Apt market

Apt is a town in the middle of the Luberon range without obvious tourist attractions, instead it is a real place where people live and work, and on Saturday mornings the centre of town plays host to the biggest market in the Luberon, with 300 stands in summer.

Place de la Bouquerie, Apt

APT'S OLD TOWN

You can wander through the old part of town with its fountains, squares and grand town houses, finishing up in one of Apt's many bars and restaurants.

Apt's claim to fame though is as the capital of candied fruit. It even has a classification as a "site remarquable du gout" (like a world heritage site for the tastebuds). If you don't like candied fruit, you're in good company, but if you do, then you must visit La Maison du Fruit Confit on the main road into Apt from the west. Here you can taste and buy candied fruit to your heart's content.

For healthier options there is the big Saturday morning market which draws many locals from all around Apt, so it is better to come early if you want to park close by. And Apt also has a farmers' market with local produce only, every Tuesday morning on Cours Lauze de Perret.

Main shopping street in Apt

THE STORY OF APT

The story of Apt goes back to Roman times. The town stands on the via Domitia, which was the first Roman road built in France, and linked Italy to Spain. Apt was important enough to have the usual Roman accoutrements of thermal baths, forum and amphitheatre. Outside Apt, near Bonnieux there remains the perfectly preserved Roman bridge, the Pont Julien.

The most impressive structure in Apt is the St-Anne cathedral, built over many centuries but started in the 11th. The lower crypt actually was part of a prior 1st-century Roman building. The post-Roman town was surrounded by rampart walls in the middle ages, and you can see remnants of these here and there.