Graveson

Halfway between Avignon and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, in the plain between the Montagnette and the Alpilles mountains, Graveson is a dynamic Provencal village with around 4,700 inhabitants. In the centre of the village, a canal shaded by plane trees runs along the Cours National, lined with cafés and restaurants, the canal is called the Roubine des Moulins, it was painted by Auguste Chabaud. At the end of the canal, the statue of the Virgin Mary protects the people of Graveson

Graveson has Roman origins, the Celto-Ligurian populations who occupied the area before had built an oppidum, the Oppidum de la Roque, on the neighbouring heights of the Montagnette. The plain was marshy, frequently flooded by the Durance. Graveson appears in the archives in the 9th century, ramparts are built, the church of the Nativity of Mary whose bell tower emerges above the roofs of the village was built in the 12th century. The current church has kept its original Romanesque choir, while the nave and bays were rebuilt in the 19th century.

Graveson is a lively village, the Saint-Eloi cart festival punctuates the life of the village, Graveson has a bullfighting culture with arenas. The surrounding agricultural lands produce excellent early-season fruit and vegetables under the Provençal sun, and a farmers' market of local producers is held in season on Friday in the late afternoon.

Auguste Chabaud, painter of Provence

Graveson hosted a great 20th century painter, Auguste Chabaud (1882-1955). He was born in Nîmes to a Protestant family of industrial tanners, and spent his childhood holidays in Graveson. He moved to Paris in 1899 where he met the avant-garde artists including Matisse and Derain, and his works were part of the artistic movement of fauves and expressionists. On the eve of the First World War, it was a renowned painter who exhibited his works alongside Picasso. Upon his return from the Great War, he left Paris, and returned to Graveson, where he married in 1921 and founded a family of eight children. He continued painting his village and the surrounding landscapes, the Montagnette and the Alpilles. Leaving the capital was considered by his contemporaries as a damaging exile for his career. But it was a choice he stood by. He declares, referring to Cézanne:
"The great fellows are those who, through the regional, rise to the national level, through the national to the human level and through the human level to the eternal". Auguste Chabaud's work expresses his deep love of Provence and a mystical sensitivity gives his paintings a rare power. He also wrote poems. The "Graveson hermit" died in 1955, leaving behind him a remarkable body of work.

The Auguste Chabaud Museum, created in 1992 in Graveson, presents an exceptional permanent collection of his works that is truly worth a visit.

Practical information and accommodation in Graveson

Selection of guest houses near Graveson on the portal of the "Chambres d'hôtes" in Provence.

What to do and see in Graveson :

• Town and tourist office web site  : www.graveson.fr
• Chabaud Museum : it presents a permanent exhibition of the painter's works and temporary exhibitions Auguste Chabaud Museum
• Museum of Aromas and Perfumes: Nelly Grosjean presents a very beautiful collection of stills. She prepares her own organic essential oils from her garden, and shares with you her passion for plants and aromas. museedesaromes.com
• A walk through Graveson is enhanced by reproductions of paintings by Auguste Chabaud.
• "Aux Fleurs de l'eau" aquatic garden  
• Votive festival on the first weekend of September
• Fête de la Saint-Eloi takes place on the last weekend of July, during which a cart, the carreto ramado, loaded with elm branches, pulled by a team of about twenty horses decorated in Saracen style, goes around the Roubine des Moulins on the Cours National in the center of the village
• Corso in springtime
• Camargue races from April to September in the Graveson Encierro and Abrivado arenas in the village streets
• Farmers' market with local producers on Friday in the late afternoon in season
• Christmas Market

Getting to Graveson

GPS coordinates N 43°51'12'' - E 4°46'07''

Graveson location : altitude 10 meters above sea level, around 4,700 inhabitants, 4 km from Maillane, 9 km from Barbentane, 10 km from Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, 10 km from Tarascon, 11 km from Boulbon, 15 km from Avignon, 24 km from Arles.