A Walk About Chamaret in the Drôme Provençale

One Saturday morning a few months back, we were headed to Grignan, a village that sits on a large rocky peak crowned by a big castle in Drôme Provençale, with the cousins from Montpellier. We were going to tour the castle and have lunch at Le Poème de Grignan Restaurant. The cousins had not been to Grignan before and we thought it would be fun to go there with them.

When we were close to Grignan, I made a wrong turn and we found ourselves in a picturesque Provençale village called Chamaret. We could see a tall tower, ruins of a chateau and an iron campanile so we got out to take a walk about the village. Chamaret is little (pop. 556) and sits on a mound about 4 kms southeast of Grignan.

Main street of Chamaret with castle keep on top of hill

Campanile of the Romanesque church of Chamaret

The castle ruins and castle-keep watch tower are the main attractions in Chamaret. The tower sits on the end of the hill at the southern edge of the village, and provides a magnificent view across the countryside in all directions, including nearby to the Grignan castle

Castle keep

Most of the 12th-century castle is gone now, except for the 30-meter tall castle keep, which doubles as a bell tower and clock tower. Part of the castle came down in 1696 and in 1772. It was ruined even more during the French Revolution, but partly restored in 1895. The remains include a couple of the fortification walls and the tall keep.

Chamaret castle ruins

More of the Chamaret castle ruins

View of Grignan across the valley from the Chamaret castle

View of the church campanile from the castle

Old house in Chamaret

We found the Romanesque church of Chamaret, in the center of the village, with its 3-tier square tower topped with an iron campanile.

Romanesque church of Chamaret

The enameled sundail shown below is not ancient but it is beautiful. The scene depicts the village, including cyclist, picnickers, petanque players and the village café.

Sundial on Chamaret wall

One of the wonderful things about Provence is that you can make a wrong turn and find yourself in a charming village previously unknown to you. Have a great week. Chat soon.