Cotignac, the village of the apparitions

Tucked at the foot of its immense tufa cliff hollowed with troglodyte dwellings, Cotignac is one of the loveliest villages of green Provence. It is also a major site of the French Marian tradition: in 1519 the Virgin is said to have appeared on Mont Verdaille, asking that a sanctuary be raised there. Notre-Dame de Grâces was born.

A century later, legend attaches the birth of Louis XIV to this sanctuary: Anne of Austria, childless after twenty-two years of marriage, had her vows carried here, and the "Dieudonné" was born the following year. The young Louis XIV came to Cotignac himself in thanks, making it one of the very few villages in France to have received such a visit.

Between its shaded avenue, its fountains, its cliff and its quiet sanctuary among the olive trees, Cotignac offers a gentle interlude, included in our tailor-made journeys and in extended versions of the tour.