Small village of character in the heart of the Var, Cotignac takes place at the doors of the Regional Natural Park of Verdon, about forty kilometers from Draguignan. Inescapable site of Haut Var, it is located about eighty kilometers from Toulon, in Provence Verte.
Very old, the town of Cotignac is attested from the first half of the eleventh century. Passed later in the hands of the counts of Provence, it remains appreciated for its important production of olive oil of quality. The city was also illustrated by a pilgrimage of Louis XIV in the second half of the seventeenth century to the chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Graces, on Mount Verdaille.
Even today, the village attracts a large number of visitors for its historical and architectural heritage of interest, but also for its ideal location to discover the most beautiful sights of the region like the Gorges du Verdon, Aix-en-Provence or the Sainte-Victoire mountain.
Located at the foot of a huge tufa rock 400 meters long, the village of Cotignac still has beautiful troglodyte dwellings installed on the side of a cliff.
While strolling on the town, do not miss to go to admire the church Notre-Dame-of-Graces which welcomed the pilgrimage of the king of France, Louis XIV, in the XVIIe century, eager to finally have an heir. Founded in 1519, it is famous among sterile couples who want to start a family. Not far, it is also possible to discover the chapel of St. Martin or the Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation with its bell of 1524.
The clock tower and its late 15th century bell, the Quatre-Saisons fountains and the Cours Gambetta wash-house, listed in the supplementary inventory of Historic Monuments, are also worth a visit.
At the Moulin des Ribbes, you can admire a superb panoramic crib representing a Provencal village with its customs, its old crafts or its nursery at Christmas time. On the program, more than 400 santons and about twenty traditional houses.
In Castellas, it is possible to appreciate the remains of the old oppidum at the origin of the village.
Cotignac is also famous for hosting the largest photovoltaic farm in the department of Var.
The weekly market is held every Tuesday morning.
On May 8, a Day of Sharing at the Notre-Dame-de-Grâces sanctuary is organized.
Every year, on the first Thursday of August, Cotignac hosts a potters' market unveiling handicrafts and offering introductions to modeling and wheel-turning.
At the end of August, place to the local festival and its many animations.
A Provençal Christmas market takes place in December.
