Moustier-Sainte-Marie, France

The medieval village of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie located in southeastern France has the distinction of being Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (one of 178 of the most beautiful villages in France), and deservedly so as it is nestled high in the rugged hills of the Provence Alpes Côté d’Azur.

This tiny town with only 700 residents is a gorgeous place to spend a few days to relax and unwind. We visited way back in the late 1990s on our first trip to France, we had just a few hours to explore this enchanting town, but determined that we would return again.

Our next visit was in 2013, it was still a sleepy town and looked like it hadn’t changed since our previous visit close to 15 years earlier. We visited yet again in late July, and found that although the town still has its enticing charm, it was also packed with tourists.

We arrived late in the day, after a long drive from Luxembourg. It took us close to 30 minutes to slowly weave through the streets, carefully dodging pedestrians, while looking for a parking spot. Up and up we climbed along the steep, narrow streets with hair-pin turns, past parking lots that were all full. We finally found an empty spot, knowing we’d have to haul our luggage back down the very steep hills to our hotel. On our previous visits, we parked right in the town center! We stopped to pay for parking only to find that the machine was out of order, and there wasn’t another in sight.

As we slowly worked our way down the steep hills to the town center, hoping we wouldn’t get a parking ticket, and dodging tourists while keeping a tight grip on our roller bags, we noticed that many shops and restaurants had popped up since our last visit. Once we finally arrived at our hotel, the hotel clerk told us not to worry about the parking payment, they don’t check anyway he said; hmm.

After checking in, we dropped our bags and went in search of food. We tried several restaurants, only to find that they were all booked. We finally found one along a quiet side street that had an open table. After dinner, we enjoyed some live music in a cocktail bar.

On our way back to our hotel, we stopped in our tracks when we saw the ubiquitous tourist train. Sigh; change is inevitable.

Thankfully, the charm of this lovely town is still intact, and we learned that most tourists come just for the day, leaving the town quiet in the early mornings and evenings.

The highlight of the town is the 14th century chapel, Notre Dame de Beauvoir, located high in the hills above the village. You will pass the fourteen stations of the cross as you hike up the steep trail to the tiny chapel. From its lofty location, the view of the village and valley below is amazing.

As always, one of my favorite activities is wandering through a village and taking photos. There were also many sketching opportunities for theTravelsketcher.

There are just a few hotel options to choose from; we stayed at Le Relais located right in the center of town. Room 14 has an amazing view of the valley.

If you squint when looking at the photo below, you will see an object in the upper center of the photo. It is the famous star that hangs between the two cliffs. According to legend, a town local, Knight Bazon de Blancas, was held prisoner during the Crusades and vowed to hang the star above the village if he survived. How it was hung is the big question; c’est un mystère n’est-ce pas? The star has been replaced on several occasion over the centuries, most recently in 1957.

We enjoyed a delicious meal at Restaurant Côté Jardin. Which also had beautiful views from the terrace.

Even though Moustiers was quite busy with tourists, we are glad we returned, and would encourage you to visit too given the opportunity. This truly is a magical place with much to offer.

If you’re interested in where we are at the moment, check out theTravelskether’s posts which reflect our current travels.

As always, please leave a comment, I would love to hear from you.

Wishing you grand adventures,

Tricia