Discover Aups: History, Art and Nature

If you are looking for a hotel in Aups, you can start by considering which themes you want to shape your stay: historic buildings, museums, a trail to caves and chapels, or activities related to truffles. Aups is one of the communes in the Var département that lie within the new perimeter of the Parc naturel régional du Verdon announced in 2025. The commune thus brings together village history, religious heritage and a connection to nature. Its different highlights can help you choose what to explore in Aups based on your travel interests.

Clock tower, village history and church architecture

The Tour de l'horloge was first built in the 16th century as a watchtower to protect the village and was later used as a prison. Its campanile contains a sundial dating from 1760 and a bell cast in 1712. These dates give the building several points of historical reference. Another watchtower, the Tour et remparts, formed part of the second ring wall of the Blacas castle.

Place Louis Gauthier is also connected with the area's earlier history: it was the former market square from the 15th century onward. The Collégiale Saint-Pancrace focuses on a different architectural period. It was built by Broulhoni outside the town walls between 1489 and 1503, replacing the village church, which had become too small. The building is in the Provençal Gothic style and has a Renaissance façade. The Collégiale therefore offers a way to trace both the construction period and the change in architectural styles.

Art and history in the museums

The Collégiale Saint-Pancrace houses a museum of religious art featuring the oldest processional cross in Provence, dating from the 14th century. The site thus brings together church architecture and a specific example of religious art. The Musée Simon Segal offers a different collection: it brings together three painting schools from Toulon, Bourges and Paris, with more than 280 paintings, including 58 works by the painter Simon Ségal. The schools represented and the size of the collection give this museum its own profile among Aups's art attractions.

The Musée de la Résistance covers both the history of local resistance and the broader history of the French Resistance. Its subject therefore spans local and national history. If you are comparing cultural attractions, Aups offers several different perspectives side by side: religious art and church architecture, a collection of paintings representing three schools, and the history of the Resistance.

Cave trail, climbing trips and truffle themes

The Sentier des grottes passes beneath the Chapelle de la Trinité, reaches the first caves of Aups and continues to the Chapelle Sainte-Madeleine, which is located in a cave. This sequence links named chapels and caves along a single route. It offers a different focus from the museums and historic buildings.

For guided activities at natural climbing sites, La Corditelle in Aups offers adventure or introductory climbing trips year-round for families, adults and teenagers. The trips are therefore intended for several of the groups specifically mentioned. The Maison de la Truffe offers information and events about truffles and regional products. Together with the cave trail and climbing trips, these attractions provide a broad range of themes to help you decide whether culture, nature or regional products should be the focus of your trip.

When choosing a destination, the highlights are easy to distinguish: the Collégiale and historic towers introduce you to the area's architecture and history, while the museums offer different perspectives on art and the Resistance. The Sentier des grottes describes a route to caves and chapels; La Corditelle adds guided climbing trips to the range of activities. This makes it easy to plan your time in Aups around the activities and themes that interest you.

Discover more destinations: Le Muy, Lorgues, Salernes, Saint-Raphael, Vidauban, Le Thoronet, Solliès-Pont, Tourrettes.

For the broader travel guide: Var.