64 Best Sights in The Vaucluse, Provence

If you've fantasized about Provence's famed lavender fields, head to the wild valley some 4 km (2½ miles) north of Gordes (via D177), where this photogenic, 12th-century, Romanesque abbey seemingly floats above a fragrant sea of purple blooms from late June through August. Begun in 1150 and completed at the dawn of the 13th century, the church and adjoining cloister are without decoration but still touch the soul with their chaste beauty. Along with the abbeys of Le Thornet and Silvacane, this is one of a trio of "Three Sisters" built by the Cistercian Order in this area.

Next door, the enormous vaulted dormitory contains an exhibition on Abbaye de Sénanque's construction, and the refectory shelters a display on the history of Cistercian abbeys. The few remaining monks here now preside over a cultural center presenting concerts and exhibitions. The bookshop has a huge collection of books about Provence (lots in English).

At this unique museum in the 13th-century Couvent des Cordeliers, you'll learn how the aromatic plants and medicinal herbs of the Montagne de Lure, part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, have traditionally been grown, gathered, and used in remedies, perfumes, and cosmetics. Explanatory panels, botanical illustrations, plant specimens, and fragrance galleries are used to create a multisensory educational experience in themed exhibits such as Lavender, Pickers & Peddlers, The Druggists, Distillation, Plants & Elixirs, and Plants & Beauty. In addition, activity booklets and special displays help children navigate and understand the exhibits. For total immersion, sign up for one of the two-hour perfume workshops, which are offered for both adults (€45) and kids (€25).

Although Vaison has centuries-old attractions, the most popular for Americans may well be the classes offered by Patricia Wells, the food critic who made a name for herself writing posh columns and The Food Lover's Guide to France. She now introduces people to the splendors of French cooking—in her lovely farmhouse and above her own Chanteduc vineyards outside Vaison. Weeklong culinary seminars are deluxe ($6,000 a student) and exclusive (maximum of 12 students), and the January truffle workshop usually sells out, so book early (online only).

The "new" wing (begun in 1526 and completed in 1540) of this château—which was restored to near perfection in the 1920s—is the prettiest, with a broad art collection, rare old furniture, and ornate stone fireplaces, including two with exotic vases canopes (ancient Aztec figure vases). The château also offers lots of fun activities for kids, and it hosts a series of highly regarded open-air concerts in summer and several contemporary art exhibitions throughout the year.

With grand vaulted rooms and a chapel dating from the 12th century, this enormous château is picturesque Le Barroux's main draw. Some of its halls serve as venues for contemporary art exhibits, and the chapel's breathtaking frescoes—undergoing restoration but still accessible to the public—painted between the 16th and 19th centuries are a must-see. Ever full of surprises, the castle also harbors a whiskey distillery that produces a golden nectar from the local einkorn grain, which you'll learn all about on a comprehensive tour that ends with a tasting. Or you can relax in the charming gourmet tearoom, perfect for a refreshing break and an excellent coffee with your homemade pastry or ice cream and panoramic views.

Housed in two elegant 17th-century mansions, this impressive assembly of contemporary artworks came out of the private collection of Paris art dealer Yvon Lambert, who founded the museum in 2000 in honor of Avignon's designation as European Capital of Culture. The museum is known both for the breadth of its collection—more than 1,200 pieces dating from the 1960s to the present—and the scope of its three to four major exhibitions per year, as well as its cultural events, lectures, and arts eduction programs, done independently or in conjunction with other arts institutions worldwide. The foundation closes three months out of the year between exhibitions, so be sure to check before going. The impressive bookshop carries dozens of original, limited-edition works by artists represented in the collection, including prints by Cy Twombly, Sol LeWitt, and Jenny Holzer, and the breezy courtyard café offers gourmet snacks, beverages, and light lunches under the shade of sleepy plane trees.

Housed in a stately Belle Époque mansion set on the river, this vibrant contemporary sculpture center is one of the most respected establishments of its kind in Provence. Its talented, far-sighted curators scour the European arts scene for ingenious themed shows that mix established names with up-and-coming sculptors. While the shows change only once a year, they are always revelatory, with artwork cleverly installed in every room of the house, including the old shower stalls, the pretty garden, and even from trees hanging over the canal.

