The history of Provence

Provence is located in the southeast of France, adjacent to the Mediterranean and Italy. The original Provence started from the Alps in the north and reached the Pyrenees in the south, including the whole southern France. During the Roman Empire, Provence was listed as its province. /kloc-During the Great Revolution at the end of 0/8, France was divided into five different administrative provinces, and Provence was one of them. In the 1960s, the administrative province was reorganized and divided into 22 regions, so the Provence-Alpes Region came into being. Before and after the moderate university town of Aix and the papal town of avignon, there are small medieval villages and ancient mountain cities that have escaped the changes of the century. There are tomatoes, garlic, olives and spices that grow in the sun all the year round, as well as Mediterranean seafood. Famous dishes include tomato and onion casserole cooked with olive oil, Nicoise salad cooked with tomatoes, tuna, black olives and anchovies, Marseille bouillabaisse, garlic anchovies sauce and so on.

Provence is located in the south of France, extending from the Mediterranean coast to the inland hilly areas, with the Rhone River flowing in the middle. Since ancient times, many historical towns have amazed the world with their beautiful sunshine and blue sky.

The whole Provence region has unusual charm because of its variety-the weather is unpredictable, the warm wind is warm, and the cold wind is crazy; The terrain is undulating, the plains are vast, and the peaks are steep; Lonely canyons, desolate castles, winding mountains and bustling cities all show thousands of customs in this land in southern France.

The original Provence started from the Alps in the north and reached the Pyrenees in the south, including the whole southern France. During the Roman Empire, Provence was listed as its province. With the decline of ancient Rome, Provence was controlled by other forces. Franks, Saracens and feudal lords were also divided between the French Empire and the Pope.

Based on this factor, the border of Provence has undergone great changes in history. /kloc-During the Great Revolution at the end of 0/8, France was divided into five different administrative provinces, and Provence was one of them. In the 1960s, the administrative province was reorganized and divided into 22 regions, so the Provence-Alpes Region came into being. Before and after the moderate university town of Aix and the papal town of avignon, there are small medieval villages and ancient mountain cities that have escaped the changes of the century.

Although the turmoil of the century left Provence with a chaotic concept of borders, it also gave Provence a colorful past. With the passage of time, Provence perfectly blends ancient and modern fashions.

In the small town of orange, you can sit in the Roman amphitheater and watch the play; In another small town, arles, you can spend an afternoon sitting in the coffee shop of Square Forum. The intoxicating scenery is similar to that painted by Van Gogh a century ago.

However, those picturesque small mountain villages always remind people of the bloody history of the past. Lesdex and Gettys are located in the steep mountains in the north-central Provence. Disputes between feudal lords in the Middle Ages plunged the whole of southern France into war. For the sake of safety, the mountain villages in this area are closely structured and built on the edge of a steep cliff, as if to be isolated from the dangerous world forever.

Their isolation has been successful in the past few centuries. But since the 1960s, a group of new invaders quickly broke the peace here. They are tourists.

"In summer, in order to buy some daily necessities, there are often long queues of tourists waiting for them to pay for one or two postcards one by one. This is boring. " Although the local people complained a lot, after the tourist season, peace was restored here.

The life in Provence is simple and noble. It is also a rare realm of life to come here to slow down, take a sip of grass and taste delicious cheese.

Arles, an ancient town in the south of Provence, is famous for its warm and bright Mediterranean sunshine and fashionable artistic style. Anyone who has seen the Biography of Van Gogh will probably remember that outstanding painters once created and lived here. The streets, houses and bars here are full of strong artistic atmosphere. Ancient Roman architecture (Arabs are descendants of ancient Romans), artists' works and people living in modern civilized society live in harmony, tranquility and beauty here. Every July, a fashionable international photography festival is held here. On the Stone Gu Xiang and Little Square, great photographers and romantic figures who are creating trends today will be exhibited.

Provence history

Aix's Provence Aix is the hometown of painter Paul Cézanne. It has been a university town and a famous "Spring City" since the Middle Ages. This is the ancient capital of Provence in Rome. Today, it is still famous for its ancient Roman ruins, medieval, Gothic and Renaissance architecture. Aix is also famous for its unique cooking, rose wine and special language-Provence dialect.

