Eygalières, the walk up to the old village

Eygalières, a holiday retreat in the Alpilles

On Friday mornings, residents and visitors meet at the market. Stalls line Rue de la République in front of the café terraces and continue onto Place Marcel Bonein.

In 1932, the painter and photographer Alfred Latour bought a farmhouse in Eygalières. In the early 1960s, the parents of French actor Charlotte de Turckheim bought a farmhouse here too. In 2023, nearly one home in three was a second home or used only occasionally.

Like other well-known visitors, Hugh Grant regularly returns to Eygalières on holiday. You might spot the British actor doing his own shopping at the Friday market or having coffee at the bakery.

The newer Saint-Laurent church

At the start of the climb, the square tower of Saint-Laurent rises above the roofs. The newer church opened in 1905 and took over from the church on the hill. By then, the village had already spread to the foot of the rock.

The church regularly hosts concerts. In 2025 the municipality scheduled a free concert at the end of a residency in which violinist Renaud Capuçon worked with young musicians. Capuçon also has a home in Eygalières.

The streets of the old fortified village

The way to the other Saint-Laurent church leads uphill into the old village. Grand’Rue once linked Saint-Christol Gate in the south to Porte de l’Auro in the north. In Provençal, the name means ‘Gate of the Wind’.

In the 16th century, a lawyer at the Parlement of Provence had the Hôtel Isnard built on Grand’Rue. Villagers nicknamed the grand house ‘the Château’. The medieval castle stood farther up, at the tip of the rocky spur.

Old Saint-Laurent and the White Penitents

On the north side of the rock, the old Saint-Laurent church stands on the site of the chapel of the lords of Eygalières.

A little farther on, the White Penitents’ chapel has housed the local history museum since 1967. It was founded on the initiative of Maurice Pezet, a former headteacher at the village school. Inside are village photographs and agricultural tools donated by local people.

A former tower in the defensive wall serves as the chapel’s sacristy. The bell gable, added in 1743, stands off-centre from the nave.

The Brotherhood of the White Penitents brought together laypeople who cared for the sick, welcomed pilgrims and arranged burials.

From castle stones to the clock tower

At the tip of the rock, the vault of the keep’s lower chamber still stands. The statue of the Virgin above it was put in place in 1893. That year, a young woman from the village had reported an apparition.

In 1660, the villagers paid 48,000 livres to Duke Henri II de Guise to free themselves from his authority. They took stones from the ruined castle to build their clock tower, completed in 1672.

Recast in 1855 after it cracked, the bell weighs about 350 kilos and sounds a B. The mechanism installed in 1880 uses two counterweights, one for the clock and the other for the bell hammer.

When Eygalières spread towards the plain

At the top, the path crosses bare limestone. To the north, the plain stretches away beyond the pines.

Below, the tower of the newer Saint-Laurent church rises above the roofs. The aerial view shows the compact old village on the hill and the houses spread out below.

In the 19th century, the Canal des Alpines brought water from the Durance to the plain, allowing market gardening to develop. Much of the old village emptied as families moved closer to the land they farmed.

More places to visit in the Alpilles

East of the village, on the road to Orgon, Saint-Sixte chapel stands among cypresses away from the houses. To the west, the historic centre of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence is easy to explore on foot. The Wednesday market fills its streets and squares.

To explore Eygalières and Saint-Rémy on the same trip, you can stay at a bed and breakfast near Saint-Rémy, at the northern foot of the Alpilles.