15 Great Villages in Provence
Hill villages, market towns and wine villages across Provence, most of them within an hour of Avignon.
The short version
- Most of these villages lie within an hour of Avignon. Gordes, Roussillon, Ménerbes, Bonnieux, Oppède, Lourmarin and Cucuron are in the Luberon, 45 minutes to an hour east. Les Baux, Saint-Rémy and Eygalières are in the Alpilles, 25 to 40 minutes south.
- Our Best of Provence in Three Days covers Roussillon, Gordes, Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, Saint-Rémy, the Pont du Gard and Les Baux in one day from Avignon, with eight guests at most, for $1,925 per person with two nights and the Châteauneuf-du-Pape cellars. Our Provence Biking Trip stays two nights in Gordes and rides to Roussillon, Lacoste and Ménerbes by e-bike.
- Séguret and Gigondas face the Dentelles de Montmirail north-east of Avignon, Venasque sits above Carpentras, and Aiguines looks over the Verdon, more than two hours away.
- The hill villages have no trains, and the buses that reach them run two to four times a day, mostly not on Sunday. Plan on a car or a guided day.
- Several of these carry the Plus Beaux Villages de France label: Gordes, Roussillon, Ménerbes, Lourmarin, Les Baux, Séguret and Venasque.
What to see
Gordes
Gordes is built up its hillside in dry-stone terraces to a Renaissance château that holds the tourist office and exhibitions, €6. It is one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France, and its market fills the center on Tuesday morning. Sénanque Abbey and its lavender lie 4 kilometers north.
Roussillon
Roussillon sits on the ochre that made it rich, and its houses are colored every shade from yellow to deep red. Walk the ochre trail through the old quarries, €3.50, and come on Thursday morning for the market.
Lourmarin
Lourmarin, on the south side of the Luberon ridge, has a Renaissance château, €8, and one of the biggest markets in the area on Friday morning, with more than 180 stalls. Albert Camus lived here and is buried in the village cemetery.
Ménerbes
Ménerbes runs along a narrow ridge above the vines and cherry orchards. Peter Mayle moved here in 1987 and wrote A Year in Provence about it, and the village has a truffle and wine house and a museum of more than 1,200 corkscrews.
Bonnieux
Bonnieux stacks its houses up a hill facing Lacoste across the valley, with an old church at the top reached by a long stone stair. The market is on Friday morning.
Les Baux-de-Provence
Les Baux is a car-free village on a limestone spur in the Alpilles, with the ruined fortress of its lords on top, €10. The Carrières des Lumières projects paintings over the walls of the quarry below, €16.50; see our Les Baux page.
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
Saint-Rémy is the market town of the Alpilles, where Van Gogh spent a year in the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole. The Roman arch and mausoleum stand free by the road, and the Wednesday market fills the old center; see our Saint-Rémy page.
Eygalières
Eygalières is a small Alpilles village of stone houses climbing to a ruined keep, 15 minutes east of Saint-Rémy. The Romanesque chapel of Saint-Sixte stands alone on a rise among the olive trees outside the village.
Cucuron
Cucuron, south of the Luberon ridge, is built around a large stone basin ringed by plane trees, with café tables around it. The market comes on Tuesday morning.
Séguret
Séguret is one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France, a hillside village of steep lanes and arches facing the jagged limestone of the Dentelles de Montmirail. The vineyards of the Côtes du Rhône villages surround it.
Gigondas
Gigondas lies under the Dentelles de Montmirail, and its red wine has had its own appellation since 1971. Taste at the growers’ cellar in the village, then walk the paths up into the Dentelles.
Fontaine-de-Vaucluse
Fontaine-de-Vaucluse grew up where the Sorgue rises from the foot of a cliff, emerald green and strongest in spring and autumn. The path to the spring is free, though the foot of the cliff is closed for rockfall risk, and the village has a paper mill run by a water wheel and a museum to the poet Petrarch.
Oppède-le-Vieux
Oppède-le-Vieux is an old village closed to cars, under the ruins of its château on the north face of the Luberon. Park below and walk up through the lanes to the church and the castle walls.
Venasque
Venasque is one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France, on a rock above the plain of Carpentras. Its baptistery, one of the oldest religious buildings in France, is free to visit, and the village is known for its cherries.
Aiguines
Aiguines looks down on the Lac de Sainte-Croix at the mouth of the Verdon Gorge, with a château roofed in glazed colored tiles. It is the start of the Corniche Sublime, the south rim road of the gorge, two hours and more from Avignon; see our Verdon page.
Getting there and around
By car from Avignon, Saint-Rémy takes about 25 minutes, Les Baux about 40, Gordes about 45, Fontaine-de-Vaucluse about 45 and Roussillon, Bonnieux and Lourmarin about an hour. Séguret, Gigondas and Venasque are each under an hour north-east, and Aiguines is more than two hours east.
Zou! buses reach some villages: line 707 from Avignon to Saint-Rémy and Les Baux, line 917 from Coustellet to Gordes and Roussillon four times a day, and line 918 to Ménerbes, Lacoste and Bonnieux twice a day. Regional trains run from Avignon Centre to L’Isle-Fontaine-de-Vaucluse in about 30 minutes, a few kilometers from Fontaine.
Parking in the busiest villages costs a few euros: Gordes charges €8 for up to four hours, Les Baux €5 for the first hour. The old centers of Les Baux and Oppède-le-Vieux are closed to cars.
Our three-day trip does six stops in one van from 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and One Night in Provence spends its second day on Arles, Les Baux and Saint-Rémy. The Five Days in Provence adds a private day in Aix and the Luberon.
When to go
April to June and September to October are the best months for the villages, warm and with room in the lanes. In July and August, Gordes, Roussillon and Les Baux fill from late morning, so go early or late in the day.
Lavender blooms from mid-June to mid-July around Sénanque and in the valleys, and our Provence Lavender Tour runs from Avignon July 6 to 25 for Sault, Gordes and Sénanque.
Each village holds its market on a set day: Tuesday in Gordes and Cucuron, Wednesday in Saint-Rémy, Thursday in Roussillon and Ménerbes, Friday in Lourmarin and Bonnieux, and the antiques market on Sunday in L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. Winter is truffle season, with a Saturday producers’ market in Gordes from December to March.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Provence villages are the most beautiful?
Gordes and Roussillon in the Luberon lead most lists, with Les Baux, Lourmarin, Ménerbes, Bonnieux and Séguret close behind.
Can you see these villages without a car?
A few: Saint-Rémy and Les Baux on the 707 bus from Avignon, Gordes and Roussillon on line 917 from Coustellet. The buses run two to four times a day in the hills, so by bus it is one or two villages a day. Our Best of Provence in Three Days covers six stops in one day by van.
How many villages fit in one day?
Three or four by car on your own, with lunch in one of them. With a driver who knows the roads and the parking, six stops fit between 8:30 and early evening, which is how our big day out of Avignon runs.
Where should I stay to see the villages?
Avignon for trains, restaurants and the Palais des Papes, with every village here within an hour except Aiguines. Gordes for a quiet base in the Luberon, which is where our Provence Biking Trip stays.
Is there a tour from Paris?
Yes. Our Best of Provence in Three Days, $1,925, meets your train at Avignon TGV and covers Roussillon, Gordes, Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, Saint-Rémy, the Pont du Gard and Les Baux. One Night in Provence, $775, does Arles, Les Baux and Saint-Rémy, and the Provence Biking Trip, $1,185, rides the Luberon villages from Gordes.
Our Most Popular Trips From Paris
Ride between Avignon and the Provence villages with two hotel nights along the way.
