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Luberon: Classic Provence

Highlights

A great circular trail visiting stunning hill-top, historic villages

A multitude of landscapes and vegetation with lavender, vines, olives, orchards and forest

A warm and sunny climate, ideal walking in spring or autumn

Easy walking with plenty of time for taking in the sites

Holiday Profile : 7 nights/8 days – 6 days independent walking moving between guest houses

Dates : Everday of week subject to availability during March, April, May, June, September & October

At a Glance

A circular trail in the heart of the Luberon visiting the best historic villages in the region.

Price

From € 1,591 per person

Every journey is tailor-made and can be personalised to your travel style, preferred accommodation and budget.

All highlights

Luberon

Our Classic Provence self-guided walking tour of the Luberon takes in some of the best loved historic hill-top villages in Provence in the heart of the Luberon in southern France. Easy to moderate walking lets you discover a pretty landscape covered with vines, lavender, orchards and forests where small hills provide generous vantage points across wide valleys peppered with perched villages. You’ll explore the beautiful historic villages of Gordes, Goult, Lacoste, Bonnieux and Roussillon, each with their own special character. Despite the popularity of this picturesque part of Provence, your walking holiday explores quiet trails inbetween the villages where each step is infused with the smell of Provence herbs. At the end of each day’s walk, relax by the pool and soak up the Provence sunshine at your delightful hotels and guest houses. The Luberon is best visited in the Spring and Autumn.

This walking holiday is graded easy – moderate. Anybody in reasonable health should enjoy this grade of walking. No previous walking experience required, but it would help if you know how to read a map. See more information about walking grades.

Accommodation & Meals

7 night’s accommodation in several charming guest houses and 3 star hotels, double or twin rooms with own bathroom.

Navigation, Walking Notes & Maps

This walking holiday partly follows GR (Grande Randonnee) long distance trails which are well way-marked with red and white markings. There are also a number of signposts along the trail. The walking follows clear paths for its entire duration. The remaining sections follow local trails waymarked in yellow, whilst other sections have no or little markings. Our walking notes are very detailed (more information here) and include intermediate distances for sections of the trail. They also include information about the sites which can be explored along the route. We supply one walking guide per person on this holiday. As well as the detailed walking notes we supply official walking maps produced by IGN at a scale of 1:25,000. Your trail is highlighted on the maps.

Luggage Transfers

On this walking holiday your main luggage is transferred between guest houses so you only have to carry a day rucksack with picnic lunch (supplied by the guest houses and included in the holiday price), water and spare clothes, waterproofs, camera etc. On this holiday a local taxi company is responsible for transporting your main luggage. We use the same company throughout the walking holiday, so if you have any specific requests you can ask the driver at the beginning of your trip. Please limit the weight of your bags to 20kg. We generally use hotels and small guest houses in historic buidlings and some of the rooms are accessible only by stairs.

Travel Info

Transfer from Avignon train station or Avignon airport is included in holiday price. Reduction in holiday price if you decide to take the regular bus journey to Beaumettes and a short taxi transfer from there to your hotel. Cost of bus journey: 2 euros.

Train

TGV trains run from Paris and Lyon to Avignon. During the main holiday season TGV trains run direct from London to Avignon. If you decide to take the bus, it’s line 15.1 from just outside the TGV station.

Flights

The closest airport to the Luberon is Avignon. There are regular flights from a number of UK airports as well as French airports. Flybe has services which run at certain periods of the year from Exeter, Southampton, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.

Note: Please check concerning the availability of a holiday before booking any flights or train tickets. If you need further information or would like to discuss any aspect of your travel arrangements, please contact us, we’re here to help you.

We would be happy to book travel arrangements to France on your behalf for this self-guided walking holiday.

Self Drive

Channel ferry crossings from Dover are provided by a number of operators including P&O Ferries, Eurotunnel and DFDS Seaways.

Once in France, the journey from Calais to the Luberon takes about 11 hours (excluding long breaks).

Tolls amount to about 55 euros each way.

Non secured parking is available at your hote

At a Glance

Easy

6 days independent walking moving between hotels and guest houses. The days include about 4 to 5 hours walking with an average of 13-14km and +300m of ascent per day. You'll be walking on a mixture of small paths, tracks and quiet roads. The paths in the Luberon are often stony due to the nature of the geology, and so walking boots are recommended. Easy to moderate walking days with plenty of time for exploring the historic villages.

This walking holiday is graded easy - moderate. Anybody in reasonable health should enjoy this grade of walking. No previous walking experience required, but it would help if you know how to read a map. See more information about walking grades.

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival

Welcome in Avignon and transfer to your relaxing hotel near the historic village of Gordes.

Day 2: Walk from Gordes

Choice of walks depending on your interests and length of walk desired. Explore the historic perched village of Gordes - probably the most famous village in the Luberon - and undertake a circular walk via Abbaye de Sénanque. Your walking tour takes you to Sénanque Abbey. Built in 1148, the abbey has housed an order of Cistercian monks for over 850 years. A guided tour of the abbey is possible and will allow you to visit the medieval parts of the monastery. Your path then climbs out of the Sénancole valley, with breath taking views of the abbey. Your descent back to Gordes is just as scenic, walking along ancient stone walls and among bories - dry stone dwellings. Short walk through the historic streets of Gordes and through fields to your hotel just outside the village.
Other options include exploring the Vezoule Ravine or a shorter walk around the village of Gordes.

