Which Haute Provence Village?
 

A good place for an accommodation base to explore Roussillon, Semanque, Saignon, Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, Bonnieux, Le Baux-au-Provence etc? Would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.

Well, it depends if you favour charm over a more central location. Roussillon or les Baux de Provence are certainly atmospheric but a bit out of the way. As for Sénanque, it is definitely very isolated. Bonnieux, Ménerbes, or l'Isle sur la Sorgue, or even Gordes for that matter, would look more suitable as a base to me.

We used Isle sur Sorgue as our base for 5 days and found it very centro.

twoflower, we've rented houses in both Lacoste and Saignon. Although we preferred the village of Saignon, both places are well-suited for day trips to the villages you've mentioned.

As an example, when we were in Saignon last year, we spent a morning in Roussillon, then visited L'Abbaye de Sénanque and Gordes in the afternoon.

Anselm

Aside from Les Baux (which is in the Alpilles Hills) all of the other places you mention are in the northern Luberon. Any of them would be fine as a base and actually, Roussillon is about the most centrally located.

-Kevin

Since we retired (early) in '99, we've vacationed for over 21 weeks in Provence & Cote d'Azur. The Luberon is the area we return to the most. We've stayed 2 weeks (4 wks total) in both '99 and '03 in a Gite near Gordes. This is a perfect location for visiting all the places you mentioned. We stayed near St Remy for two weeks, but I did not find that area as pretty as the Luberon. When I want to drive through what I consider "perfect" Provence, I head towards Sault - especially in late June/early July when all the lavender is in bloom.

I think the best location would be around Gordes, Roussillon, Menerbes, Goult, and Bonnieux. I would not stay much west the N100 from Coustellet to l'Isle sur la Sorgue, and I would not stay west of the D2 from Coustellet to Cavaillon (too much ugly commerce in the latter area). The region about 2 miles west of Apt along the N100 has too much commerce also. Saignon is quite pretty & has a nice lavender field close by, but it's a little more remote than the other 5 villages I mentioned, and you must also drive through Apt to get there if you are coming from the north of the N100.

I have a 20+ page itinerary describing my favorite areas, drives, sites, markets, and restaurants in the Cote d'Azur & Provence. I have a fantastic "lavender route" in the document. E-mail me at [email protected] if you want a copy

Stu Dudley
San Mateo (San Francisco), Ca

Stu, we stayed in a gite through Gites de France) near Gordes, also, a few years ago; wonder if it was the same one. This one was "en nature" and overlooked poppy fields, and was probably 2k from Gordes. It was a wonderful location, and we loved our stay there.

Stu, I'm glad to hear someone else mention Goult. We've been there a couple of times and have thought about renting a house in that village.

You're right about having to navigate Apt to get to Saignon from the west. We found it pretty slow going on Saturday, the market day in Apt; otherwise it wasn't too bad.

I'm going to send you an e-mail for a copy of your file. Thanks for the very generous offer!

Anselm

>>Stu, I'm glad to hear someone else mention Goult. We've been there a couple of times and have thought about renting a house in that village.<<<

Very lovely village - wonderful to explore. One of our two favorite restaurants in the Luberon is in Goult. It would be a perfect place to rent a house.

We thought Bonnieux was a perfect base for exploring the region. Would highly recommend Le Clos du Buis B&B there:
http://www.le-clos-du-buis.com/

We have some photos of Bonnieux and the B&B from our trip in 2002 at:
http://www.aultdesign.com/FrancePGA/Photos

If you do stay there, try to book far enough ahead that you can get a room with a view.

>>>Stu, we stayed in a gite through Gites de France) near Gordes, also, a few years ago; wonder if it was the same one. This one was "en nature" and overlooked poppy fields, and was probably 2k from Gordes. It was a wonderful location, and we loved our stay there.<<<

Probably not the same one. Ours had a very large swimming pool, and there were vineyards all around. Gordes was about 2K away (we could see it from our Gite if I stood on top of the picnic table)

Just a comment: We stopped to see the waterfall in Fontaine-de-Vaucluse in early October. Someone didn't pay the water bill. The river below was flowing, but the "deep pool" from whence the river ostensibly flowed appeared to be more than 30-40 feet lower than normal. Long walk, no sight to see, other than the usual tourist souvenir stores.

>>>We stopped to see the waterfall in Fontaine-de-Vaucluse in early October. Someone didn't pay the water bill. The river below was flowing, but the "deep pool" from whence the river ostensibly flowed appeared to be more than 30-40 feet lower than normal. Long walk, no sight to see, other than the usual tourist souvenir stores.<<<

Get another guidebook. What you saw was normal for the fall. The "Fontaine" is a winter/spring event. It's usually dry in June too!!!

twoflower buy the Michelin Provence/Cote d'Azur map. #245? I think. You will see that none of the places you'd like to see are in Hate Provence. Select which villages you want to see for sure and looking at the map, you'll have an idea where to stay will cover your area. I have stayed in Saignon too and love it there. But there are so many lovely places to use as homebase once you zero in, we can give more imput.

Thanks for the helpful suggestions - I now have a few more must-see villages to add to my list. I really appreciate your offer of an itinerary Stu, and will email you right away.

Cigalechanta: Sure I can look at a map and see what is central. But it's not just about that, is it? It's also about which village is charming enough to spend a few nights in as against do a half-day trip to, which villages are sizable enough to have gites or chambres, and so on and so on. Hence my question, which I'm pleased to say others have been very helpful in answering.

Stayed in a village house in Goult last July and could not have been happier. It was an easy drive to all the places you mentioned and was charming, untouristy, and convenient. If you need a larger town (if not renting a house), I especially liked Roussillon and Bonnieux. Happy to give you more details if you want them.

All you have mentioned are charming. I would add Fontveille, Eygaliers,Lourmarin. I was only pointing out to you that they were not in Haute Provence.

>>>Stayed in a village house in Goult last July and could not have been happier. It was an easy drive to all the places you mentioned and was charming, untouristy, and convenient. If you need a larger town (if not renting a house), I especially liked Roussillon and Bonnieux. Happy to give you more details if you want them.<<<

I'm not sure that Roussillon or Bonnieux are larger than Gault - their populations are pretty much the same. Goult would be the village I'de want to stay in. It is much less touristy than Roussillon or Bonnieux. It feels more like a village where people really live, instead of a village all decked out for the tourists (especially Roussillon). It's more accessible by car too. Sometimes traffic in/out of Roussillon can be a mess. Take up Kathrynj's offer for details about a house in Goult - there are some really neat looking homes there. Great views too!! Bartaville in Goult is one of our favorite restaurants in the Luberon.

Someone suggested getting the 245 map. These yellow 200 series maps were discontinued by Michelin several years ago and replaced by the 500 series maps (scale 1/200,000). Map 528 covers the Cote d'Azur & Provence. However, the best map to get is the Michelin green 113 map of Provence (scale 1/150,000). Since the scale is larger, you won't have to squint as much. There is also a somewhat new 300 series map (same scale as the 113), but you probably need two maps to cover all of Provence (332 has most of Provence, but you need another for Nimes & Uzes)

Thanks Stu, I'll look for the green 113. Being an older person, my sight is not great these days.