VillagesOur section on villages includes guides to Le Castellet, La Cadière d'Azur and Seillans in the Var département, Moustiers Sainte Marie in Les Alpes de Haute Provence, Les Baux de Provence, Miramas le Vieux, La Roque d'Anthéron and Saintes Maries de la Mer in the Bouches du Rhône and Ansouis, Bonnieux, Gordes, Lacoste, Lourmarin, Ménerbes, Richerenches, Roussillon and Venasque in Vaucluse (click here to read about Roussillon and the Luberon ochre trail).
Additionally, we tell the story behind Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, an official government "seal of approval" for the country's most beautiful villages - and find out the reasons why so many beautiful villages are actually not on that list. Many tourists regard such places as Cassis, Sanary sur Mer, L'Isle sur la Sorgue or Saint Rémy de Provence as villages - but in fact these are large enough to qualify as towns and are included in that section of the site. Stay tuned for further reports soon on more of the best villages in Provence. Click here for our full city guides to Aix en Provence, Arles, Avignon, Marseille and Toulon. And if you are planning to rent a car, please consider our comparison search engine for all grades of hire car from Smarts to 4x4s and limousines. Powered by our affiliate partner, it will instantly compare the current rates on offer from all the major suppliers at your chosen location to ensure you get the best deal. Click here to book a hotel in Provence
In the southern Luberon 32 km / 20 miles north of Aix en Provence, Ansouis is a pretty, off-the-beaten-track hill village with one superlative sight and a second (in its own word) "extraordinary" one.
A classic provençal hill village (village perché), Bonnieux dominates the valley between the petit and grand Luberon mountains and provides a perfect base for touring the region as well being a lovely spot in its own right.
Even among the showstopping hill villages of Vaucluse, Gordes is a stunner. Rearing up high on the slopes of the Monts de Vaucluse, the golden stone stronghold is a majestic sight.
La Roque d'Anthéron sits at the hub of many of Provence's key destinations, from Avignon to the lavender fields of Haute Provence and Arles, Aix, Marseille and the calanques on the coast.
Perched high on a hill south-east of Avignon, Lacoste is not as well-known as its neighbours, such as Ménerbes, Bonnieux and Gordes. But this is one of Provence's most extraordinary mediaeval villages.
Set in lovely countryside near Toulon, Le Castellet is a well-preserved mediaeval village with modern sophistication (the Paul Ricard motor racing track, an airport, a five-star hotel).
Les Baux de Provence offers a majestic hilltop location, superb food and wine, sites of historical interest and the celebrated Cathedral of Images, now called the Quarries of Lights, on the edge of the village.
Lourmarin sits prettily in a combe, or valley, separating the Grand Luberon mountains from the Petit Luberon. On sunny days, its golden stone glows against a swathe of green, marshy land watered by the Aigues Brun brook.
Sprawling along the crest of its hill, with majestic views of the Luberon and Mont Ventoux, Ménerbes was once poetically - and accurately - compared by Nostradamus to a great ship floating in a sea of vines.
Mediaeval Moustiers Saint Marie sits snugly between two high cliffs close to the north-western edge of the Gorges du Verdon, the Lac de Sainte Croix and the lavender fields of the Valensole plateau.
Black truffles, rich red wines, blue lavender, an intriguing history and a small but pretty mediaeval village are among the potent attractions of Richerenches in Northern Provence.
Saintes Maries de la Mer is a village in Provence like no other. Isolated on a long, thin, marshy peninsula right at the southern tip of the Camargue, it has developed its own extraordinary culture. |
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Marseille's coast road goes car-free!
Aix en Provence fêtes the graphic novel
Van Gogh Immersive comes to Marseille!
Bacchus: Toulon's spring wine festival
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New show announced at the Quarries of Lights
New art highlights in Provence this winter
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