Nowadays, Carpentras is a commercial center for Comtat Venaissin and is famous for the black truffle markets held from winter to early spring.

[4] Carpentras was a commercial site used by Greek merchants in ancient times, and known to Romans at first as Carpentoracte Meminorum, mentioned by Pliny, then renamed Forum Neronis ("Forum of Nero"); the city retains a Roman triumphal arch, that has been enclosed by the bishops' palace, rebuilt in 1640, now a law court, and a machicolated city gate, the Porte d'Orange.

Into the 20th and 21st centuries, Carpentras has been an important centre of French Judaism and is home to the oldest synagogue in France, which opened in 1367 and is still active today[when?].

The Jewish cemetery was desecrated by members of the French and European Nationalist Party in May 1990, causing a public uproar and a demonstration in Paris that was attended by 200,000 people, including then-president François Mitterrand.

[12] Its traditional confectionery is the berlingot, a small hard candy with thin white stripes, originally made from the syrup left over from conservation of fruits.