La Fontaine de Vaucluse

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Beneath the limestone cliffs an easy 1km walk from the village, the magical spring after which the village is named gushes forth at an incredible rate – more than 90 cu metres per second, making it France's largest karst spring, and the fifth-largest on the planet. It's also the source of the River Sorgue.

The spring is most dazzling after heavy rain, when the water glows an ethereal azure blue. Arrive early in summer to avoid the crowds.

For centuries the spring was said to be bottomless. Jacques Cousteau was among those who attempted to plumb the spring’s depths, before an unmanned submarine touched base (315m down) in 1985.


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