"Les Baux of Provence"; Provençal: Lei Bauç de Provença (classical norm) or Li Baus de Prouvènço (mistralian norm)), commonly referred to simply as Les Baux, is a rural commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southern France.

[3] It is located in the Alpilles mountains, northeast of Arles, atop a rocky outcrop that is crowned with a ruined castle overlooking the plains to the south.

[8] The way from the Les Baux oppidum to the plains north of the Alpilles was by a protohistoric way through the valley of Laval and the town of Glanon which later took the name Glanum.

[9] While Protohistory was strongly marked by pastoralism and agriculture in the Alpilles, limestone was also extracted from quarries around Les Baux where a workshop from the end of the 2nd and early 1st centuries BC has been found.

In exchange for luxury goods, the inhabitants of the Alpilles produced grain and achieved a state of autarky with a real trading economy.

They were said to be descended from the Biblical Magi Balthazar and their coat of arms was a silver star with sixteen branches as a reminder that, according to the Gospel, it guided the three wise men to Bethlehem.

As a medieval stronghold on the borders of Languedoc, Comtat Venaissin and Provence, the fortress had a turbulent military history and has been the subject of many assaults.

The solid dungeon that still dominates the village today reiterates the importance of this castle which was a desirable possession in the Middle Ages.

The King of France, Charles VI, intervened and sent the Seneschal of Beaucaire, Enguerrand d'Eudin, who rallied Guillaume III Roger de Beaufort.

In 1631, tired of conflict, the people negotiated with the king for the redemption of the castle territory and the right to dismantle the fortifications, "which were a refuge for rebels".

Jacques, the son of the current Prince of Monaco Albert II, carries among his many titles that of Marquis of Les Baux.

Access to the commune is by the D27 road from Maussane-les-Alpilles in the south which passes through the village and continues north to join the D99 east of Mas-Blanc-des-Alpilles.

Protected plant species, such as the summer snowflake (Leucojum aestivum) and Hélianthème (Helianthemum lavandulaefolium), are found at the bottom of the valleys.

The commune produces Olive oil of the valley of Les Baux-de-Provence which is protected by the appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) by a decree issued by INAO on 27 August 1997.[relevant?]

This is primarily a live nativity scene, which takes place before the pastorage ritual developed in the pastoral world and dating back to the 16th century.

This traditional ceremony was abandoned during the 19th century but was revived in 1902: a cart pulled by a ram, decorated with leaves and candles, brings a newborn lamb.

Carrières de Lumières, established in 1976 as the Cathédrale d'Images, is a permanent show in which large bright images are projected on the stone walls of huge galleries dug into the rock of the Val d'Enfer on the road to Maillane.

Cathédrale d'Images is a fairy and giant slide show in the dark projected on the limestone walls of the quarry where the viewer is immersed in a visual and musical universe.

Despite its success, the Cathédrale d'images had to stop its activities in Les Baux-de-Provence at the end of 2010 after refusing a Public Service Delegation.

The municipal council then entrusted the management of the site to the Culturespaces company who operate under the name of Carrières de Lumières.