We will be in Provence for six nights this fall and will have two nights in the Luberon (the other four are split between Les Baux and Aix). I've narrowed our potential home base down to Lourmarin or Joucas, which both look charming and have hotels we really like that are within our budget.

We'll have a car, and we're interested in visiting Bonnieux, Ménerbes, Gordes, Roussillon (and Le Sentier des Ocres), and possibly Goult. I would love your suggestions for how to plan our time, as we want to go at a slow enough pace to appreciate the region and its villages and scenery. Which villages would you combine in a day? Are there others you'd recommend trying to get to?

Thanks in advance!

I loved Fontaine de Vaucluse. There are nine historic sites in the village and a few amazing walks.

This website has the most thorough info on villages in Provence. There is an English version if you need that:

https://www.provenceweb.fr/f/vauclus...e/fontaine.htm

Sorry I can't help with the routing / clustering, but FWIW, you might consider adding L'Islle Sur la Sorgue if you can visit it on a day other than Sunday.

Those places aren't that far apart and there isn't really all that much to do in some of them. Goult got popular with tourists for some reason I've never understood as there isn't much there. Actually, there isn't much in Menerbes, either.


I'd combine Bonnieux and Menerbes and then Roussillon+Gordes+Goult.. I don't know that Bonnieux plus Menerbes can really eat up a day, though. If you have extra time, Lacoste is in that general area, or even Apt to the east a bit. It has a great weekly market but is a bigger town.

There are so many wonderful sites to discover, and you may be able to discover some on your own. A couple of places where you are likely to be the only ones there: I adored les grottes de cales. 7th century bc Ligurian grottoes. Also, the ruins of Vieux Vernegues.

Thank you for all the tips! This is helpful.