L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

Towns and Villages - by Provence Beyond

Villages > L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue      

Nearby:  | Aix-en-Provence 61 km | Alpilles 25 km | Avignon 23 km | Carpentras 17 km | Cavaillon 10 km | Fontaine-de-Vaucluse 7 km | Gordes 20 km | Lagnes 6 km | Monteux 14 km | Montfavet 14 km | Orange 40 km | Pernes-les-Fontaines 11 km | Le Pontet 16 km | Saumane-de-Vaucluse 7 km | Le Thor 5 km |

Below: | Museums | History | O.T. | Dates | Transportation | Sports | Hiking | Dining | Lodging Hotels |

The imposing Notre-Dame-des-Anges church in the center of the "vieille ville" was a Collegial church in 1222. Rebuilt in the 17th century, three sides still show signs of its age; the front is refurbished, and includes a lovely clock showing the time, date and phases of the moon.

The church is surrounded by cafés and shops, and the many shopping streets radiating out from this center have mouth-watering smells and window displays.

Commerce

L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is a good-sized town, and a popular tourist site appearing in printed guidebooks. The Office de Tourisme has lists of hotels, campsites and furnished rentals.

The shopping streets are extensive, with a very wide variety of shops of all kinds.

Antiques - Le Quai de la Gare

This group of 30 antique shops is located across from the railway station.
Open: weekends and holidays, 10h-19h

Park

The Parc Gautier is located just outside the center of the town, near the railway line. It's very large, grassy and shaded by giant plane trees, with plenty of other trees and foliage, an excellent place for picnicking away from the crowds on a hot summer day.

Museums & Sites

Fun

Toy and Old Dolls Museum - Musée du Jouet & de la Poupée Ancienne

Around a 100 old dolls and toys from 1880 - 1920. A private collection in excellent condition and in a nice setting.

Location: 26 Rue Carnot (centre-ville)

Open: June-Sept: 10h30-18h; Oct-Apr: Sat-Sun 13h30-18h; May: daily 13h30-18h

Closed: Mondays

Tel: 0490 209 731, or 0677 778 755; Fax: 0490 209 731

History

Name
First record, 1126: Isla, the name of the primitive town on an island in the Sorgue river; succeeding names were St-Laurent, L'Isle, L'Isle en Venayssin and L'Isle en Venise. In the 19th century, the railway named the town L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue.

Gallo-Roman: A castrum was located at Vélorgues, 2 km south, where there are Gallo-Roman remains.

Medieval: The town was in the fief of the Count of Provence, then of the Count of Toulouse and finally of Saint-Siége; it was franchised in the 13th century.
In the 14th century, the Popes of Avignon fortified the town, making it a place of refuge for the surrounding villages during the Wars of Religion. In spite of divine protection, Sorgue was ravaged by epidemics of the plague in 1458, 1628, 1629 and 1721, followed by cholera in 1837 and 1854.
Hard times continued during the Revolution, when the town was sacked and burned by the troups of the Convention (1793), and then besieged for five years by the Convention's Thermidorienne reaction.

More Recently: To maintain the rhythm, the town was bombed by the Allies in 1944.

Office de Tourisme

Tel : 04 90 38 04 78; Fax: 04 90 38 35 43

Web: www.oti-delasorgue.fr
Email: office-tourisme.islesur-sorgue@wanadoo.fr

Dates

Market day: Thur, Sun mornings; daily during the summer
Antique Market (Puce): Sunday all day
Every Sun - Brocante, Ave des 4 Otages, all day
Every Sat, Sun, Mon - Brocante, by the Gare
Every Sat, Sun - Brocante, LiIsle aux Brocanteurs
Last Sun - Brocante books; Parc Caisse d'Epargne
3rd Weekend July - Marché Provençal, avec Pêche d'Antan
Every Aug - Foire à la Brocante * (every 15 Aug)
1st Sun Aug - Marché Flottant
Foire: closest Thur to 15 Nov; 28 Oct at St-Laurent
Foire à la Brocante: Easter and 15 Aug.
Festival de la Sorgue: 2nd-4th weeks July
Corso Nautique: 25-26 July
Fête Nautique: first week Aug.
Fête du Partage des Eaux: 10 Aug.
Fête St. Cézaire: last week Aug.

Transportation

Rail

Rail Marseille-Avignon (Schedules)

Bus

information: Gare Routiere Avignon, tel 0490 820 735

Bus transportation is available from Avignon and other nearby towns:

Line 18 - Avignon, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (via Morières, Chateauneuf-de-Gadagne, Le Thor)

Line 46 - Cavaillon, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Carpentras, Orange (also stops at Pernes-les-Fontaines, Loriol-du-Comtat, Sarrians, Jonquières)

Bus-11 schedules

Sports

Golfing

Cycling
A VTT (Mountain Biking) rental shop is located near the front of the railway station; tel: (33) 490 20 29 36.

Cycling

Plein Air Location

Location: lot Chaix, av Aristide Briand

Tel: 0490 382 580

Tendil, Christophe

Rental and Repair

Location: 10, avenue Julien-Guigue

Tel: 0490 381 912

Golf

Provence Country Club

Location: rte Fontaine de Vaucluse (Saumane de Vaucluse)

Tel: 0490 202 065

18-hole golf, school, practice

Swimming (Piscine)

Piscine Municipale

Location: av Napoléon Bonaparte

Tel: 0490 380 076

Hiking

Maps:

IGN (1/25,000) #3142 OT "Cavaillon, Fontaine-de-Vaucluse"

Didier Richard (1/50,000) #27 "Ventoux"

L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue has no hiking trails at the village, which sits in the rich farmland of the Sorgue, but the Plateau de Vaucluse begins immediately to the northeast. Check out the hiking information for Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, 7 km to the east.

Dining

Bernard Auzet

Location: Petit Palais

Closed: Wed; Sun evening off-season

Tel: 0490 380 974; Fax: 04 90 20 91 26

Cuisine varies according to the season, but always great, made with very fresh ingredients from the chef's own garden.

Le Mas de Cure Bourse

Location: Rte de Caumont

Closed: Mon, Tue noon; 12 Oct-2 Nov; 4-18 Jan

Tel: 0490 381 658; Fax: 04 90 38 52 31

L'Oustau de l'Isle

• In the Michelin Bib Gourmand Guide 2010

Location: 147 chemin du Bosquet

Closed: 12 novembre-4 décembre, 18 janvier-5 février, mercredi sauf le soir de mi-juin à mi-septembre et mardi

Tel: 0490 208 136

Web: www.restaurant-oustau.com

Cuisine régionale

Le Paradise

Location: 53, rte de Carpentras

Tel: 0490 211 578

Je me permets de vous envoyer cet e-mail pour vous informer de l'ouverture de mon Restaurant "The Paradise" à l'Isle sur la Sorgue (84800) dans le Vaucluse. Le restaurant vous propose de vous évader à travers une large palette de choix au niveau culinaire. Il possède 3 salles vous permettant de voyager à travers 3 thèmes différents, et de vous surprendre à travers ses 3 menus à l'éphigie de la salle de votre choix, sans oublier une terrasse en bordure de Sorgue.

La Prevote

Location: 4 rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Closed: Mon; Sun evening in winter; Nov; Feb school vacation

Tel: 0490 385 729

3-star cuisine (1 Michelin!).

Lodging - Hotels