Our favourite villages in Provence

When I booked Provence for our family holiday, I had a dream (which may have been influenced by the 2006 film ‘A Good Year’). That dream included croissants, rolling hills, cobbled streets and the simple, rustic beauty of rural France. I pictured kids playing streams, fresh fruit from the market, lazy afternoons in the sun by the pool. Let me tell you, Provence delivered, in spades!

We loved setting off early in the morning to explore a beautiful village. It was everything we wished for and more!

These are the most beautiful and picturesque villages we visited on our trip – unmissable – make sure they are on your list!

1) BONNIUEX

A delightful and beautiful drive through the local flora, up a winding mountain pass will bring you to Bonniuex, a village perch high up in the luberon range with magnificent countryside views. It is small, with a handful of shops restaurants and cafes, and a small play park for kids. The views across the Luberon valley are far-reaching, beautiful, and an absolute highlight of the village. The sandy coloured stone and cobbled streets are lovely and relaxing to stroll around. Just lovely. We went for breakfast, had a walk around with the kids before a quick play in the park, and had a picnic lunch.

2) GORDES

Those like me, who are fans of the Russel Crowe film ‘A Good Year’, will recognise this setting as the restaurant film from the film. It is just as beautiful in real life, and the joy of this hilltop village is to walk around the cobbled maze like streets and see where you end up! We didn’t find a playground here, but the kids were happy to play in the fountains, get a treat from the boulangerie, and help us pick some fresh summer fruits from the roadside market sellers.

There is also the most amazing view of the town from a view point called the Town view point of the D15 road – don’t miss pulling over in to this lay-by for a stunning shot of this medival village set against the hillside in all its glory.

3) LOUMARIN

This small village is not in the hilltops but at of the Luberon mountain range, and it is utterly charming. The walls of the light stone buildings are covered in vines, climbing roses and ornamental ivy, the cobbled streets wind around tight bends leaving lots of little streets to explore, with cafes and bistros spilling out on to the streets – we loved the atmosphere here, it was great for people watching and seemed alive with lots of people eating, drinking, chatting and strolling all around. We had a nice ice cream on one of the cafe tables outside and enjoyed watching the world go by! There is also a lovely wide square in this village with restaurants and a beautiful fountain, as we as a play area for the kids, which isnt all too common in these provencal villages, so that was a bonus. There is also a castle (although we didn’t go in).

4) CASSIS

Cassis is located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, by the coast, at the most westerly point of the French Riverera coastline in southern France. We really wanted a trip to the beach while we were here and this place was gorgeous, although it was very busy. We explored the pretty port town and then spent the day on the beach, soaking up the French sun. It was just over an hours drive from our campsite just outside of Cadenet.

4) ROUSILLION

This was a real beauty, with the vibrant orange buildings, colourful shutters and dramatic cliffs in the background making it a very striking and unique village. As with all these villages, they are pretty, historic and just lovely to stroll around and take it all in. We came here on market day, so it was very busy. We had a quick look in the market and thought the produce for sale looked lovely quality and not overly expensive – we didn’t want to do a lot of shopping but we got tempted for a few items and brought some fresh summer fruits, lavender soaps and dried lavenders as well to take home. There are lovely views all around, especially from the historic stone bridge near the market square- it looks directly on to the orange coloured cliffs, known locally as ochre cliffs, the colour of the stone giving the village ots usual orange hue and appearance. There are also some nice walks in the forest park nearby which have great views of the cliffs and village ( for a small charge).