Arles, an ancient town in the south of Provence, is famous for its warm and bright Mediterranean sunshine and fashionable artistic style. Anyone who has seen the Biography of Van Gogh will probably remember that outstanding painters once created and lived here. The streets, houses and bars here are full of strong artistic atmosphere. Ancient Roman architecture (Arabs are descendants of ancient Romans), artists' works and people living in modern civilized society live in harmony, tranquility and beauty here. Every July, a fashionable international photography festival is held here. On the Stone Gu Xiang and Little Square, great photographers and romantic figures who are creating trends today will be exhibited.

Provence-the hometown of lavender

Speaking of Provence, lavender, which represents sweet love, may first appear in the mind of modern romantic China. In fact, not only in Provence, people can always see purple lavande swaying in the wind when walking on the roads with green belts in many French cities. The aroma of Provence can't be summarized only by purple lavender, because there are so many things that can make the sense of smell pleasant. Even if you can't fully appreciate the fragrance of Provence, it is necessary for people to go to Provence to personally appreciate several special flavors here. Traveling between cities in Provence, especially in Marseille, people will soon know a local specialty: Marseille soap. This very famous soap can be said to be the city of la cité phocéenne (in the 6th century BC, a group of ancient Greek phocée sailors landed in Marseille, and Marseille began to build a city. Marseille still retains some architectural styles and customs, just like the ancient city of Fossett along the Aegean Sea. Therefore, Marseille is also called "Foces City", which is the pride of its industrial production. Today, only a small amount of Marseille soap is preserved here, and it is handmade. It takes at least three weeks to make a piece of traditional Marseille soap. The main raw material is vegetable oil. It can be said that Marseille soap is the witness of Provence people's love for fragrance.

Provence's mild climate generously accepted a large number of exotic fruits and vegetables to multiply in the local area. Among many exotic plants, lavender has always been the queen of the native plant kingdom. This plant from ancient Persia is famous for its elegant fragrance. With the change of time, this lilac from the Middle East has now become an important symbol of Provence in France. It adorns the fields and roads, courtyards and bedrooms of Provence with its unique blue-purple and elegant fragrance. In addition, harvesting this seemingly mixed fragrance plant is also a rare phenomenon. This is because lavender, which has completely adapted to the mild climate of Provence, has spread all over the fields and fields of Provence since the19th century, that is, at that time, people began to make some famous brands of perfumes with lavender. This has led many family-owned flavor wineries to move their industries to Provence with their families. They use lavender to make less famous cologne. Due to many crises in history, this family business has almost completely disappeared in Provence, but lavender still insists on playing its role in perfume manufacturing with its tenacious vitality.

Provence-products and food

In terms of food, Provence's greatest advantage lies in its rich agricultural products. Fresh vegetables are combined with fruits, olive oil, garlic, seafood and spices to form a paradise for diners.

The exploration and understanding of the fragrance of Provence cannot be limited to lavender, Marseille soap or olives-no one who has been here will forget the fragrant and delicious olives here. However, we can't help talking to you about fennel (also called "star anise" in some areas of China), a pearl of Provence. This Mediterranean plant has long been famous for its multi-purpose medical effect and its cooling and thirst-quenching effect after being added to drinks. Because of its wonderful use, this plant quickly took root in the hearts of Provence people. Soon, people all over France fell in love with it. Fennel was once the main ingredient of the famous local absinthe. This alcoholic beverage is now banned because of its high alcohol content. The main reason why this kind of wine is banned is that it will make drinkers lose their minds and become crazy. However, this famous mugwort wine is still remembered and admired by people today, because it was once the best lover of some great poets or artists, such as Wei Erlun, Rambo, Picasso or Van Gogh. Just after this strong mugwort wine was banned by the authorities, anise became one of the raw materials for making another famous alcoholic beverage "Pasti" that is still on sale today.

