Fontaine-de-Vaucluse - Spring

The Fontaine de Vaucluse is a resurgent spring at the foot of a vertical rock wall 200m/656ft high. Here the water seeping through the limestone of the Plateau de Vaucluse emerges and, according to the amount of precipitation, the level of the water and the force of the spring vary considerably. It is most impressive in the spring, when the snow is melting.

It is reached by a roadway 800m/875yd long which is generally only passable on foot because of the numerous stalls selling souvenirs of all kinds; there are no parking facilities. On the right at the edge of the village and by the river is a cave museum ("Le Monde Souterraine").

Further along the path is a paper-mill with a great water-wheel and this has now