Luberon travel guide: Six experiences to add to your itinerary

The Luberon is a little-known gem hiding in plain sight.

Rising to more than 1,200m from the lowlands of Provence, the Luberon massif is a huge lump of rock that has been split down the middle by the Aiguebrun river.

Here, narrow, winding roads – bordered on one side by craggy limestone cliffs and on the other by groves of cherry trees laden with plump, scarlet fruit, gnarled olive trees, rows of unruly grape vines and fields of lavender – lead to some of the prettiest (officially) medieval hilltop and hillside villages in France.

Over the years, the region has drawn creative minds ranging from existentialist writer Albert Camus to film director Sir Ridley Scott; Peter Mayle wrote A Year in Provence about his time in the village of Lourmarin.

Nestled within Luberon Regional Nature Park, the region boasts colourful, fragrant markets, rugged gorges, Roman bridges, technicolour ochre deposits, peaceful forests and wonderfully fresh, characterful wines.

Here are six suggestions for making the most of your time there.

Walk around a winery

Vines have been grown in the Luberon since Roman times and today there are some 3,500ha of vineyards, located on both sides of the Luberon massif at an altitude of 200m-450m.

While it sits between Provence (AP Côteaux d’Aix-en-Provence) and the Rhône (AP Ventoux), the Luberon’s wines are distinctly different to those of both, the cooler climate, and particularly the broader spread of temperatures between night and day, imbuing the wines with remarkable freshness.

The obvious must-visit is Mas des Infermières, which is owned by Sir Ridley Scott.

The purpose-built winery features a shop where you can buy wine and a range of local products and view a ‘permanent exhibition’ of props and other memorabilia from Scott’s films, including space suits from Alien, Prometheus and The Martian.

Also worth checking out are: Château de Mille in Apt, the region’s oldest winery, dating back to the 13th century, and once used as the summer residence of the popes; Château la Canorgue in Bonnieux, another vineyard with a Ridley Scott connection – it was the location for his movie A Good Year.

Domaine de la Citadelle, just outside the village of Ménerbes, boasts a corkscrew museum exhibiting more than 1,200 devices dating back to the 1600s; and Châteaux Fontvert and Constantin in Lourmarin.

There are also several good cooperatives, which showcase numerous local wineries’ output in one place. Cave de Sylla in Apt and Cave de Bonnieux in Bonnieux are two of the oldest, both dating back more than a century and offering hundreds of local wines.

Visit a village (or five)

The Luberon boasts five villages officially designated as Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (the Prettiest Villages of France) – Ansouis, Gordes, Lourmarin, Ménerbes and Roussillon – and all are worth a visit, but a place in the pantheon of pretty villages pretty much guarantees popularity with tourists, so take some time to go beyond this ‘famous five’ and explore some of the smaller, lesser-known villages.

Perhaps Goult, home to the Moulin de Jérusalem, a beautifully restored 1750 windmill situated at the village’s peak and offering stunning views of the valley.

Or wander around the remarkably well-preserved Lacoste, once home to the Marquis de Sade, whose castle was restored by fashion designer Pierre Cardin in the early 2000s.

If it’s views you’re after, another option is Saignon, which was born as a lookout post for the town of Apt, thanks to its peerless vantage point down the Luberon valley to the west, as far as the Rhône valley.

If, like me, you have a thing for old doorways, then St-Saturnin-lès-Apt is for you – three of the doorways in the central Rue de la Republique are so special that they’ve been listed as historical monuments.

And finally, for something a bit different, check out the Village des Bories, an open-air museum of 20 or so dry stone huts located a few minutes from Gordes.

Make your way to a market

One of the best times to visit the Luberon’s villages is on market day, when traders come from far and wide to sell their wares and the streets and squares buzz and bustle with shoppers and browsers.

And regardless of the day of the week, there will be more than one village market taking place somewhere in the Luberon.

The largest, with up to 300 stalls – and a history that dates back nine centuries – is held on Saturday mornings in Apt.

The markets in Lourmarin, Gordes and Roussillon are also popular or, for a more relaxed experience, try Cucuron’s very authentic village market, situated under the shade of towering plane trees.

While all of these markets will feature a mixture of food, flowers, homewares and clothing, some have a particular point of difference.

Coustellet’s is a dedicated farmers’ market (marché paysan), where vendors sell only what they grow or produce themselves.

The Sunday market in L’Islesur-la-Sorgue – known as the Venice of Provence for its network of canals and other waterways – is known for antiques and its annual floating market.

On the first Sunday of August, traders in traditional flat-bottomed boats (négos-chins) adorned with fresh flowers slip from bank to bank of the Sorgue river to serve customers.

As the market draws to a close, the négos-chins line up in the river and sing the Coupo Santo – the official regional anthem of Provence.

Rock out

The Luberon is home to several geological marvels, the most spectacular of which is the world’s largest ochre deposit, which stretches 25km from west to east between the villages of Goult and Gignac.

The ochre, a mix of sand and clay naturally pigmented by iron oxides, comes in a remarkable array of hues, and has been mined since the late 18th century.

It has been sculpted by water, wind and people into a range of fascinating forms, from towering technicolour pillars to deep canyons.

There are a number of ways to experience it: the Sentier des Ocres, a pair of short loop trails that set out from Roussillon village (where the ochre has been used to colour the facades of many of the houses); the Colorado Provençal near Rustrel, an expansive former open-cast mine; and Bruoux Mines in Gargas, which features more than 40km of hand-carved, cathedral-like underground galleries.

Roussillon is also home to Okhra, an ochre museum housed in a former ochre factory.

Indulge in a long lunch

Unsurprisingly, the Luberon is blessed with a plethora of excellent dining options, from simple rustic cafes to Michelin-starred gastronomic temples, but to really soak up the Luberon vibe, stop for lunch on a terrace – preferably with a view.

The terrace at Café de France (+33 [0]4 90 75 82 25) in Lacoste enjoys a remarkable view of the valley and the picturesque village of Bonnieux on the opposite hillside.

You can look back the other way from Michelin one-star La Bastide de Capelongue in Bonnieux.

La Bastide de Marie in Ménerbes offers tranquil dining on a terrace set amid beautiful gardens and vineyards, with views of the surrounding landscape.

If you’ve had your fill of views, Insitio in the charming village of Vaugines (where Peter Mayle spent his final years), has a terrace in the main square beside a pretty ‘living’ fountain.

And finally there’s Le Fournil (@lefournil_ bonnieux_) in Bonnieux, which is set in a former bakery in a natural cave in the hillside but also boasts an intimate outdoor terrace on the shaded Place Carnot.

Look for some lavender

The Luberon has long been a centre for lavender growing and each year from mid-June to mid-July, when the harvest typically starts, large parts of the region turn purple.

One of the most picturesque sites is the 12th-century (but still inhabited) Notre-Dame de Sénanque Abbey, set in a secluded valley near Gordes.

The lavender grown by the monks is harvested by a local distiller, who transforms it into essential oil and handmade products sold at the abbey.

Or head to the Claparèdes plateau, between Bonnieux and Saignon, where an 8km loop trail weaves among landscapes in which rows of lavender stretch as far as the eye can see.

Many of the region’s lavender farms welcome visitors, as do the distilleries that transform the flowers into lavender oil.

The Aroma’Plantes distillery in Sault offers tours and workshops, and has a shop with more than 600 farm products.

There’s even a lavender museum in Coustellet with a collection of copper stills, some of which date back to the 16th century.

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