This yellow alcoholic beverage has brought endless glory and wealth to a brewing workshop, and the name of this brewing workshop has been permanently combined with this famous alcoholic beverage. In France, Ricard, a yellow wine, has established its position in the French brewing industry because of its long history and amazing reputation, and its bottle body and label have also been included in the French cultural heritage list. If you haven't heard of Ricard, you may know Pernod Ricard, the second largest wine and spirits group in the world. If you don't know Pernod Ricard, have you at least heard of Pernod Ricard's famous brands Chivas or Martell? As for "Pasti", in the fierce competition with other famous French champagne and wine producing areas, Provence won a seat in the famous wine camp, which is enough to make it proud. Up to now, Pasti still retains its old function of relieving summer heat and quenching thirst.

Local production of high-quality wine, of which 20% are high-grade and top-grade wines. Due to the sunshine in the Mediterranean, the grapes in Provence contain more sugar, which is converted into alcohol, making the alcohol content of Provence wine 2 degrees higher than that of northern wine. Dry pink wine with a slight orange color is the most distinctive. Common red wines are: Provence Winery, Provence Daniel F. Akerson Winery and Bandor.

On the day of the appearance of West Provence, since the14th century, the Pope chose wine (this is the new Pope Castle wine, one of the wines originally named in this way), Rhone (Rh? Ne) The grapes in the valley, especially those in avignon and its surrounding areas, are world-famous. Among other wines named after the valley, we especially found the Rhone Valley (C? Tes-du-Rhone wines and C TES-du-Rhone Villages wines, like many red wines on the table, all bear the name of the village where they originated, just like Cairanne (where there is Rabasse-Charavin wine, The name of a high-quality wine) le Rasteau, Le Gigondas and le Vacqueyras, just like Le Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venice sweet white wine, is delicious and mellow.

People often use three kinds of food to represent the cooking characteristics of Provence: olive oil, garlic and tomatoes. Walking in Provence, you can almost see green olive trees. It can be said that this place is an important olive oil production town in France, which not only creates a unique natural landscape, but also provides oil for residents' nutrition. Olives also naturally enter every kitchen, and tapenade is the best example.

Olive sauce

Chop garlic and anchovies separately, add washed capers, thyme, spices and lemon juice, beat well with a food processor, slowly pour in olive oil and season with pepper. Spreading olive sauce on lightly baked bread is the most authentic appetizer, and French bread made with olive sauce is a specialty of Provence. You can also use olive sauce as a dish if you like!

Garlic mayonnaise

Garlic mayonnaise is often called the cream of Provence, which shows its popularity. Just like the direct translation of the name, mayonnaise mixed with garlic is extremely simple, but the food with it is magnificent, from boiled eggs to steamed fish to various lobster ingredients.

French mixed fish soup

In fact, the whole of France has its own fish soup, but the content is slightly different, and then it is given different names, such as cotriade in Brittany and pauchouse in Burgundy. I don't know why, the fish soup in Provence, especially in Marseilles, is very famous. Anyone who visits Marseilles must never return empty-handed. Fish soup has a history of more than 2500 years. It is said that the Greeks brought it to France, but even without the guidance of the Greeks, Marseille in the Mediterranean will create fish soup sooner or later. Masai fish soup focuses on all kinds of wonderful fish species. When it comes to the types of fish, the story is long. As to whether these fish should be put into fish soup, you will never get a consistent answer. It is certain that there is no shellfish, especially mussels, in the traditional Marseille fish soup, but crabs and lobsters are not banned. This standard is not universal. You might as well take a closer look at what's in your bowl.

Practice &; How to eat: Stir-fry onion, tomato, garlic and fennel with superior olive oil, add thyme, Italian parsley and bay leaves, and season with dried orange peel. Finally, add saffron to add color, and then add fish. Unlike what we imagined, the time for making Marseille fish soup is not long, and it needs to be completed in 15 minutes with fire (this of course does not include the time for preparing the broth, but do you really need to use the broth as the base? I'm afraid it's another question). When eating, soup and fish are served separately. Put a piece of bread in the bowl and scoop the soup directly. It would be perfect if it could be accompanied by a little rouille.

