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St-Maximin-la-Ste-Baume is a small town in the central Var department, with the 13th-century Basilique Ste-Marie-Madeleine, the adjacent 18th-century town hall (Hotel de Ville), and the magnificent 14th-century Royal Convent with its central cloister.
St-Maximin is a busy town, with pedestrian shopping streets, markets, terrace cafés and a great selection of restaurants. Sites include narrow Medieval streets, brightly colored old houses and a Medieval Jewish quarter.
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Also: |
Saint Maximin Town Map |
Saint Maximin Royal Convent |
Nearby: |
Aix-en-Provence 35 km |
Barjols 21 km |
Bras 9 km |
Brignoles 22 km |
Brue-Auriac 11 km |
Grimaud 12 km |
Mazaugues 18 km |
Ollières 5 km |
Rians 22 km |
Seillons-Source-d'Argens 6 km |
Tourves 7 km |
Hotels near Saint Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume: |
Saint Maximin |
7 km Tourves |
9 km Bras |
12 km Grimaud |
22 km Brignoles |
35 km Aix-en-Provence |
The center of town is the Place Malherbe, a square full of terrace café-restaurants, and with an 18th-century fountain topped with an obelisque. The main road through town, the N7, makes a jog here, from the Avenue Albert 1er to the Bvd Jean Jaurès.
Two streets head east from this square through the Medieval old town: Rue du Générale de Gaulle and Rue de la République, both pedestrian streets and both full of shops. At the far end of Rue du Générale de Gaulle you can see the front of the Basilique Ste-Marie-Madeleine.
Apart from the shopping streets, the other streets of St Maximin are worth wandering. You'll discover colorful Medieval houses, ancient stone doorways, small shady squares, bright shutters and little fountains.
History
Prehistoric:
The plains of Saint-Maximin were frequented by man for 40,000 years, and with many important habitations in the Bronze Age.
Celto-Ligurian:
A Celto-Ligurian oppidum here eventually became the site of Gallo-Roman town.
Gallo-Roman:
The Roman Aurelian Way (Voie Aurélienne) passed along the plain, and many agricultural Roman villas were locatd here. The remains of the Roman Villa Lata were discovered beneath the Place Malherbe, the central square of Saint Maximin. In Medieval times, the Rue Cobert was built to lead from the Aurelian Way in to the Basilique.
Medieval:
Berenguer Ramon I, Count of Provence, established Saint Maximin as a town in the 12th century and fortified it with encircling walls and a moat. Raymond IV Berenger died in 1246 and Provence passed to Charles d'Anjou, brother of Louis IX of France.
Office de Tourisme
Tel : 04.94.59.84.59; Fax: 04 94 59 82 92
Web: www.la-provence-verte.net/ot_stmaximin
Place de l'Hotel de Ville
Wine
Le Cellier de La Sainte-Baume
Location:
Le Cellier de La Sainte-Baume, RN 7
Tel: 0494 780 397; Fax: 0494 78 07 40
Tasting by rendez-vous
Domaine Saint-Jean Le Vieux
Location:
GAEC Domaine Saint-Jean Le Vieux ; rte de Bras
Tel: 0494 597 759; Fax: 0494 59 73 35
Tasting by rendez-vous
Transportation Saint Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume
Bus
Department 83, Var Buses
See Beyond's Var Department Bus Schedules for downloading the Var bus-lines map [Plan du Reseau] and bus-line schedules [Horaires] (link for PDF files).
Schedules for the Var bus lines are on the www.varlib.fr website; select HORAIRES for a linked-list of the bus routes in the Var department
(www.varlib.fr/cg83/Horaires_des_lignes_du_reseau_VarLib").
Marseille - Brignoles Bus
VarLib line 4001 has several buses a day, between Marseille and Brignoles, trip time about 1h45. Stops: Marseille, Auriol, Saint Azcharie, Nans-les-Pins, Rougiers, Saint Maximin, Tourves, Brignoles.
• Link to list of schedules, select line 4001 and click the PDF icon.
Hiking
Maps:
IGN (1/25,000) #3344 OT "St-Maximim - Barjols"
There's no easy hiking directly from St Maximin, since the town is surrounded by a spread-out residential area, farm lands and vineyards.
Southwest of the town are some rugged hills, including Mont Aurélien. We didn't find any marked trails here, but there are forestry roads and other tracks that could be explored.
Dining
With reallly big choice of restaurants to choose from, we would suggest a very special dining experience at the restaurant of the Royal Convent Hotel. Reasonable prices with menus at 25, 30 and 39 euros (lunch or dinner) in a wonderful 13th-century dining room or sitting beneath the trees of the Cloister.
Lodging - Hotels
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Photo gallery of 18 photos for Saint Maximin