The Couvent de Barbentane hosts seminars, company cocktails, product launches, fashion shows, gala dinners, press conferences, weddings and concerts, for up to 110 guests seated at dinner, 150 in concert layout or 210 standing. The venue is the restored chapel and cloister of a 17th-century convent in Barbentane, a medieval village in the Bouches-du-Rhône, 15 minutes from Avignon and Châteaurenard.
Seminars and company events
For companies and associations, the chapel works as a plenary room for seminars, training days, general assemblies and conferences. A screen, a video projector, a sound system with speakers and two wireless microphones are available. The cloister garden next door, with a 95 m² terrace around a fountain, suits coffee breaks and outdoor cocktails. Product presentations, fashion shows, gala dinners and press conferences are also listed. The spaces are rented empty, so the organizer chooses caterers, furniture and technical suppliers, and the owners can share a list of suppliers they recommend.
For a small leadership group, the guest house on site sleeps up to ten people, which allows a two-day retreat with the meeting room a few steps away.
Weddings and receptions
The chapel hosts weddings, christenings, communions, bar mitzvahs, birthdays and family gatherings, with up to 110 guests at table. The cloister garden is used for the reception drink, and the chapel for dinner and dancing. Concerts, plays, exhibitions and shows can seat up to 150 under the vaults.
Rooms and capacities
The chapel covers 200 m² under high exposed-stone vaults, after the removal of an intermediate floor restored its original volume. It seats 110 for dinner, 150 in theater or concert layout, and holds 210 standing for a cocktail. The cloister garden adds a 95 m² terrace around the fountain. A 35 m² professional catering kitchen adjoins the room, with two cold rooms, stainless-steel work surfaces and dishwashing area, power for warming equipment, a separate delivery access with a reserved parking space and a socket for refrigerated trucks, and staff restrooms.
Accommodation
The convent includes a guest house with a capacity deliberately limited to ten people. The Chambre des Observantins is a 27 m² double room in a former monk's cell. La Montagnette is a 41 m² family suite made from two cells, with two bedrooms for four. The Gîte du Cloître, a self-catering cottage for four with two bedrooms, opens onto the cloister and is accessible for guests with reduced mobility. Guests share a garden with a 12 by 4 meter saltwater pool, a pergola and a summer kitchen. The rooms hold the Gîtes de France 4-épis and Éco-Gîte labels.
Catering
There is no in-house caterer for events. You bring your own caterer, who works from the equipped kitchen next to the chapel. Guest-house residents can book the table d'hôtes.
History and setting
The convent of the Observant Fathers, a Franciscan branch, was built in the 17th century on the remains of Barbentane's first church. Sold at the Revolution, it later served as a Catholic primary school until 1959, a fruit and vegetable packing station and a furniture store. New owners bought it in 2021 and restored it between 2022 and 2024 with support from the Fondation du Patrimoine, using local stone, reused roof tiles, wood-fiber insulation and solar power. Barbentane is a listed heritage site at the foot of the Montagnette hills.
Getting there
Avignon's TGV station is 2 hours 40 minutes from Paris, and the village is 15 minutes from Avignon. Arles is 35 minutes away, Aix-en-Provence 1 hour 5 minutes and Marseille 1 hour 30 minutes. Free public parking lies near the venue, at the stadium car park and along the Chemin du Trouillet.
