Bonnieux by way of Avignon and l’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and Visits to Hill Towns of the Luberon

The first stop on our journey from Vaison-la-Romaine to Bonnieux was Avignon. After entering the walled city, we thought we were lucky to find a parking space alongside three other cars. Unfortunately, when we returned there was a citation on our windshield…as well as those of the other cars. We opted for an overview of Avignon on the Tourist Train, a 45 minute narrated tour of the highlights of this bustling city on the Rhone. As Rick Steves puts it “Avignon is an intriguing blend of medieval history, youthful energy, and urban sophistication.

Continuing on, we made a brief lunch stop in L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, the Venice of France. 

We arrived in Bonnieux and received a warm welcome from our hosts Celine and Sophie at the charming Hotel le Clos du Buis. This 10 room gem has taken great care to provide weary travelers with every amenity including lovingly decorated rooms with comfortable furnishings, fine French personal products, self-serve laundry, a sumptuous breakfast, a shared guest kitchen, living room, free parking, and an inviting pool. The views from the breakfast room are breathtaking.

Bonnieux itself is a quiet town that provides a convenient place for exploring the area. A walk to the top  reveals an old family cemetery, a street of old private mansions, and some great views of the village below. We learned from our friend Paul that French families actually rent gravesites for a period of 30 years, after which they can either renew or abandon the site. If they abandon, the remains are moved to an unmarked, common site and the plot is rented to a new family. The 16th century church was under renovation and inaccessible to the public. But the small Bonnieux Friday morning market provided a sharp contrast to the large, bustling markets we’d seen so far. A nice variety of local produce, cheeses, sausages, clothing, and pottery is on offer from friendly vendors who seem very proud of their work. We got a lesson on how to tell the difference between goods that are made in France and imports and our “teacher” made a good sale.

After a good night’s sleep and full breakfast we were delighted to find that the wicked winds of the Mistral had subsided for a couple of days of exploring some of the Luberon hill towns. The sun just drenched the exquisite countryside the first full day.

First up was Gordes. Interestingly, as recently as the 1960s Gordes was a ghost town of derelict buildings and a failed economy. Wealthy French, Swiss, British and a few Americans in the film industry discovered this gem-in-the-rough and heavily invested in the complete renovation of the entire town in order to be able to re-create perfect Provencal villages on film. They certainly achieved their goal of creating a pretty place with everything “just so,” and it provided a beautiful setting for many of the village scenes in the 2006 Ridley Scott film “A Good Year.”

The next stop on this glorious day was the Village of Bories, a world of dry-stone buildings dating back to the 17th century. The bories (stone huts) were built using stones found locally when land is cleared for agriculture. No mortar or binder is  used in this construction technique. The bories were used as shelters for shepherds, equipment storage and as temporary housing for shepherds and other seasonal workers. Abandoned in the mid-19th century, they were rediscovered in the 1960s and painstakingly restored over the next 8 years. Today they welcome visitors as a museum of rural housing and historic monument.

Roussillon, nestled stop Mount Rouge 1,000 feet above sea level is just a short distance away. To say that tourists have discovered the “Sedona of France” (so named for its astonishing red rock formations) is an understatement! A huge deposit of ochre paints everything a rich reddish color. It also provided the village with its economic base until after WW II. But once we fought our way through a very-congested parking lot and made sure we knew how to pay for the parking (an ongoing challenge unique to each city!) a brief walk into the trendy town made us realize why this Luberon hill town is so popular. It’s absolutely beautiful and quite charming.

Later the first full day Darlene and Michael’s dear friends Caren and Paul joined us from their home in Monaco. Michael and Paul attended graduate school together, but Paul reminisced about remembering Darlene as an undergrad. It had been five years since they had been together so they had a lovely reunion.

The six of us traveled to the nearby town of Goult, a quiet village with a number of restaurants that offer good food and comfortable service. We came for dinner and returned the following day for lunch.

A short drive across the valley took us to the small town of Lacoste. Dodging some raindrops through this picturesque town of arches and stone paths, we made our way up to the Lacoste Castle. Here the Marquis de Sade (1740-1814) lived for more than 30 years. Author of pornographic novels and known for hosting orgies and more, he was eventually imprisoned for three decades. The term “sadism”  is derived from his name. Many years later, fashion designer Pierre Cardin lived in the castle.

Lacoste is also home to a branch of the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and aspiring artists show their work throughout the city.

Pont Julien is a three-arched Roman bridge that was built between 27 BC and 14 AD using the same no-mortar method as the Pont du Gard. It’s amazing that this bridge has survived Roman marches, floods, and decades of traffic. It is now a pedestrian bridge and ancient treasure.

Another short drive through the Luberon Hills took us to the charming Chateau de la Canorgue Winery. This lovely organic winery provided the setting for the home in “A Good Year.” Its welcoming tasting room offers a full range of wines from viognier to rose to full-bodied reds.

We enjoyed some memorable meals during our time in the Luberon. Here are just a few of the fresh, local offerings:

We covered a lot of territory during our stay in Bonnieux and enjoyed spending time with new and old friends. We gladly left the Mistral behind and had some sunshine and a few raindrops. Tomorrow morning we say au revour to Provence and return to Avignon to board the TGV for our train ride to Lyon.