The Luberon

The Luberon

The Luberon is a massif in central Provence in Southern France – for many, exactly what they picture as synonymous with Provence. It is a favourite destination for French, British, Japanese, and American visitors because of the pleasant and picturesque towns and villages, and abundance of lavender fields. The Luberon is famous as the home of Peter Mayle chronicling his life as an expatriate – the first titled A Year in Provence.

We kind of liked it, perhaps not as much as Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, but a reasonable vacation destination. I hold back from saying a great vacation destination – this is not my favorite part of France, and the charm is wearing off the more we visit. Weather is challenging – very hot in the summer, cold in the winter, and can have a lot of wind in the in-between seasons. Lives up to the hype from a scenery perspective. Quite touristy. Note that if coming from the north on the main freeway (A7), the journey can be tedious, with a lot of traffic. In the region, expect narrow, acceptably maintained roads with a lot of bike traffic.

Apt

What an outlier in the shiny polish of Provence. It’s a fairly grim stop in the midst of the shine and tourist-orientation of the surrounding towns. The chief object of interest is the **Church of Sainte-Anne (once the cathedral), the building of which was begun about the year 1056 on the site of a much older edifice, but not completed until the latter half of the 17th century. We found it impressive, heavy, and fairly large – especially in the context of the town today.

The town was formerly surrounded by ancient walls, but these have now been for the most part replaced by boulevards. There is also evidence of many Roman remains, though for the most part they’ve been replaced or repurposed in other buildings.

One standout however – if you’re near Apt in Lavender season, take the backroads to Lourmarin (Val des Loubés, through Buoux. It’s gorgeous and lined with fields.

Bonnieux

Bonnieux is similar to Lourmarin with a better view – a potential for a place to stay (there are many hotels), but not exactly a destination in-and-of itself. In the flats of Bonnieux there is a very old roman bridge, **Pont Julien, worth a stop.

Fontaine-de-Vaucluse

I really liked this little town – a major departure from fancy Gordes, Fontaine-de-Vaucluse is reportedly very busy during the summer, but worth a stop. Our late May trip was fairly tranquil, but from the volume of camping in the area and number of restaurants and touristy shops, it’s built for a crowd. A 15 minute walk from the center of the village, the “fontaine” itself is accessible – the largest karst spring in metropolitan France by flow and fifth largest in the world, with an annual output of 630,000,000 to 700,000,000 cubic metres of water. It’s a lot, a big, rapidly moving flow, stemming from a vast network of underground caves.

There were many scuba divers in the parking lot when we arrived – apparently not a usual event, because diving is strictly prohibited. We lucked into the one day a year tours are arranged.

Gordes

Gordes is a very popular destination in the Luberon, perched on a hill surrounded by vineyards and lavender fields. In 2023, Travel + Leisure named it the most beautiful village in the world – and it is indeed very pretty. The weather (the wind) specifically was a problem in late May, but I’d still recommend it – perhaps just a bit more in the middle of the summer.

This is an old town, with many Roman ruins, and evidence of an 8th century abbey. It had multiple periods of popularity, but was nearly abandoned by the early 1900s. “Rediscovered” in the 1950s and heavily restored, it’s not quite pristine, but quite close to that, with very grand buildings and narrow winding streets. You’d be hard pressed to spend more than a few hours, and expect to be with a lot of tourists.

This area is packed with rental houses, small hotels, and grander destinations at all price points.

