Rue Grande and the Grande Fontaine

The Rue Grande runs the length of the village from the Porte Royale to the far gate, and it is the whole street plan: everything else is a passage off it. It is narrow, paved in patterned cobble, lined with stone houses whose ground floors are now galleries, and crossed at intervals by vaulted arches that make natural frames.

Halfway along, the street widens into the little Place de la Grande Fontaine. The fountain is a heavy stone urn on a round basin, worn smooth, with a vaulted lavoir behind it — a wash-house that puts an arched shadow behind whoever stands at the water. This is the single most photographed spot in the village and it deserves it; it is also the first place a coach group stops, which is the argument for being there at seven.

Light in the street is indirect for most of the day, which suits portraits: the houses are close enough that you work in soft bounced light off warm stone rather than in direct sun. The arches give you a way to separate subject from background without any long lens.

Galleries and shops open around ten and put easels, signs and sandwich boards into every frame; before that the street reads as pure stone. Late afternoon works too, once the day groups leave and before the restaurants set out their tables.