At this level, we think it is in general a question of mood and opportunity : There are many places in this category. But if I write this, it is because the ugliest ones hide themselves inside the best. So :  No Risk taking, just try to stay in our list …

The first one which comes in mind is ” Clos de Gustave “in Gordes. This is absolutely a sure value ( and in Gordes it is very rare). Food is more than good, service is made with candor and intelligence. Be careful, it can be crowdy. So the best is to be early. We don’t tell you how  it is charming etc …

The second we are in love with is “Un Jour Charlotte” , just 300 meters from here. How lucky we were when thay started their business last year. It is just a kind of “succes story”, a family business. The father is a reputed photographer, she is a florist and together with the children they make a superb food. Last year, we had only compliments. I leave the details. You will see and appreciate by ourselves.

“La Bergerie ” in Maubec is different. Maubec Old Village is one of the most exquisite  corner of Luberon. Nobody knows. You are in a peaceful environment, just below the Luberon Mountainside. It is very typical, the house team  is energetic and you get excellent meat, pizzas and local food.

In Isle sur la Sorgue, there are many good and not as good ones. It is a bit out of our scope… Let’s mention Bistro du Commerce where you have an experience on the French Southern Style (noisy but ougoing). Good meat and pizzas. The problem of Isle sur la Sorgue is maybe its success, you will understand.

In the countryside, we can list several with excellent values :

- Café de la  Gare in Bonnieux (cheap and warmful)

- Café de la Poste in Goult. That one, if you  are interested in being in a well behaved tourist tour, it is the place. 50% of the guests are US, British or from Belgium. So very international but in the french atmosphere. Its fame came from the Peter Mayle’s Popular Novel ” A Year in Provence”. It is worthwhile and food is OK for the price.

We are talking about places where you can go without “eating your budget”, so not cheap but reasonable for what you have. Second, there is a “dress code” and you can be  “at your best”. Third, they are in general close from your house here.  Last, please secure proper booking with us. If you don’t, it can become unpleasant.

We start just on the other side of the street :” L’Estellan”. It is just perfect in many respects and so you are certain  to spend a nice moment. The only thing is that their sense of marketing makes they just have much too many candidates ! Food is excellent and the young nicely dressed ladies are … I dont find the proper word.

A little bit further on the hill, you have Mas Tourteron. It is one of the most traditional top addresses in Gordes. But sometimes, your reputation makes you to be to sure. Anyway, we have in general good feed-backs and the garden is exceptional. It is less than I kilometer from here.

But for me the two best in this category are  probably

- La Bartavelle in Goult. There are no adjectives to describe. It is a small place and you should book well lin advance, maybe to get there early, to walk a bit in the village to the castle and to impregnate yourselves of a very special  situation.

- Le Café Fleurs in L’Isle-sur-la Sorgue. This one has superb food, almost “Grande Cuisine”, at reasonable prices. It is just along the river in the middle of town. Try top be seaed on one of the two terraces which are small but gorgeous.

Also :

- Le Fournil in Bonnieux. We don’t know by ourselves very well. People who get there come back with an excellent souvenir. Food is known as being excellent.

- Le Vieux Bistrot in Cabrières d’Avignon. Also very good. The terrace is very peaceful.

- Maison Gouin in Coustellet. A house for “people who know”!  You select your wine direct in the cellar. They also have a gourmet food store. It is casual but wealthy people of the area like to be treated without excessive sophistication. So it is a kind of secret address.

You will love this area between, let’s say Maubec and Bonnieux. Last Spring I went direct to Oppede (don’t be confused : Almost all villages in Luberon have a more modern neighbor with the same name. The reason is the villages originally were on the hills to have a natural protection with walls etc… As the risk decreased, people started to live in the valley. So there are 2 Maubecs, 2 Oppede and so on.

