Le Thoronet

A typical Provençal village nestling in the Valley of the Argens in the heart of the department of the Var, the town of Le Thoronet is surrounded by vineyards and hills covered in holm oak, pines and olive trees... all integrated into the Natura 2000 zone.

Le Thoronet is for all you nature lovers – the town's natural surroundings are exceptional, and are part of the ZNIEFF – Natural Zone of Interest for Ecology, Flora and Fauna.
All around is the Provence of limestone landscapes covered in a scrub land full of herbs such as rosemary and thyme.
3 waterways cross the commune: the Argens river, the small Bresque river and the Vallons des Miquelets … they provide the opportunity to discover nature by canoeing or kayaking, which takes you through the preserved and protected zones.

The commune is made up of 13 hamlets scattered throughout the valleys. There are many walking trails along the the country roads and paths. And the hikes are classed as easy, so they are accessible to all.
These 13 hamlets were founded by the families of the abbey's sharecroppers and it was thus that the town of Le Thoronet was born.

Le Thoronet presents you with a remarkable religious heritage, known for its masterpiece of Provençal Romanesque art: a Cistercian abbey built between the 12th and the 13th centuries and listed as a historic monument. It is one of the 3 Cistercian abbeys of Provence along with those of Sénanque and Silvacane.
Following the French Revolution, restoration work on the abbey, falling in disrepair, was started in 1841. Today, you can admire the purity of its forms as well as the ingenuity of its spaces which make it a model for contemporary architecture.
The construction of the church, the cloisters and the monks' dormitory was carried out without the use of mortar, an ancestral technique recognized as a marvel of art and architecture.

With 120,000 visitors per year, the abbey, with its exceptional acoustics, is the essential venue for the Festival of Medieval Music.

In the area around Thoronet :

• Lorgues: A thousand year old Provençal town with a rich heritage
• Flayosc: A village without the mobs of tourists
• The Camino de Santiago (Saint James Way) crosses the mountains of the Var, the Maures and the Sainte-Baume