Le Riable Tower

The Riable tower is all that remains of a fortified medieval site, first mentioned in 1230 and already abandoned by the 15th century. It was the seignorial stronghold of Ballon lo Tron, which may refer to the "Upper Ballons".

Other former high-lying fortified sites can be seen from the tower, such as: to the east, Barret (at 955 metres, on top of Cacule hill); and to the west, Gaudissard (at 871m, above Eygalayes), the old village of Vers-sur-Méouge (945m) and Mévouillon fort (1,120m).

Today, only the first level of the tower remains: a barrel vault lit by a high window and reached by a door added after the tower was abandoned. Entry was originally via the upper floor, as in many other medieval towers. The tower must therefore have been twice as tall as its current seven metres. The walls of the lower chamber are 1.65m thick and form a square with 6.5m sides. The tower was once surrounded by other buildings as imagined in the drawing below.