The begining of the tour is at Maubec, the old village. You must absolutely go first to the camping ( first turnabout at Robion and left). There you have  a scenery with two “campaniles” in a very quiet environment. You will see a superb estate and when you are in front of the campanile you look back at the mountain. You go down, you will see “La Bergerie ” one of our favorite restaurants on the left, and then you follow the Bike Road (special signs). Far away, you will see the Oppede Castle and the chapelle. From there, you take one of the small roads and you get to park in Oppede. There is no alternative. You pay but you are right where you have to be? And the park area looks secure. So then you visit 1- The Sainte Ceceile gardens and you go uphill to the Chapelle. This is very worhwile and you have a very good view.

After that, you go down through a hamlet named Les Minguets. There is a small store on the left ” Les Atrtisanales de Provence”. They sell in particular exquisite jams and other local products. Then YOU TRY TO GET LOST … in the direction of Menerbes. And you will make a lot of discoveries. If you follow my map anyway, you will arrive in Menerbes with the best view. Normally, you won’t have  enough time to visit Menerbes which is a bit rude. Best is to go to Abbaye St Hilaire and Lacoste without wasting too  much time. Abbaye Saint Hilaire is real rewarding. They explain you well the story. In Lacoste it is important to find the way to go just behind the castle. There is the best view and often Pierre  Cardin is displaying modern scultures. You will see Bonnieux in front of you. Bonnieux is an austere place and if you have little time don’t try to visit. As it is a 2-level village you can get exhausted very fast. And it is mostly North-oriented so in the shade, and cold.

All small roads below Lacoste are very good. In fact during this trip, you will meet very few tourists ! They all are in Gordes or Roussillon. All this tour can take 2-4 hours, depending on the stops. If you do it in the morning, what we recommend because of the light, you must have a reservation for a restaurant for a quick lunch. Good options would be Café de la Poste in Goult or Caf&é de la Gare in Bonnieux (it is not exactly in Bonnieux but onthe road to D900, almost in fronty of the Cave Vinicole de Bonnieux).

An interesting spot near-by is the Pont Romain (Roman Bridge)..

In the afternoon, a good idea is to head to Roussillon.  In fact there is also several lunch possibilities over there. One is Les Glycines right in the center. You have a very nice terrace and a view on the ochres.

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You absolutely don’t need to be a part  of a Tour de France Team to enjoy biking here. We have an exceptional ground for having fun.

Before departure, on the Mas Parking

Basically the idea is to take 2 of our bikes and go… If you want better outfit you can rent the in Coustellet, they prepare it for you and bring them the previous evening (and pretty cheap).

For that kind of entertainment, guests come back with many stories. There is one I like :  Last year we had a couple from Hong-Kong. Both were very thin and like intellectuals. They said : OK we want to have your tour around the Luberon valley and we take your bikes for the day. We just discover that they did not know how to ride a bicycle. This was very badly engaged. ( Sometimes we have guests from Hong-Kong who even have not their car driver licence – Not useful in a city like that). So we trained them, they fell on the floor several times and said : Let’s go… By four in the evening they were not back etc … Finally they came back by 6:00 PM, enchanted about what they did. They had made the whole tour. So you can.

On the secret roads of Luberon

So we give to our candidates a map with all the details and some alternatives for having lunch in a good place. It is only with small roads and unpaved stretches. Shortly they start from le Mas, Les Gros, go down to the main road Avignon -Apt, cross it, Oppede le Vieux, Menerbes, SaintHilaire Abbey (a real good spot), Lacoste, Lumières, Goult and back here. Maybe” 35  kilometers but everybody can do it in 6-7 hours !

The best in the best is the bike road  ( the one which makes the entire tour of Luberon) between Oppede and Menerbes. We have an incridable extention where you can discover a a cedar forest nobody knows except the rich American who lives there. The name is ” Poudarique”. Just after, the arrival on Menerbes is unbelievebal of beauty. Menerbes stands like a large boat in the middle of the fields. It is no surprise that so many British people elected to have a house there.