Platane géant de Lamanon

Lamanon

Beside the departmental road that runs through the village of Lamanon, in the heart of the Salon country of Provence, an extraordinary plane tree spreads its branches over more than 1,250 m², single-handedly shading a whole stretch of countryside. With its 25 metres of height and a trunk whose girth reaches 8 metres, this vegetable giant has nourished over the generations a tenacious local legend: it is said to have been planted in the 16th century by Catherine de' Medici herself, who had come to the region to consult the astrologer and apothecary Nostradamus, then living in nearby Salon-de-Provence. No document confirms this fine story, but it is still passed on with pride by the inhabitants of this village of 2,000 souls, who have seen their tree listed as a natural site and monument and recorded among the Arbres Remarquables de France (Remarkable Trees of France). Planted in a field in front of a house, a stone's throw from the village's troglodytic caves, this plane tree, at least two centuries old, remains a curiosity one comes upon almost by chance while wandering the little roads between the Alpilles and the Luberon, far from the crowds thronging the region's better-known monuments.

Getting there : Beside the D23, Lamanon, Bouches-du-Rhône, between Salon-de-Provence and the Alpilles

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound