Truffles. Photo © Sharon de Rham
Carpentras, an ancient Celtic town dating back to the 5th century B.C, is a fairly large town (population 30,000) in Provence. A commercial and administrative center for the region, Carpentras became the capital of the Comtat Venaissin during the Avignon Papacy in the 14th century, controlled by the Pope until the French Revolution. The Popes often lived here. Not purely Catholic, Carpentras had a large Jewish population and the Papal Territory protected Jews; the oldest synagogue still in use in France was built here in 1367. La Cathedrale Saint-Siffrein, built between the 15th and 18th centuries, is, however, the central building in town. Boulevards surround the historic center of town in a circular fashion, making it a bit difficult to navigate, but the centre has wonderful homes and official buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries. A huge, regional Friday morning market attracts hundreds of vendors in the Place des Platanes; stalls spill out into the streets in the eastern part of town. Friday mornings from December through at least February, you will find an important truffle market in front of the Café de l'Univers. On the fourth Sunday of each month throughout the year a "brocante" (flea market) fills the parking lot of the Place des Platanes. Carpentras can be hard to get around so take a map.
