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Hill-Top Villages of the LuberonThe heart of Provence
Nights: 7 (or you can choose a 10-night version that continues east from Saignon)
Starting point: Les Sables d'Ocre (2*), Roussillon. Most bedrooms have either a balcony or terrace overlooking the gardens or the outdoor pool. Dinner is included at a nearby restaurant. Day 1: start your day by exploring the nearby ochre mines with their startling array of colours that are also visible in the handsome houses of the village. One of the best ways to see the coloured rock formations is by walking along the Sentier des Ocres (pay locally). If you have time, we also suggest a gentle circular walk across wide-open fields (something of a rarity in this area) that afford good views of the hill-top villages of Gordes and Joucas. (10km, 3hrs) Accommodation: Les Sables d'Ocre, as above. Day 2: setting out from Les Sables d'Ocre, you head to the Calavon Valley along extraordinary ochre paths. You cross the river by means of the Pont Julien, a 2,000-year-old Roman bridge, and continue over the other side of the valley, ascending gradually on paths that follow the route of an old Roman road lined with cherry orchards and vineyards. The views as you approach your destination, Bonnieux, show clearly how its houses clamber up the hillside, seemingly one on top of the other. (10km, 3.5hrs) Accommodation: Le Clos du Buis (chambres d'hôtes), Bonnieux. This is a high-quality guesthouse, with a swimming pool and accommodation every bit as charming as the village itself. If this is unavailable, we use the Hotel le César, which boasts excellent views over the valley. At both hotels you stay on a bed and breakfast basis, with several restaurants from which to choose for dinner (pay locally). Day 3: once again you have a choice as to how to spend your day at Bonnieux. One option is to stroll through the village's narrow, cobbled streets and then relax in one of the cafés. Alternatively, you could enjoy a circular walk up the slopes of the Luberon Massif beneath which you have walked for the last two days. Our route ascends some 400 metres into the hills, though your efforts are rewarded by spectacular views in all directions, including the snow-capped Alps to the north in clear weather. You then walk along the ridge, beneath the stately cedar trees of the majestic Forêt des Cèdres, before descending to the plain, where you return to Bonnieux via a beautiful abbey (the chapel and cloisters are open to the public) and the striking village of Lacoste, whose château served as a retreat for the notorious Marquis de Sade. You can shorten the walk by taking a more direct route back to Bonnieux that omits the abbey and Lacoste. (15km, 5.5hrs or 10km, 4hrs) Accommodation: Le Clos du Buis or Hotel le César, as above. Day 4: from Bonnieux, pastoral lanes and tracks lead through quiet cherry orchards, olive groves and open expanses of wild herbs and other low shrubs. You then walk along the top of the wild and magnificent Aigue Brun Gorge before joining a dramatic mule path which zigzags down to the bottom of the gorge. (11km, 4hrs) Accommodation: Auberge des Seguins (2*), near Buoux. Popular with walkers, this is by far the simplest of the hotels on the holiday. Nevertheless, the secluded location in the Aigue Brun Gorge is excellent - in some bedrooms the cliff forms one of the walls! There is a small outdoor pool. Day 5: our circular walk leads along seldom-used paths overlooking the Aigue Brun Gorge before ascending to the grassy crest of the Luberon for a breathtaking 360-degree panorama. From the crest, a steady and easy descent through a valley brings you back to the gorge, passing by the Fort de Buoux which is well worth a visit (pay locally). (12km, 4.5hrs) Accommodation: Auberge des Seguins, as above. Day 6: your final walk is short but very varied. Initially you walk along the bottom of the Aigue Brun Gorge, passing through a hamlet which clings to the rock. You then turn northwards across archetypal Provençal landscapes, passing numerous lavender fields to reach Saignon. (9km, 3.5hrs) Accommodation: Auberge du Presbytère (owner Jean-Pierre de Lutz has chosen not to be classified, but the hotel is worthy of 3* status), Saignon. Located right in the centre of this pretty village by the fountain and ancient wash-house, the Presbytère has been converted from three adjoining houses and exudes character – bedrooms (some of which have a small balcony) are individually decorated, with terracotta or wooden floors, beamed ceilings and wicker and antique furniture. The Provençal cuisine is excellent. Walking chart: the chart gives the distance and an approximation of the ascents and descents involved each day. If comparing holidays, please note the scale of each chart as this can differ.
Recommendations for extra nights: Auberge du Presbytère (Saignon). Other information: if you would like to see the brochure page, you can download this (and the pages for any other holidays you are interested in) by using our brochure creation system. Similar holidays: Alps to the Mediterranean (grade 2), Along the Tarn Valley (grade 2), The Tuscan Heartland (grade 2), Perugino's Umbria (grade 2), Valley of Gold (grade 2), A Provence Wander (grade 1-2) Prices & travel 2008:
Recommended destination airport: Marseille, Avignon 2008 extra night prices
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Beneath the dense forest and bare limestone cliffs of the imposing Luberon Massif lies a sunny, undulating plain. Here, between the Alps and the Mediterranean, you are in the very heart of Provence, where the Côtes du Luberon vineyards thrive in the warmth, their light wines the ideal accompaniment to the delicious regional cuisine flavoured with rosemary and thyme. Our walk is a discovery of the quintessentially Provençal villages that crown the rolling hills to the north of the massif. Characterised by narrow streets, crumbling châteaux and fortified, honey-coloured houses, they bask in the glorious sunshine, affording sweeping views over the surrounding landscapes. As you journey east, you walk from the vineyards and orchards beneath the Petit Luberon to the bulkier form of the Grand Luberon, with options up the panoramic slopes of the massif, before finally turning north towards increasingly open countryside.
Cliffs frame beautiful woodland 
