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Favourite Luberon village??

When I read about these villages they sound absolutely cute, charming and I can’t make my mind up on if I should stay in one, if so which one and how many days I should allot in my itinerary for exploring these villages. (Maybes it’s a seen one, seen them all type of thing?) would love to hear your suggestions

Posted by
26832 posts

This website might be of interest: https://www.theluberon.com/luberon-villages/.

In the one-of-these-is-not-like-the-others sweepstakes, I'd say L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is probably the winner. It's a town rather than a village, has a river running through it and has a big-deal street market on Sunday (largest in the area) and Wednesday (somewhat smaller market). Most of the others are small enough that I wouldn't feel I needed a full day to see them. YMMV, of course. I do not mean I think L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is the place you should necessarily stay. Certainly driving out of town and back in on market days could be challenging, depending on where you are parking your car overnight. I just mean it's a place you would probably want to see during your time in the area.

I spend a fair amount of time taking day-trips to small places during my trips (though the very smvillages often don't have any public transportation, which is what I rely on). For me, I wouldn't say "seen one, seen them all", but I do find I reach a point of diminishing returns--and I'm retired so able to spend up to almost 90 days in western Europe (or one country thereof) at a time. I think for someone taking a trip of typical length, the limit of how much time to spend in one small area would be reached more quickly. Now, spending two weeks parked in a villa in the Luberon would no doubt be better than spending two weeks at home, but would it be as interesting as moving around more? Even for me it would not.

Posted by
11052 posts

We enjoyed staying in Gordes and Menerbes. Bonnieux , although charming, seemed too small for us. We had no interest in staying in Isle de Sorgue after visiting it. Market day would be out of the question after seeing it with the large crowds.
We like to stay one to weeks in one location when we travel, taking drives out to other towns almost every day.

Posted by
633 posts

We explored the Luberon in a day, driving from our cottage in St-Remy de Provence, where we spent 6 nights. We went to Rousillon first, then Goult, Joucas, and Gordes. Rousillon and Gordes were spectacular, but parking was miserable--we tried for an hour in Gordes between 5 and 6 pm and gave up. So avoid the weekend, especially holiday weekends. I'm sure they are calmer during the week or off-season. Goult and Joucas were quiet and very pleasant--there were mostly locals at the cafes. I might spend a night or two in Gordes or Rousillon just to see them early and late, without crowds. I'd suggest doing a little research and choosing a small number of the villages. It depends on when you will be traveling and the itinerary for the rest of our trip, but on a two-week trip I would allot anywhere between 1-3 days depending on your research and what else you are trying to see. We also got to Lourmarin on our way out of the area. Each has a different feel, but I think we saw a good sample.

Posted by
4758 posts

It's hard to recommend the number of nights without knowing your trip length, what other places you're going to, and time of year. The last time we were down there (in April, IIRC) we spent 5 days at a little B&B in the countryside outside L'Isle sur la Sorgue. Each day we would head out and explore a couple of different places. Some took up several hours. Some only an hour or two. There was certainly enough differences between them that we didn't get the "seen one seen them all" feeling.

Posted by
6783 posts

L'Isle sur La Sorgue is cute, lively, and very distinctive with the river running through town, but it is a town rather than a village.
While a charming base, it will not give you village charm.

As a village base, I like Roussillon, or quieter Goult. Gordes is stunning but gets very crowded, Bonnieux suffers from some through traffic, and I have never been to Ménerbes. Each village has its own look-and-feel.

Posted by
763 posts

We spent 5-6 nights in Roussillon, using it as a base to go to Isle-sur-la-Sorgue on market day. (Plan 45 minutes or so to find parking, even if you're early. It was nuts.), Bonnieux, Gordes, Joucas, and Lacoste. Roussillon is a cute little town, and really nice in the evening, when the crowds are gone. (However, we weren't happy with the food. None of the recommended restaurants were something to write home about.) Maison des Ocres was a very comfortable room with a good breakfast. It's on the edge of town, so it was easy to hit the road, and the parking was exceedingly easy. It was nice coming home after all day on the road knowing our spot was waiting for us. Parking was worth the bother in Bonnieux and Lacoste for a day trip. Gordes was a challenge. Probably took 30-45 minutes to find something. I really liked Joucas. We didn't stay there, but it would be a good centrally-located base. It's very quiet and not touristy at all, so if you want a day or two to relax, this would be a good choice. Parking is easy. As far as 'seen one, seen 'em all', yes and no. They each have their personalities, but. other than Sorgue, they are all small villages. I liked the area and wish we had allowed more time to more to see other spots.

Posted by
667 posts

I didn't find Bonnieux too small -- there are plenty of restaurants in the village and just outside, in all ranges of quality. and some wineries/domaines We've stayed outside but walkable to the core. There is some traffic through the hills as it is the route to lovely Lourmarin and some other excellent nearby villages (Cucuron, Ansouis). There is the trail to Lacoste, and Menerbes is not far beyond.

Gordes would be a good choice, except it can get crowded for the market and in peak season. Gordes, Bonnieux and Menerbes form the Golden Triangle, for good reason.