A PROVENCE BIBLIOGRAPHY

If you are a traveler who likes to read about the area you are going to visit, use this list to find books that may be of interest to you. Some no doubt will be available at your local bookstore, others possibly from the library. Many can be purchased from Amazon.com. Each book that can be purchased from Amazon is linked directly to the order page for that book on Amazon's web site. Unfortunately a few of the books on the list are out of print, but some of those can be purchased from Powells.com or from bibliofind.com. The videos we list are all available in our small-town store, so they should be fairly easy to find

Travel Guides

Provence Byways Guidebook to the Luberon Region of Provence, 2005

We have written a guidebook on a variety of subjects of interest to travelers in the Luberon region of Provence. Sections included are "The Backroads of the Luberon," "Beyond the Luberon," "Two Great Cities in Provence," "Wines of the Luberon," and "Eating in Provence." For more details go to Guidebook, where you will find instructions for ordering a copy at the bottom of the page.

Fodor’s Exploring Provence

Of the standard format guidebooks that we have seen this one seems the best. It has a good balance between graphics and text and it does more than simply race the reader through the major monuments. It starts with a long section giving background information on both historic and present day Provence, then has five regional chapters based on the five "departments" of Provence and includes suggested day trip itineraries. Buy now at Amazon.com.

Next Time Round in Provence, by Ian Norrie, 1996. Out of print.

A useful guide based on the excellent idea that once you have seen the major sights and sites of Provence, the three-star attractions, there is a lot more to see the "next time round." Ian Norrie has clearly spent a lot of time exploring nooks and crannies of the two westernmost departments of Provence, the Vaucluse and Bouches-du-Rhône. He offers specific information and personal opinion in a no-nonsense style.

A Guide to Provence, by Michael Jacobs, 1988. Out of print.

This book should not be out of print, because it is by far the best guide to Provence we have used. Author Michael Jacobs lived for several years in Lacoste, in the north Luberon, where he taught art history at an American art school. His book has chapters on the history of Provence, village life, the artist in Provence, the food and wine, and the Côte d’Azur. He is interesting, original, trustworthy, and lively. The book reads almost like a novel and yet it’s full of good specific information. It ends with a handy alphabetical listing and description of the towns and cities of Provence.

The Most Beautiful Villages of Provence, text by Michael Jacobs. Photographs by Hugh Palmer. 1994.

This is a big coffee table-format book, but it has interesting text by Michael Jacobs and you get to see which villages he thinks are the most beautiful. Another "most beautiful" listing comes from the French government: 134 French villages have an official sign at their entrance which says, "L’un des plus beaux villages de France" ("one of the most beautiful villages in France"). We know of at least four in the Luberon--Gordes, Roussillon, Lourmarin, and Menerbes. Buy now at Amazon.com.