Old Nans

On the hill overlooking the south of the village, the ruins of Old Nans recall that today's town is a late creation. A fortified village existed here as early as 780. The "castrum Nantis" is mentioned in 1001, and a feudal castle rose in the 12th century at the top of the spur. The inhabitants then gradually left the heights for the plain, where the Nans we know developed around the Saint-Laurent church and the cours.

What remains

Stretches of rampart survive on three sides of the hill, with the levelled walls of the houses and the remains of the castle. The site is not laid out for visitors: you read it in the scrubland rather than visit it, and it calls for care near the walls. The panorama, on the other hand, is complete: the Nans plain, the Aurélien and Olympe hills to the north, the great wall of the Sainte-Baume to the south.

Getting there

The chemin du Bouaou, which leaves the Miséricorde chapel at the top of the Grand-Rue, climbs towards the hill; a sign points to Old Nans on the great Huveaune loop. Allow a short hour there and back from the village.