Grambois

Grambois is a beautifully preserved picturesque village in the Pays d'Aigues, on the southern side of the Luberon. It crowns a steep hill above the valley of the Lèze (or Eze), a small river flowing from the neighbouring village of La Bastide-des-Jourdans. The village seems to have escaped the anarchic development of modern villas that in too many places distort the landscape of the Luberon. From the hamlet of Moulin du Pas at the foot of the hill, the road rises to the entrance of the village at 370 meters above sea level.

Grambois is watered by two springs, Fontsausse and Fontverane, precious sources that, despite their low flow, have sustained the village. At the heart of the village is the Place de l'Église, in the center of which sits the "Fountain of Bartavelles", installed in 1879. This is the setting that director Yves Robert chose in 1990 for the pétanque scenes and the return from the rock partridge hunt in the film "My Father’s Glory", which recounts the childhood of Marcel Pagnol. On the square is a beautiful mansion of the late 16th century, to which its owner, Jean de Gautier, lord of Grambois, added a beautiful round corner tower. The previous castle of the Middle Ages had fallen into ruin. The facade of the house was redone in 1730, by Michel-Jules Roquesante, whose family had inherited the lordship.

The church of Notre-Dame de Beauvoir was first a priory dependent on the abbey Saint-André of Villeneuve-les-Avignon, it is a Romanesque church of the 11th century enlarged in the 14th century, again in the 16th century, and remodelled several times in the 17th and 18th centuries. Inside is a superb altarpiece with five painted wooden panels, dating from the early 16th century and from the Gothic school of Aix-en-Provence. It represents the life of St. John the Baptist.

The streets of the village are narrow and sometimes steep, their cobbled surfaces have been restored. Two beautiful houses with mullioned windows offer the passer-by their Renaissance facades. Strong ramparts were built in the 14th century, when troubled times made them necessary for the protection of the inhabitants. An imposing wall, pierced by narrow arrow slits, extends the Tourrache tower. The “Portail Neuf” gate of the 14th century which defends the southern entrance of the village has kept its medieval aspect, it recalls that Grambois was one of the 12 fortresses of Provence in the 14th century, besieged without success by the viscount of Turenne in 1391. The village was nevertheless captured by the Duke of Savoy Charles Emmanuel I during the wars of religion.

Grambois in photos : slideshow

Practical information and accommodation in Grambois

Selection of Bed and breakfast on the portal of Provence's B&B.

To see and to do in Grambois :

• Grambois internet website : grambois.fr
• Christmas nativity scene: Grambois is the village of the santonnier Pierre Graille who modelled villagers’ faces on clay santons over a period of seventy years.
• Grambois served as a set for several scenes during the filming of "La Gloire de mon père"
• Château de Grambois: it's a private residence that can not be visited.
• Hermitage of Saint-Pancrace

Getting to Grambois

GPS coordinates N 43°45'47'' - E 5°35'22''

Grambois Location : altitude 370 meters above sea level, 1200 inhabitants, 5 km from La Bastide-des-Jourdans, 7 km from La Tour-d’Aigues, 23 km from Lourmarin, 15 km from Cucuron, 36 km from Aix-en-Provence, 80 km from Avignon.