Provence Road Trip – Exploring the Luberon

Whether it be on the west coast of the US or anywhere in Europe, my favorite method of exploration is the classic road trip. The freedom that comes with the open road speaks to my soul. With no schedules, no rules, and no expectations, the possibilities seem endless. When my friend and I set about planning our trip to France, we decided that we were going to embark on a road trip, making sure to carve out time for our main objective, “Cooking in Provence” https://northwestfrench.com/cooking-in-provence/. Consequently, our Provence Road Trip was born.

Once we settled on Provence as the location of our trip, we broke down the time available in France, allotting it to three different regions. We determined that we wanted to spend time:

1. Near the Mediterranean – The Giens Peninsula and Porquerolles Island (Quick stop in Cassis)
2. In and around small historic villages – The Luberon Region (Taking our Cooking Class)
3. Visiting “must see” ancient sites – Nîmes and Pont du Gard
   • Surrounding Towns of L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and Vaison-La-Romaine

In this post, I will be focusing on our time in and around the Luberon Region.

The Luberon

The Luberon region of Provence is famous the world over for its outstanding natural beauty. Craggy limestone hills, olive groves, vineyards, and forested valleys paint the countryside as you drive throughout the region. The windy roads meander over hills and through valleys, connecting the numerous beautiful medieval hilltop villages. These beautiful villages, along with olives and vineyards, are the main features of the region.

If you were to conjure up images in your mind of what the south of France looks like – its scenery, vegetation, and architecture – the Luberon would be exactly what would come to mind. The hilltop villages are perched upon the tops of rolling hills. Ancient walls and arches, cobblestone streets, medieval stone churches, and centuries old homes sit atop the hills. Throughout history, geography played a large role in the villages’ defense. The word “picturesque” is embodied in the Luberon.

The Villages – Eastern Luberon

This portion of our trip didn’t flow as nicely as I would have normally planned, since I had to build in a day for our cooking class on the east side of the Luberon on a Tuesday, then plan on picking my friends up in Marseille on Thursday. They were arriving for a “day in port” from their Mediterranean cruise. Obviously, since we found ourselves in France at the same time, we had to have a little “Whidbey Island Reunion” while in country. We planned on visiting some of the western villages with them so they could get an authentic taste of the area.

For exploring the eastern portion of the Luberon, we stayed in the TINY village of Saint-Martin-de-la-Brasque. It is a very small, quaint village, and was a nice central point to use as a home base for exploring surrounding areas and villages. From here we visited La Tour d’-Aigues (castle ruins and market), Beaumont-de-Pertuis (cooking class and exploring), Cucuron (exploring, drinks by the central pond, and a lovely dinner), and Lourmarin (historic castle, exploring, and brunch).

La Tour d’-Anigues Market & Castle Ruins

The capital of the Aigues valley, this large village is fortunate to offer its visitors the ruins of a Renaissance castle whose architecture is well worth a visit. Primarily agricultural, La Tour d’Aigues is surrounded by vast cultivated plains and vine-covered hillsides that produce a renowned wine. They hold a lovely market on Tuesdays in the shadow of the castle, which is chock full of local produce, meats, seafood, bread, cheese, and olive wood creations.

La Tour d’-Anigues Market

Beaumont-de-Pertuis

The main reason we went to Beaumont was for our lovely cooking class at la Belugue. I would definitely recommend the experience (https://cookinginprovence.com/day-classes). I wrote an entire article about cooking in Provence in a previous post – https://northwestfrench.com/cooking-in-provence/. Along with the cooking class, we were able to walk the village, finding narrow cobbled streets, quaint old houses, and historic fountains.

Cucuron

Cucuron is an absolutely picturesque village. A veritable must see. It has two elevated vantage points to look over the rooftops and the valley below. Coming down from one elevated point and navigating the narrow streets toward the opposite elevated perch, we made our way through the village. In addition to the cobbled streets and alleyways, the historic city wall and medieval arches added such character to the village. After taking in the views from both the town hills, we headed to the town square, where a lovely pool surrounded by plane trees and cafes awaited us. This is the perfect spot for a meal, or even just an afternoon aperitif.

Lourmarin

Lourmarin is truly the classic and quintessential Provençal village. I would put it on the must-visit list. Beautiful cobbled streets that wind throughout, offering a sense of mystery around every corner. The village embodies the slow-going charm of French village life while simultaneously giving off “local” vibes. There are plenty of shops and restaurants to explore, along with their weekly market on Fridays. Right along side the beautiful village is a 12th century converted castle, Chateau Lourmarin. The chateau is open for exploring and offers interesting history, wonderful views, and gorgeous outdoor spaces.

Chateau Lourmarin

After exploring the eastern Luberon and taking the cooking class, we headed south to stay in the lovely town of Cassis, which is only a half hour from Marseille. This little detour not only afforded us some more “beach time,” but also granted us easier access to Marseille to pick up our friends the following morning, giving us an earlier start to our day in western Luberon. While in Cassis, we enjoyed the colorful seaside town, shops, beach, and culinary delights. We rested our heads on comfy pillows in a room with a view of the bustling harbor, the hilltop fortress, and the amazing sunset. This is such a lovely town with so much left to be explored – especially hiking or kayaking in the Calanques National Park. I will be back one day!

Stop in Cassis

The Villages – Western Luberon

Upon waking, we drove to Marseille to pick up our friends and head north to a couple more Luberon villages. An exquisite view of Gordes was visible on our way to visit Roussillon (exploring and market) and Goult (excellent lunch and exploring). Due to our limited time, we were only able to get a couple villages in. Perfect excuse to come back!

Roussillon

Roussillon is know for its lovely ocre coloring, derived from nearby ocre deposits. The entire village is bathed in shades of orange and gold. It is straight out of a fairy tale book. A lovely village to explore shops, cafes, and the nearby ocre hiking trail. If you find yourself there on a Thursday, you will get to experience market day in Roussillon. We were able to find several treasures to bring home with us.

Goult

Goult is an often overlooked village, which is a shame. It is compact and quintessentially beautiful with its lovely cobblestone streets and historic buildings. Goult is perhaps the least known and least visited of the beautiful Luberon villages, meaning a must-visit in my book! It is a wonderful stop for lunch (Cafe de la Poste was delicious) and to stroll through the historic neighborhoods and historic arches. In addition to the historic village, you can also walk up to a historic hilltop windmill. Goult, like Roussillon, has its village market on Thursdays.

The Luberon and its many picturesque villages make for the perfect area to embark on a Provençal Road Trip. It is easy to navigate and the scenery is stunning. A Provence Road Trip should definitely be placed on your “bucket list”.