Lubéron

The mountainous Lubéron Natural Park, a popular day trip from nearby Aix-en-Provence, is a scenic pocket of natural beauty, lying in the Vauclause region of Provence. Largely uninhabited and reaching heights of 3,000 feet, Lubéron boasts some of the region’s most unspoiled terrain, dotted with picturesque vineyards and pretty hillside villages.

A hotspot for cyclists, hikers and rock climbers, Lubéron is a wildly scenic landscape to explore – deep valleys carpeted in lavender, dense sloping woodlands criss-crossed with walking trails and rustic villages like Saignon, Bonnieux and Gordes hugging the hillsides. Add to that the sunny Mediterranean climate and a dusting of wildflowers, and it’s easy to see why Lubéron has inspired so many of the region’s famous artists. The protected area also made literary history as the setting for British author Peter Mayle’s international bestseller ‘A Year in Provence’, a memoir that spawned a series of books, a TV series and a Hollywood movie (Ridley Scott’s 2006 film, A Good Year, starring Russell Crowe) and planted Lubéron firmly on the map for international tourists.