Roumoules

Overview

commune

Where to stay in Roumoules

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Services & shops in Roumoules

EV charging — in the village: Parking Place de la Blachette (2 points), network eborn. See the map of Verdon charging points →

What to see, what to do

Roumoules radio transmitter

A large broadcasting station set on the plateau, historically devoted to transmitting Radio Monte-Carlo (RMC) on long wave (216 kHz), a service that ended on 28 March 2020; the site is still used on medium wave, at 1,467 kHz, for night-time broadcasting. It is marked by its immense pylons rising above the lavender fields: three main masts of 300 metres and a 330-metre standby mast erected in the late 1970s — the latter ranks among the ten tallest structures in France, as tall as the Eiffel Tower.

Church of Saint-Pierre-ès-Liens

The parish church, a former priory dependent on the abbey of Lérins, containing a 16th-century Gothic chapel.

Château de Campagne

A residence built around 1680-1690 and bought in 1782 by Pierre Joseph Clérissy (a family associated with faience). Its enamelled roof (a covering of glazed tiles) is classified as a historic monument.

Château de Saint-Martin-d'Alignosc

A château of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, which also belonged to the Clérissy family.

Lavender fields of the plateau

Plantings of lavender, partly drip-irrigated, and olive groves (of the order of 1,000 to 3,500 trees under cultivation). Farming covered 83.4% of the territory in 2018.

History of Roumoules

The name of Roumoules appears around the year 1020 in the form in villa Romules, derived from the Roman personal name Romulus. The place corresponds to a settlement within the orbit of the nearby Roman city of Riez; an ancient burial was uncovered here in 1957. In the Middle Ages several lords of Roumoules are documented from the late 13th to the 14th century (Jacques de Nati, Guillaume and Rostang de Roumoules). A Protestant community survived here in the 17th century, gathered around its temple. The modern history of the village is also bound up with the Clérissy family, owners of its two châteaux. The commune has remained deeply rural, turned towards lavender and the olive tree, and its name became familiar to listeners through the transmitter that long broadcast Radio Monte-Carlo.