Fort Saint-André

Fort Saint-André is a medieval fortress which, until the Revolution, protected a garrison, an abbey and a particularly lively town. In 1291, Philip the Fair fortified Mont Andaon, on which the fort is built. The place then allowed navigation to be watched and gave the country protection. In 1316, the importance of Fort Saint-André grew when the popes settled there. At the end of the fifteenth century, the site's role was called into question because Provence became French. Avignon and the Comtat Venaissin then became an enclave within the kingdom but remained a papal possession until 1791. The fort gradually lost its strategic interest, especially as the Rhône shifted its bed by nine hundred metres and gradually moved away from the rock. Walking along the tower terraces and the path that follows the enclosure walls, you discover a very fine view of Avignon, the Rhône valley and Mont Ventoux.

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