Pepper garlic sauce

The so-called rouille is garlic Chili sauce. Its raw materials are garlic, Chili, olive oil, bread crumbs and fish soup. Some people like to spread it on bread first, or they can put it directly in fish soup. Add garlic Chili sauce, and Marseille fish soup is finished.

vermouth

A long time ago, Provence was rich in absinthe, which made people hallucinate and addicted. Because of the high alcohol content, drinkers are often blind or crazy. Van Gogh cut off his ear because of this wine, and Rambo was killed by a poet who drank too much. One hundred years ago, absinthe was banned. Later, a hermit made new wine with star anise. This anise wine saved Provence from the plague. Because Provence is rich in fennel, every household brews it. The wines exported now are all light-flavored, and any local grandmother can put down a cow with anise.

Provence traffic

Take tgv at Lyon station in Paris

There are different railway stations in Paris, and trains go to different areas one after another. The railway station from Paris to Provence is Lyon Station, and the train type is tgv, a French express train with a speed of up to 300 kilometers per hour, which takes about 3 hours by car. To take tgv, you need to make an appointment first. Make a reservation at the ticket counter at Lyon station. From the left side of the gate outside the railway station, you will see gate 2 1. When you enter, there is a row of ticket counters. Just find the counter that says "international". If you use a connecting train ticket to book a ticket, you must show your ticket, and the booking fee is 54ff. The conductor will give the passenger a boarding pass with a seat number card on it.

Arrive at the station 30 minutes in advance to find the platform.

Entering from the gate of the railway station, passengers can see a huge timetable in the atrium, which indicates the time, shift and platform. Usually the platform where the train stops will be displayed half an hour ago. I really suggest you get familiar with the environment early, because the arrangement of the platform is unexpected and the label is unclear. Some platforms are in the atrium of the station, others are on the right, and the distance between the two sides is far. In addition, the train departure time is very accurate. If the platform is wrong, that's bad.

Know the word "Pieton"

Signs on French roads are for cars, not people. This means that if you see huge signs that say' ville' and' gare', you will think that the next town or station is nearby, which guarantees that you will collapse. These signs are all for drivers. It is said that it is quite common for French people to drive by themselves, and all means of transportation are driver-centered. So when looking for a way, you must know that' Pieton' means pedestrian. For example, "Pieton Gare" is a shortcut for pedestrians to get to the station, and "Pieton Entree" is a pedestrian intersection. Only the word "Pieton" means it's dangerous here. Please stay away from it.

Les Phoceens bus company

Address: No.2 Masena Square, Nice, 06000.

Tel: 04-93-85-66-6 1

Passing through the city: Nice-Antioch-Cannes-Saint lafayette-Aix-Marseille.

Ticket price: Nice -Axe: 133FF. Nice-Marseille: 140FF. Nice-Marseille (April-June): 150FF.

Local contact information:

Aix: Paris Railway Station//Tel: 04-42-27-82-54

Antibu: No.8 de Gaulle Square//Tel: 04-93-34- 15-98.

Cannes: phoeensctm-square merimee/:04-93-39-79-40

Marseille: Paris Railway Station//Tel: 04-9 1-50-57-68

Nice: Photo Car -2, Massena Square.

Ligne 100 bus company

Tel: 04-93-85-64-44/04-93-85-61-81.

Passing through cities: Gare Routiere-Gare Routiere-Monago-Menton-Paris Railway Station.

helicopter

Hurley-Intel

Tel: +33-04-93-2 1-46-46

Via city: Nice-Monaco, 400FF/ one way /725FF round trip.

Nice-Cannes, 400 francs one way/780 francs round trip.

Provence-Tourism

Famous Lavender Sightseeing Sites in Provence: Mount Lubeihong and Mount Miana.

The flower field of Sauter monastery in Luberon is the most famous lavender viewing place in this area, and it is also the story background of the book Years in the Mountains, which is known as one of the most beautiful valleys in France. There is a monastery in the 12 century on the mountain. There is a large lavender flower field in front of senac Monastery, which is planted by monks in the yard, and there are different colors of lavender.

