Advise on Gordes, France
 

My girlfriend and I - she is 21 and I am 23 - will be driving from St Remy to Gordes on the 6th and we leave Gordes on the 9th. We will have the car in Gordes. Does anyone have any suggestions of nice things to do in Gordes, good restaurants (preferably not too expensive), or good day trips we could do in the car? Any help would be much appreciated! Cheers, James.

Do you have my 27 page itinerary for Provence & the Cote d'Azur. We've vacationed for 18 weeks in Provence (4 near Gordes), and the itinerary describes our favorite villages, scenic drives, markets, etc. I've sent it to over 3,000 people on Fodors. If you would like a copy, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach a copy in the reply e-mail.

Stu Dudley

Roussillon - Pretty colour washed village houses that have used the pigment found in the ochre.

Bonnieux - Lovely little village but unfortunately our car was broken into here and thus left a tad of a sour taste for us. Peter Mayle's stomping ground in "A Year in Provence."

Oppede Le Vieux - a great old church and old village.

Menerbes - beautiful village

Saignon

Colorado Provencal - Walked amongs the ochre and saw the incredible natural formations and colors. NICER than Roussillon in our opinion and far less crowded.

Isle sur la Sorgue - the Sunday market was excellent.


Simiane La Rotonde - found a little pottery shop that had beautiful piece at great prices. The roads heading there had the most amazing lavender fields, endless!

Mont Ventoux - The peak is covered in white granite giving a snow covered impression. There were so many bikers riding up to the summit!

Lourmarin - a great Friday market.

A drive through Gorge de Nesque or Venasque

St Remy - Glanum - absolutely amazing! Dating to 6BC these Roman ruins are some of the oldest classical buildings in France, abandoned in the 3rd century. The oldest and smallest triumphal arch dates to 20BC.

Carrieres de Lumieres - a really unique experience, not far from St Remy.

http://carrieres-lumieres.com/fr/home

Gordes is very small, I don't think there is much to do there but walk around and shop a bit. I'm sure they have a market some days as most towns do. YOu do realize you can't drive into Gordes, don't you? It's closed to cars if you are not a resident. So that must mean you are staying someplace outside Gordes, I imagine, although there are some places just on the edge that have parking, I think.

YOu can visit Roussillon which is nearby, and the abbaye de Senanque, also you could go to Apt.

Stu's guide is so very worthwhile. He sent it to me about three years ago, and it is still very good solid information.

The Abbaye de Senanque is great, as Christina said, and is not far away. The parking lot for Gordes is above the village and you walk down the hill into it. The little cobblestone alleyways of Gordes are very steep!

We just returned from a trip to France, including a week in Provence. We stayed in St. Remy and took day trips to the mountain villages. A word of advice: after we passed through Isle Sur la Sorgue, Gordes and by Abbaye de Seananque, we realized we were practically in a cavalcade of cars. Whilst there is much useful information about Provence, everyone seems to be reading the same guides. What we did was enter a village miles away into our GPS, then took whatever twists and turns we wanted, knowing we were going approximately in the right direction. It was marvelous to shake off the line of cars and find ourselves alone. We even came across the most perfect lavender field (early in the season), by someone in our car turning backwards for a moment and spotting it. While the most "advertised" villages are beautiful, there is a lot to discover by getting off the beaten path! Have a wonderful trip!

"While the most "advertised" villages are beautiful, there is a lot to discover by getting off the beaten path! Have a wonderful trip!"

I agree wholeheartedly. We were fortunate enough to spend 2 week in The Luberon in September 2012 and then 5 weeks in early 2013. We did exactly as you said - we used a map and picked villages and had a grand time exploring. We of course didn't have traffic in the winter trip but it was still fun exploring the lesser known villages.

Peter Mayle lived in Menerbes.

You are correct, he lived in Menerbes. He lives in Lourmarin now, I believe.

>>The parking lot for Gordes is above the village and you walk down the hill into it.<<

Most people will approach Gordes from the south, take pictures at "the view", and then park in the large lot below the village & walk up & up & up to Gordes.

I didn't know that there was anything "above" the village - but then we've always approached it from the south.

Stu Dudley

The Abbaye has a gift shop. I bought a few things
and there are chanting on some days.
2miles out side of Gordes is the village of the Bories.
The caves du Palais Saint Fermin, all underground,
The Castle of Gordes and for dining
La Ferme de la Huppe
and the Mas de Tourteron that has a charming outdoor area and the owner/chef is considered the best woman chef in Provence.

Murs is above the Village of Gordes. There is also a much easier road to the Abbeye then driving on the edge of the cliff that is off to the left. Just go thru Gordes and it is a couple of miles up the road. Watch for sign to turn left.

Eat pizza and salads at the corner joint in Gordes. Wonderful market on Tuesday. Very nice shopping.

Thank you all for your advice - Stu I do have your itinerary but I was reading about Nice and St Tropez and didn't realise there was a very helpful section on Provence as well - thanks!