Population : 450
A spa town specialised in the treatment of respiratory problems, rheumatology and fitness, Montbrun-les-Bains is also proud to be listed among the 100 most beautiful villages in France. Its high houses of six or seven floors, leaning on the rock or supported by solid arches, scale up the hill like organ pipes with the ruins of the Renaissance castle of the Dupuy-Montbrun on top of them.
The Dupuy family arrived in Montbrun in the 13th century and served the King of France loyally to one notable exception, Charles Dupuy-Montrbun (1530-1575), who like many aristocrats of his time became a devoted adept of Calvinism. Charles became famous by leading several sieges and attacks with his partner in crime the Baron of Les Adrets, and the two became legendary characters in the region.
The ruins of the Renaissance castle are only visible from the outside, the land being private property. It was a huge building, built by Charles Dupy-Montbrun on the ruins of a medieval castle destroyed by royal order in 1560. The castle was among the most beautiful of the region and its ceilings were said to have been painted by Mignard.
The thermal activity in Montbrun, stopped by WWI, resumed on a more modest scale since 1980.
Website : www.montbrunlesbains.fr
