Carpentras, France Hotels, Vacations, Tourism

With a population of around 30,000, CARPENTRAS is a substantial city for this part of the world. It's also a very old one, its known history commencing in 5 BC as the capital of a Celtic tribe. The Greeks who founded Marseille came to Carpentras to buy honey, wheat, goats and skins, and the Romans had a base here. For a brief period in the fourteenth century, it became the papal headquarters and gave protection to Jews expelled from France. For all its ancient remains, Carpentras seems incapable of working up an atmosphere to imbue the present with its past. The local history museum – the Musée Comtadin on … more »