L is for Lacoste in the Luberon

We’ve been back home for a week and our tans are fading, so it’s time to return to my own A-Z of the Vaucluse as a way of helping to keep me going over the next few weeks until we travel down for another visit.

This week I move onto L  for Lacoste a beautiful village in the Luberon Valley. Continue reading here for the original article.

Perched Luberon Villages

Lacoste is a well-preserved village that sits on a mountain ridge with great views to the east across a valley filled with vineyards and orchards to Bonnieux and the Grand Luberon Mountains. At the top of the village are the ruins of the castle of the Marquis de Sade now owned by Pierre Cardin.

Friends and others headed to Provence often ask where they should go during their once in a lifetime visit to Provence. We usually suggest visitors include a trip to the vibrant red-ochre coloured town of Roussillon, one of five villages nestled in the Luberon hills, which are classified as Plus Beaux Villages de France (Most beautiful villages of France). Roussillon is one of our favourite villages and just one hour from Sablet.

Oppède-le-Vieux appears frozen in time. This tiny hamlet is only 15 minutes from Cavaillon or 25 minutes from Avignon, but it’s like turning back the clock. The old village (le Vieux) is at the top of a hill, which makes for a good workout even on an e-bike. At first glance, there is not much to this perched village, the ruins of a feudal castle and a 12th-century collegiate church. Look a little closer to see the evidence of quality restorations of 15th and 16th-century homes. What is behind those walls remains a secret, but it’s certain that the owners like the quiet village exactly this way.