Some Luberon Villages

Thursday, 17 July

A bit of a slow start today but pleasant  pottering about at home .Strolled into the village for a few supplies and then hung out at the house - nice to sit on the terrace  and enjoy the lovely weather.
After lunch we went for a drive to visit some of the villages in the Luberon Valley that are not such tourist meccas as Gordes and Roussillon  - and just over the hill from Lourmarin.
First stop was Lacoste - clinging to a hillside and again a steep walk up to the chateau which is basically a ruin - quite a magnificent ruin though, with a rather unpleasant history. 

Pretty street, Lacoste

The Chateau de Lacoste was where the notorious Marquis de Sade lived after being banished from Paris society because of his antisocial behaviour.  Apparently he continued with his wicked ways in the small village of Lacoste.  The village is typical - ancient stone houses and narrow lanes winding up the hill.

Too sunny -Maree at the Chateau ruins, Lacoste

 The views from the chateau at the top of the village are stupendous. The whole of the Luberon Valley can be seen as well as the hills towards Mr Ventoux.  A passing thunderstorm obscured the mountain and the dark clouds in the distance were very atmospheric.  Along the ridge another pretty town, Bonnieux with its pale buildings stands out against the dark pine forest. 

View to Bonnieux from Chateau de Lacoste

 There is a very weird sculpture of two outstretched arms outside the chateau but no explanation about what it represents. 

Mystery sculpture, Chateau de Lacoste

The chateau is now owned by Pierre Cardin of fashion world fame.  It seems that he has undertaken a bit of restoration work and it is often the venue for classical music concerts.  The  slippery cobblestones made the descent to the car park a bit tricky - Maree thought that Pierre Cardin would be ok to sue if necessary!

Slippery cobblestones, lovely village - Lacoste

 From Lacoste we drove a short distance to the Plus Beaux Village of Menerbes, made famous by Peter Mayle in his book A Year in Provence.  This village stretches along a ridge and for once we were able to drive up instead of having a lengthy up hill walk.  We found a simple little café with views over the valley and had afternoon tea - apple tart, very good. 

Waiting for coffee - Menerbes

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And here is the view - below the cafe, Menerbes

Like Lacoste, the village was quiet, with just a few day trippers and locals out and about.  In the valley below there are many vineyards and pretty restored farmhouses - probably cost a million euros these days!

 Typical Luberon restored property

By now the thunder clouds were threatening but we decided to carry on to Oppede-le-Vieux and hope that the storm stayed away.  How lucky were we!  Oppede- le -Village lies at the bottom of some step cliffs and then the road climbs to the old medieval village which is built into the cliffs and dominated by the ruins of a chateau. 

 Oppede-le-Vieux

The story is that the inhabitants of the old village were relocated further down into the valley  at the end of the 19th century because the lack of sun on these northern slopes made maintaining homes there very difficult.  Oppede-le-Vieux was abandoned for a long time but was recolonised by some artists in the 1940's.  Today there are some people living in the lower part of the village, but many buildings still lie empty.  There is also a beautiful garden that spreads over the lower slopes with great views over the Luberon.





 Chateau ruins, Oppede-le-Vieux

This afternoon there were not many visitors and it was fascinating to wander around the ancient town and imagine what it had been like in medieval times.  It is in a magnificent setting and the thundery skies brought just the right touch of drama to the scenery.  With just one small café and a couple of little artists ateliers, there was no concession to tourism here.  Of all the lovely places we have seen in the Luberon, Oppede-le-Vieux is the one that evokes the greatest sense of the history of the area, perhaps because it is so untouched by modern day life.  An enchanting place!

One of the lovely streets of Oppede-le-Vieux

With thunder storms still threatening we decided that it would be prudent to head for the car and to get home over the hills.  Fortunately it stayed dry all the way to Lourmarin, where we found wet chairs and washing on the terrace - obviously the rain had fallen here.  The thunder storms do clear the air and it was a lovely fresh evening after the intense heat of the day.