Schmieja (simiane-la-rotonde, Simille) is a unique mountain city. At the top of the hill stands a castle in Luo Teng, which was built in 12 to 13 centuries, and is surrounded by a large lavender flower field. Standing in the town of Schmieja, purple flower fields can be seen everywhere.

Visit small towns

Luberon is the southern part of the province of Vokretz, and the place written in Peter Meyer's A Year in Provence is here. Luxiyong is a colorful village, with pink, bright orange and bright yellow houses scattered around the village like angels' toys.

Gordes is a rock villa, and there is also a lavender museum in Gordes village, with an old-fashioned lavender oil press at the door. The museum shows all kinds of utensils in lavender farmland.

In oranges, visitors can sit in the Roman amphitheater to watch the play; In America, people can spend an afternoon sitting in a coffee shop. Every July, the fashionable Stone Town will hold an international photography festival, which will display great photographers and romantic figures who are creating trends in Stone Gu Xiang and Little Square.

Bo Castle in Provence

Transportation: Take the bus from Yael bus terminal to Marseille and get off at les baux. There are four buses every day.

Admission: 6.5 euros for the Bocheng History Museum.

Opening hours: 9: 00 ~ 20: 30 in peak season (July and August); Other time 9: 00- 19: 30.

Jane:

Bocheng Castle refers to the ruins of the ancient fortress of les baux de provence near Yael. Bocheng was once the fortress of Bocheng, a hero called "vulture clan" by poet Mistra. Later, it experienced the baptism of countless wars. Bocheng Castle was destroyed by war during the reign of Louis 13, and now it is the ruins of that castle for tourists to visit.

The entrance to Bocheng Castle is the bocks Museum, which shows the historical materials and cultural relics of the castle in its heyday. Standing at the top of the castle, you can see the surrounding scenery of Yael ancient city. It is said that the tile Denffer in the north is the place that triggered Dante to write The Divine Comedy: Hell.

Provence-accommodation

Accommodation in Provence is quite distinctive, just like the local diversified lifestyle, from luxury hotels in the city to homestay farms in the countryside, it also provides a comfortable rest environment and local cuisine.

If you know French, or can find someone who knows French to accompany you, you can consider spending the night in a homestay that serves meals and feel the local customs. Some homestays also arrange for guests to participate in local activities, such as having dinner with local people, chatting about the world and having fun together under the stars. That harmonious atmosphere should be the best embodiment of the spirit of the global village.

King Horn Hotel in Aix has more than 65,438+000 rooms, which meets the four-star standard. King Hohne Hotel is one of the most advanced hotels in the ancient city of Aix, with four stars and advanced facilities such as swimming pool.

The hotel has 134 rooms, each with a beautiful garden. The hotel restaurant also provides authentic Provence cuisine. This hotel adopts American management style, although it feels a little different from the beautiful and simple Provence, it can provide a comfortable environment for people to express their body and mind after a whole day's trip.

Provence price

Dietary expenses

The Chinese restaurant serves lunch from 12: 00- 14: 00 and dinner from 19: 00-22: 30 or later. A formal restaurant is called a restaurant. Exquisite dishes and high cost. You need to make an appointment in advance, and some need formal attire. It is best to confirm in advance. Brasserie, a beer house, offers seafood cold cuts and traditional dishes. It is open for a long time, from breakfast to midnight snack. This home-cooked restaurant, called Bistrot, offers traditional home-cooked dishes at a lower price. Bistrot au Vin is a pub specializing in drinking wine, which only provides ham, cheese and other side dishes with wine. The canteen is called a cafeteria, which charges according to the dishes taken, and the price is cheaper than that of ordinary restaurants. The pancake shop is called Creperie, a simple roadside restaurant, which specializes in sweet or salty pancakes and is suitable for ordering cider. Cafe, in addition to coffee drinks, also provides simple dishes, such as hamburger fries. In the afternoon, the teahouse salon provides candy, tea, salad and pie. Food consumption is generally three times that of Beijing or Shenzhen.