The Village and the Castle
The village of Gordes is essentially a single street coiled around a rocky spur, with the Renaissance castle at its summit. The castle — rebuilt in the 16th century over a medieval structure — houses the Musée Pol Mara and is worth entering for the rooms and the views from its upper windows over the plateau. The village itself is best experienced on foot, early in the morning before the day-trippers arrive, walking the stepped lanes between the pale stone houses and the occasional terrace that opens onto the valley below.
The Abbey of Sénanque
Three kilometres north of Gordes, in a valley that seems designed to contain it, stands the Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque — a Cistercian monastery founded in 1148 and still occupied by monks who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. The lavender field in front of the abbey's Romanesque apse is the image that appears on more Provence postcards than any other; it blooms in late June and early July. Outside lavender season, the setting is equally beautiful and the crowds considerably thinner. Guided tours of the church and cloister operate throughout the year; book in advance for summer visits.
Village des Bories
On the plateau below Gordes stands the Village des Bories — a cluster of dry-stone corbelled structures built without mortar over many centuries, the oldest dating to the Bronze Age, the most recent to the 19th century. The form was used for everything from agricultural storage to human habitation, and the variety within the basic typology is remarkable: circular, oval, rectangular, single-roomed and compound, each fitted to its site and purpose with a precision that no cement needed. The village is open for visits; the dry-stone building technique remains a living Provençal craft tradition.
When to Visit and What to Expect
Gordes in high summer — specifically July and August — is extremely crowded. The single access road can back up for kilometres; parking is difficult; and the village streets become impassable between 11am and 4pm on weekends. In May, June, September, and October, the same village is tranquil and extraordinarily beautiful in the Luberon light. Winter visits — November through March — offer empty streets, low prices, and the particular pleasure of a perched Provençal village in cold, clear weather with the valley visible for fifty kilometres.
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