Peyresq

Discover the charming village of Peyresq in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence

The tiny, winding road offering panoramic views as it winds through this wild and majestic landscape is worth the detour all on its own!

Fir forests, rocky cliffs, and snow-capped peaks against which the hamlet of Peyresq—with its old stone walls and larch shingles—stands out, as do the spectacular overhanging yellow cliffs at the village entrance… There it is, in Peyresq: paradise lost!

The unique History of Peyresq

Built in the 13th century, it was the fief of Nicolas Fabri de Peyresq, a humanist, patron of the arts, and scholar renowned throughout Europe in the 17th century. Peyresq (or Peiresc, meaning “the stony one”) owes its name to the local limestone.

It becomes clear why when you learn that, for this village—which had been left to decay in the early 1950s—this now-deceased mason carried out a marvelous restoration in accordance with best practices, working closely with the Belgian architect Pierre Lamby, for whom Peyresq represents his life’s work.

This was at the request of a certain director of the Fine Arts School in Namur, who had fallen in love with the place and purchased his first house there in 1952.

Together with a friend who was a lawyer, they decided to rebuild Peyresq, with the goal of bringing together students, artists, and scientists in a vibrant hub of humanism. Thus, for 30 years, waves of students—mostly Belgian—came one after another to restore the village from its ruins, with the utmost respect for its integration into the site and the spirit of the place. To reflect the humanistic nature of the project, each house was named after an artist or a scholar: Mistral, Newton, Alain, Darwin, or Leonardo da Vinci.

A Museum Village

A museum village that is virtually deserted in winter, Peyresq comes back to life in June, welcoming students from the Université Libre de Bruxelles for seminars on topics as varied as nonlinear physics, cosmology, ecology, and computer science. It also hosts Argentine tango workshops and visual arts gatherings. Supported by the Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc Foundation and the “Pro Peyresq” association, these activities take place in each of the village’s restored houses: meeting and conference rooms equipped with state-of-the-art technology, a panoramic dining room, and accommodations for about 70 people.

Whether in winter or summer, Peyresq is well worth a visit: you’d be hard-pressed not to run into one or two (happy and smiling!) of the village’s four residents—one will tell you their story, while another will open the doors to the small Romanesque church, a model of absolute simplicity (he’s the one with the keys!).

Map of Peyresq

To locate the village, you can use our interactive map. We’ve marked the best places to stay in the region on it.