Seillans (; oc, Selhan) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Var Var or VAR may refer to: Places * Var (department), a department of France * Var (river), France * Vār, Iran, village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Var, Iran (disambiguation), other places in Iran * Vár, a village in Obreja commune, Ca ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pref ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

in southeastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is a ''ville perché'' (perched hill-top village) overlooking the plain between the southern

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

and the

Esterel Esterel is a synchronous programming language for the development of complex reactive systems. The imperative programming style of Esterel allows the simple expression of parallelism and preemption. As a consequence, it is well suited for contr ...

, which borders the sea between

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

and Saint-Raphaël. It has been recognized by

Les Plus Beaux Villages de France ''Les Plus Beaux Villages de France'' (meaning “the most beautiful villages of France”) is an independent association created in 1982 for the promotion of the tourist appeal of small rural villages with a rich cultural heritage. As of Septem ...

. Seillans has a steeply-inclined medieval centre, accessible only on foot, and a number of small squares and old buildings. It is the westernmost of a line of such towns and villages (including

Montauroux Montauroux (; oc, Montauron) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Its neighbor town is the picturesque Callian which can be seen across a small valley. Geography Montauroux is ...

, Callian, Tourrettes and

Fayence Fayence (; oc, Faiença) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 5,735. Fayence is one of a series of "perched villages" overlooking the plain between ...

) that face south and attract tourists. Other local attractions include the nearby Lac de Saint-Cassien. Seillans is also a destination for holiday-makers, retirees and second-home owners from other parts of France and northern Europe. Seillans features a castle and C13 church at its summit. Nearby are rustic chapels, vineyards, forests and olive groves. Seillans has an annual pottery market and many concerts and events throughout the year, as well as the annual international

Musique-Cordiale The Musique Cordiale International Festival & Academy is an annual festival of classical music, song, oratorio and opera, founded in 2005. It usually* takes place in hill towns (village perché) of the Pays de Fayence between Nice and Aix-en-Proven ...

Festival, a fortnight when the church, the ''salle polyvalente'' and outdoor venues resound to a variety of high quality classical, choral and jazz music from international artists, soloists, choirs and orchestras each August, when the area is at its most popular. In the late 1960s and early 1970s

Max Ernst Max Ernst (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German (naturalised American in 1948 and French in 1958) painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealism ...

and

Dorothea Tanning Dorothea Margaret Tanning (25 August 1910 – 31 January 2012) was an American painter, printmaker, sculptor, writer, and poet. Her early work was influenced by Surrealism. Biography Dorothea Tanning was born and raised in Galesburg, Illin ...

made Seillans their home. The village hosts a substantial Max Ernst collection, including several sculptures in open air.

Geography

Climate

Seillans has a

hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Csa''). The average annual temperature in Seillans is . The average annual rainfall is with November as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Seillans was on 7 August 2003; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 20 December 2009.

Geography

Climate

See also