5 Must-See Villages in the Luberon

As you drive the winding roads up to Gordes, make sure to put the View Point into your GPS instead of the village itself. Standing on the cliff of the viewpoint, you'll see the village rise impressively from the valley below. The stone houses blend into the cliffs with tall cypress trees, flowers, and shutters providing contrast. 

You'll find charming, colorful shutters and views for days in Ménerbes. I strolled through the village up to the church and old cemetery, and then walked down through the old gate from the Middle Ages. 

As soon as I found out there was an old windmill in Goult, I knew I had to see it. It was a bit of a climb to get there, but I barely noticed because I kept stopping to photograph all the lovely houses and gardens. In Goult, I had a pleasant chat with a friendly man just leaving his house (that I had stopped to photograph) and came across a funeral exiting the main church. It gave me a little glimpse of the community and what it might be like to live in such a village.

Lacoste is a dream! Imagine rambling through cobblestone streets, under stone arches, past window boxes filled with purple posies. I think Lacoste had the steepest streets leading up to what is labeled a chateau on the map at the top of the village, but is actually a sculpture garden in the courtyard of the ruined castle. As you might guess from the sculpture garden, Lacoste is full of art studios and is home to the Lacoste School of the Arts, which also partners with Savannah College of Art and Design.

After visiting several serene Luberon villages, the bright colors of Roussillon might shock you. Picture the deep crimson and rich ochre landscape of Southern Utah surrounded by the picturesque architecture of France. Roussillon is a bigger village with several restaurants and lots of souvenir shops where you can find handmade paints, ceramics, and plenty of delicious mementos of your time in the Luberon.