Bollene: Explore cultural heritage and find hotels

In Bollene, cultural heritage ranges from Romanesque religious buildings to a site carved into the rock. At the Collégiale Saint Martin and the Maison Cardinale, different periods of construction, historical events and surviving architectural features take centre stage. Barry adds another dimension, combining cultural heritage, nature and panoramas; a mountain-bike route, in turn, highlights chapel architecture. This gives you several ways to explore Bollene’s cultural attractions.

Religious architecture and building history

The Collégiale Saint Martin has a pointed-arch entrance portal dating from 1505 and a former defensive tower belonging to the priory. It also features a gilded wooden high altar commissioned in 1656 from Philippe Mézangeau, a sculptor from Bollène. The dates refer to different things: 1505 is the year of the portal, while 1656 is the year the altar was commissioned. The Collégiale has been classified as a historic monument since 1909. If you are interested in religious architecture, you can focus here on both the shape of the portal and the history of the altar.

The Maison Cardinale offers a different perspective on historic architectural styles. Its construction is probably dated to the mid-11th century; this date remains an estimate. Its stone roof and walls more than a metre thick have survived. In 1311, the building hosted Pope Clement V; it has been classified as a historic monument since 1947. These dates describe different aspects: a probable construction period, a precisely dated visit and a later classification. By contrast, 1505 at the Collégiale refers to the year of the entrance portal, not to a monument classification.

The former Ursuline convent also contributes to the history of religious art. It houses an altar gilded with gold leaf and carved by Jean-Baptiste Mézangeau. This altar can be distinguished from the wooden high altar in the Collégiale: the two works of art are in different locations and are attributed to different sculptors. The Chapelle de l'hôpital in Bollène is a historic religious monument. A regional tourism listing dated 29 June 2023 names the Bollène association for ecclesiastical heritage as the organisation responsible for visits to the chapel.

Barry: cultural heritage and panoramas

Above Bollène lies the Village troglodytique de Barry, a spectacular site carved into the rock. A walk here combines cultural heritage, nature and exceptional panoramic views. The focus shifts from individual architectural features to the interplay between the rocky landscape, nature and views. Barry offers a different way to explore the area’s cultural attractions than its religious buildings: here, the site carved into the rock and its connection with the surrounding nature take centre stage.

Visit Romanesque religious buildings by bike

The “VTT n°2 – Boucle des Chapelles” route leads between wooded hills and agricultural plains to well-preserved Romanesque religious buildings. Cyclists can climb higher along the route and explore the history conveyed by the chapels’ architecture. The route thus combines landscape, exercise and a cultural-historical theme. While the Collégiale Saint Martin and the Maison Cardinale present individual buildings with specific features, the route takes in several religious buildings in their landscape. These offer different perspectives for planning your trip and exploring Bollene’s culture: the details of individual buildings, the rocky landscape at Barry or chapel architecture along a mountain-bike route.

Discover more destinations: Oppède-Le-Vieux, Flassan, Villedieu, Le Thor, Sault-De-Vaucluse, Faucon, Lioux, Rasteau.

For an overview of the wider region: Vaucluse.