In the area:

The Airelles Hotel dominates the landscape on the front face – a massive, gorgeous property with three restaurants and eye-watering pricing (in the thousands per night). We opted for an expensive lunch at ***Clover Gordes, which was excellent, a beautiful setting and perfectly-prepared food. Very good service. Not an everyday event, but for a special occasion – worth it.
**Hôtel Le Jas de Gordes was really quite lovely – a very adult-oriented, elegant hotel with a grand pool, lots of outdoor lounging areas, and small, but nicely appointed rooms. Lots of parking, easy walking distance to the town of Gordes itself.
**Les Caves du Palais Saint-Firmin was an interesting 30-minute stop. Under the Palais Saint Firmin, a large Renaissance house, there is a network of cellars. The family, after restoring the upper levels and gardens, have cleared out 61 rooms (and counting) – a network of oil mills, cisterns, pipes, and chapels.
**Le Cercle Républicain is the local working glass bar. It’s a bit rough around the edges, but there are 5-6 tables on a tiny balcony with a remarkable view.
*Restaurant Le C is a well-reviewed restaurant in a Logis property, Carcarille Hôtel & Spa, on the southern flanks of Gordes (not quite walking distance). Our food was good, but the experience suffered from hiccups – lots of poorly behaved children, a bit informal and mid-range hotel-ish setting.
**Église Saint-Pantaléon is on the fringes of Gordes, and worth a quick stop. To see the interior, visit on a weekday, stop at the mayor’s office, and ask for the key (we did not do this on our weekend trip). It’s a pretty, clearly Romanesque structure surrounded by a very interesting necropolis of the 11th and twelfth centuries with adult graves surrounded by children’s graves.
We didn’t do the Village des Bories – once you’ve figured out what they look like, you’ll start to see them everywhere.

Many people come to the area for the famous ***Abbaye de Sénanque, which is just north of Gordes. It’s a great example of Cistercian architecture, 12th century, and we found it stunning and quite interesting. You’ll recognize the picture – iconically Provence, with lavender fields in front. But did you know this monastery is tied to the song, Frère Jacques? Perhaps a hard thing to prove, but the context lines up. Guides in French only, or with a histopad for other languages, and in peak season having a reservation is very important. Good gift shop.

Lacoste

**Lacoste was our second stop, an “artistic village” on a hillside, home to the ruins of the castle of the Marquis de Sade. Today, it’s a remote campus of SCAD, housing some 50 restored old houses transformed into art galleries, conference and exhibition rooms, student residences and hi-tech classrooms. It’s very picturesque, rather artificially so. As a student, this would be amazing. As a visitor, it’s a nice walk: you’ll be in and out in under 30 minutes.

Lauris

**La Cuisine d’Amélie (dinner at 8, in Lauris) was good, and the hotel it’s within was really lovely. It’s a grand estate with a massive, tree-shaded garden, and the patio dining is picturebook-perfect. The menu isn’t as fancy as you’d expect – Galen had a good burger, I had the chicken. I’d consider this for a hotel stay.

Lourmarin

We spent two nights in Lourmarin, exploring the surrounding areas. It’s packed with hotels, many quite high end, in a walkable area, and is centrally located for access to Provence sites. It’s cheerful and easy to deal with – Galen liked it more than I did, there’s not a lot to fault about it, it just felt like a tourism destination versus a living town. Like most of the places in this area, it doesn’t really clear out in the evenings – it’s just busy all the time. Very pretty houses, compact setting. I didn’t mind it, but wouldn’t particularly prioritize it over other towns in the region.

We stayed at *Le Moulin, a Beaumier Hotel (with points). Having been to a few of these hotels now, we are not planning to frequent more – but they do an excellent job of advertising to Americans (expect a very American crowd), hitting all the hipster topnotes, creating very photogenic environments, and charging a lot. Specifically for this property – the pool is way too small, nearly unusable. Service is very young and untrained. Breakfast was adequate, dinner at the **hotel restaurant was fine (and the dining room was nice). The bedroom was comfortable and quite large, though overlooking the street and quite loud. This is almost a two, but we wouldn’t exactly recommend it, and wouldn’t return to it.

Roussillon

Another incredibly touristy location, though we did appreciate the red rock. I’d put this in the category of “visit if in the area” – don’t make a major detour. Two exceptions – the central church is worth a visit, and we had an truly outstanding lunch at ***Restaurant Omma. This is a fancy hotel, and their restaurant faces some of the best views of the town. Plating was exceptional and everything we ate was excellent.