A Provencal Road Trip - Luberon Hill Towns

Leaving Moustiers-Ste.-Marie, we were headed for the hill towns of Luberon, there are many to choose from and I struggled with which ones to go to. In the end, for the first stop, I took Lonely Planet’s recommendation on one that doesn’t get as many tourists - Saignon - and it was a good choice.

It’s a small place and there’s not much there. But also, not many tourists or gift shops. There’s a ruined castle on one end of the town and a big church on the other and picturesque lanes in between.

We weren’t sure if we would be able to find anything to eat for lunch, as there were only a couple restaurants, especially after we were turned away from one, because it was closed already. Fortunately, we finally found a small place with a sausage plate special and french onion soup. Which was perfect for the cloudy, cold day.

From Saignon we headed to Lourmarin, a much more touristy place with lots of shops.

On the way to Roussillon, the last village for the day, we stopped at Julien Bridge, a very old bridge - 3BC - that was part of a roman road. It was a quick stop.

Roussillon is unique, because of the color of the buildings, due to the nearby ochre deposit, and that makes it one of the most popular of the Luberon hill towns.

Our hotel for the night was Hotel Carcarille, just outside Gordes. The drive was lined with Dr. Seuss-esque shrubs, which was fun. The hotel itself was just fine.

This hotel attracted me because of the onsite restaurant. And dinner was good. When you book the room there is a half board option, which include dinner and breakfast. Dinner was enjoyable and everything was beautiful and tasty. Farm egg with asparagus for appetizer. Veal for the main. And strawberries for dessert.

The next morning after breakfast, we headed to Gordes, our last hill town. It’s also one of the most popular, and is often described as a wedding cake, because it’s on a hill and looks tiered.