TRAVEL AND LODGING INFORMATION

• The Luberon: An Overview
• Advice on Lodging
• The Visible History of the Luberon
• Getting There
• Getting By
• Lodgings Elsewhere in France

The Luberon: An Overview

The Luberon is a small mountain range in the heart of the Vaucluse region of Provence (see maps), with hilltowns, villages, and a few bustling market towns scattered on its flanks and at its feet. The setting of Peter Mayle’s books and the movies The Glory of My Father and My Mother's Castle based on novels by Marcel Pagnol, it is a region of rugged limestone hills, intimate agricultural valleys, and thousand-year-old villages carved out of the hillsides onto which they cling. Olives and grapes have grown there since Roman times, and lavender—once harvested wild from the hillside meadows—now dominates the upland fields.

The Luberon is an ideal base from which to explore Provence. Centrally located and within easy driving distance of the great historic cities of the region, it is an area rich in the things one goes to Provence to find: lively outdoor markets, good food and wine, brilliant light, and a populace that enjoys simple pleasures, good conversation, and long lunches. It is popular with tourists, but not spoiled by tourism. There are plenty of lively cafes and good restaurants, but one is seldom more than five minutes away from backroads and byways, trails into the hills, and country lanes meandering through orchards and vineyards.

Located southeast of Avignon and north of Aix-en-Provence, the Luberon lies between the valley of the Durance to the south and east, and the valley of the Calavon (sometimes called the Coulon) to the north. The city of Cavaillon is at the western end of the range, while Manosque sits at its eastern end. The range is divided into two halves, the Grand Luberon and the Petit Luberon, by the Combe de Lourmarin, a picturesque canyon carved by the Aigue Brun, the range's only significant watercourse. The road from Apt to Lourmarin and Cadenet follows this canyon and is one of the most beautiful routes in the region. Side roads to Bonnieux to the west and Buoux, Saignon, and Sivergues to the east are also richly rewarding.

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