Overnight: Gordes, Walk: 13km, +250m

Day 3: Gordes - Goult

From Gordes your walk passes through vines and then thyme and rosemary scented hills before reaching the hamlet of Saint-Pantaléon. You then continue towards the perched village of Goult, a wonderful historic village far less popular than Gordes but nonetheless charming, its alleyways twisting around the ruins of its castle. From Goult you descend through old terraces into the Calavon valley.

Overnight: Goult, Walk: 14km, +240m

Day 4: Goult - Bonnieux

Your walking trail takes you off the beaten path but provides an overview of so much of what makes the Luberon special: tiny hamlets, vineyards, an ancient church, bories, an old lavoir and amazing views. You then reach the beautiful perched village of Lacoste, where you can climb on cobbled streets all the way to the top and visit the ruins of the castle of the Marquis de Sade. You then make your way to Bonnieux, another wonderful Provence village, on top of which stands a 12th century church surrounded by century-old cedars. The view from Bonnieux is wonderful out across the valley floor with its patchwork of orchards and vineyards, towards Lacoste across the Vaucluse plateau.

Overnight: Bonnieux Walk: 14km, +390m

Day 5: Petit Luberon & Cedar Forest or rest day

After exploring Bonnieux climb onto the Petit Luberon hills for stunning views and a walk through its Cedar Forest. Visit a borie village on the way. Or you can decide to have a rest day and relax in the beautiful village of Bonnieux.

Overnight: Bonnieux, Optional Walk: 14km, +450m

Day 6: Bonnieux - Roussillon

You'll head back to the Calavon Valley on paths that follow the route of an old Roman road lined with cherry orchards and vineyards and cross the river by means of the Pont Julien, a 2,000-year-old Roman bridge. Ascend to the beautiful village of Roussillon. You can also explore the nearby ochre mines with their startling array of orange and red colours that are also visible in the handsome houses of the village, classed as one of the most beautiful in all of France.

Overnight: Roussillon, Walk: 15km, +150m

Day 7: Roussillon - Gordes

In the morning you can visit the sentier des ochres before heading west back towards Gordes via the pretty hamlet of Joucas set above the vines. Enjoy lovely views towards Gordes on your return. Relax at your beautiful 3 star hotel with swimming pool.

Overnight: Gordes, Walk: 12km, +50m

Day 8: Departure

Transfer to Avignon after breakfast for your onward travel

Explore the prettiest villages in the Luberon, such as Gordes and Roussillon, with our walking tour taking you through lavender fields, orchards, and olive trees

When to Travel

Our self-guided walking tour of the Luberon is available from March to June inclusive and in September and October. We do not run this holiday in the height of the summer due to the high temperatures and the difficulty in securing our top choice accommodation. Even as early as March the hills are awash with wild flowers. Because much of the vegetation is evergreen the landscape remains relatively colourful the whole year round. The vines start to sprount from April onwards. Ideal walking temperatures are experienced up to mid June, after which it can become very hot. Average day time temperatures are 18°C for mid April and 23°C for mid-May. By Mid June temperatures have reached 27°C on average in the afternoon whilst September highs average 25°C. March can still be fresh with morning temperatures averaging 6°C and highs of about 16°C. It is a also a relatively dry and calm period. October remains warm with temperatures often still reaching 20°C. Mistral winds are more common during the transition periods of April/May and September. The autumn is wetter than the spring in general due to the chance of stormy weather.

Extra Nights

Extra nights are possible at any of the stopovers. There are already two nights in Gordes at the start of the holiday and two nights in Bonnieux in the middle. We can also recommend an extra night in Roussillon.

City Breaks

Arles and Avignon: The walking holiday starts with a pick up in Avignon. We can book include nights in Avignon as well as in the nearby historic town of Arles as part of your holiday package. Avignon is one of the prettiest cities in Provence, which includes famous sites such as the Palais des Papes and the Pont d’Avignon. Avignon is famous as the city to which the Popes fled when leaving the corruption of Rome in the 14th century. The palace they built, ‘Le Palais des Papes,’ or the palace of popes, is the world’s largest Gothic edifice. The Ramparts themselves were erected to keep the plague and invaders out during the middle ages, when Avignon belonged to the papacy and not the French crown. Avignon is also famous for the Saint Benezet bridge which spans part of the Rhone River and is known the world over due to a nursery rhyme. We can also include Arles in your Luberon walking holiday. Take in the atmosphere of this lively Provence town surrounded by city walls on the banks of the Rhone River. There are numerous museums to visit. It was Van Gogh’s home for a year when he produced about 300 of his celebrated paintings. We use 3 or 4 star hotels.

Please consult us for a price on any of the above options.

Tailor-made trips

If you want to learn more about the region’s culture through tailor-made activities and visits, check out those trips that include a few days in the Provence. Contact us to add them to your hike.

French Valley of the gastronomy tour

A trip crafted for foodies and wine lovers to experience the world’s finest gastronomy from Paris to Dijon, Lyon, Avignon and Marseille.

Active Discovery of Southern France’s Beauty

Discover the natural wonders of Southern France in Provence : Saint Remy de Provence, Saintes Maries de la Mer, Cassis and Marseille.

Services

7 nights accommodation, all breakfasts, 4 evening meals, 3 lunches
Detailed walking notes and maps
Transport of luggage between guest houses
Taxi transfer between Avignon and first and last guest house at the start and end of your walking holiday. (Reduction in holiday price if you decide to take bus from Avignon TGV to Beaumettes followed by a shorter taxi transfer. Bus costs 2 euros).

Receive a free quote from your local travel agency within 48 hours by e-mail. No obligation to purchase.

Stephen Molloy

Business Developer

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