 25 min 15 min 35 min 1h 1h15		Saint Raphael Frejus Les Adrets (b) Saint Cassien (b) Bagnols-en-Foret (a) Saint Paul-en-Foret (a) Fayence	25 min 45 min 1hr 40 min 1h05

Other Connections
Train and bus service is available between Frejus and other towns along the coast, such as Marseile, Canne, Nice.

Sports

Cycling Tour de France

On the route of the 2009 Tour de France, stage 2, Monaco to Brignoles.

Hiking

Maps:

IGN (1/25,000) #3543 ET "Haute Siagne"

Trails directly around Fayence mostly follow the small roads, since the area is pretty well built-up.
One of these local trails leads about 5-6 km to the south-southwest into the Maures, where it connects with several good trails, including the GR 51 (Balcony of the Cote d'Azur).
About 6-8 km to the southeast, some trails go through the hills to the Lac de St. Cassien. This area is "forested", but the brush is thick and the trees are low, and it can be extremely hot and dry during the summer.
To the north-northeast, a trail runs through the Forêt de Tourrettes, partially following roads, to join the GR 49 (Grande Randonnée) that runs up through Mons.

Lodging - Hotels