To spot the Hôtel de Camaret, look for an elegant pale stone mansion right in front of you, with rows of tall windows draped in French flags and a grand wooden door topped by a charming balcony.
Here you are, standing before the Hôtel de Camaret-a slice of 18th-century glamour in the heart of Carpentras! Just imagine the rattling of carriages pulling up to this grand mansion, with gentlemen in powdered wigs and ladies rustling in silk gowns, all ready for a night of candlelight and gossip. Nowadays, though, you’re much more likely to find serious faces rushing inside with paperwork; this stately home is the seat of the sous-prefecture for the whole Vaucluse area! If you listen closely, maybe you’ll hear whispers of government secrets echoing off the stone walls, or possibly just the sighs of civil servants facing another mountain of forms. But don’t let the modern hustle fool you-this building has survived centuries of storms and history, standing so proud that the French government made it a listed historic monument back in 1987. So next time you see all those flags waving, picture the Hôtel de Camaret as it once was: the place to see and be seen, and now, the guardian of Carpentras’ civic life!