On a site occupied since the Gallo-Roman period, this picturesque 11th- to 12th-century priory—a rich archaeological site classed as a Historic Monument by the French Ministry of Culture—presides over 10 acres of themed gardens. The restored priory, with well-preserved Gothic and Romanesque flourishes, now houses an ethnological museum, a testament to the various cultures and peoples in this part of Provence. The garden functions as both a visual delight and a preserve for 2,500 species of plants and flowers native to the region, from ancient times to the present, organized into five themes—like "simple gardens and village plants," which includes field and cultivated plants that were both consumed and used medicinally. There's also a medieval garden, a fragrant garden with benches under the roses and honeysuckle for maximum sensory effect, and a modern "exotic" garden that crosses five continents.

Through eight generations on the same premises, the Brun de Vian-Tiran family has created France's most beautiful and luxurious woolens from fibers sourced throughout the world, including baby camel, cashmere, merino wool, alpaca, and baby llama. Housed in one of the company's old warehouses, this state-of-the-art museum takes you through the manufacturing process, from fiber to fabric, with interactive exhibits that are fascinating for kids as well as adults. The on-site boutique carries the entire range of luxury bedding and blankets, scarves, slippers, and other items, all of which are usually found only at high-end department stores in Paris.

Created in part to fortify France's supply of cedar and cyprus wood, this magnificent forest, covering hundreds of acres, also provides a cool, quiet place for hiking and picnicking. Information on the forest is available at all of the local tourist offices, and the route to it is well marked from the village of Lacoste. The winding drive provides astounding views of the hilltop villages that dot the countryside.

The flowering of a 25-year project, this lovely botanical garden is planted on rediscovered 18th-century terraces at the highest point of La Citadelle vineyards, with magnificent views of Ménerbes and the Vaucluse and Ventoux mountains. Stroll its scenic paths to see hundreds of medicinal and aromatic plant species used in traditional medicines for millennia. Afterward, enjoy a tasting at the domaine and entrance to the Musée du Tire-Bouchon, the world's first museum dedicated to the corkscrew.

Like a miniature Roman Forum, the ancient Quartier de Puymin, part of the largest archaeological site in France, spreads over a field and hillside in the heart of Vaison, visible in passing from the town's streets. Access to a garden, an archaeological museum, and the skeletal ruins of Roman villas below Vaison's ancient theater is via an entry booth across from the tourist office. Although it requires considerable imagination to visualize the structures as they once were, there are some poignant details, such as thresholds that still show the hinge holds for and scrape marks left by swinging doors. 

Closest to the entrance, the foundations of the Maison des Messii (Messii House) indicate that it had a sumptuous design complete with a vast gentleman's library; reception rooms; an atrium with a rain-fed pool; a large kitchen (note the enormous stone vats); and baths with hot, cold, and warm water. To see the accoutrements of everyday Roman life, wander beneath the cypress trees and amid the flowering shrubs of a formal garden to the Musée Archéologique Théo-Desplans. Here, items are displayed by theme: pottery, weapons, gods and goddesses, jewelry, and, of course, sculpture—including a complete figure of the emperor Claudius (1st century) and a strikingly noble nude Hadrian (2nd century).

Cross the park behind the museum to climb into the bleachers of the 1st-century Théâtre Romain, smaller than the one in Orange but also used today for concerts and plays. Across the parking lot is the Quartier de la Villasse, where remnants of a lively market town indicate main-street shops, public gardens, and grand private homes complete with floor mosaics. The most evocative image of all is in the thermes (baths): a neat row of marble-seat toilets lined up over a raked trough that instantly rinsed waste away.

The best way to understand the sites is with a self-guided audio tour (€2, available at the museum). Guided tours led by certified docents are also a possibility, though availability, duration, prices, and themes vary. Check ahead with the museum or the tourist board.

Don't miss this quirky museum, which has some 1,200 corkscrews—the oldest dating from the 17th century—collected from all over the world, as well as interesting historical displays on various wine-related subjects.

This colossal palace creates a disconcertingly fortresslike impression, underlined by the austerity of its interior. Most of the original furnishings were returned to Rome with the papacy; others were lost during the French Revolution. Some imagination is required to picture the palace's medieval splendor, awash with color and with worldly clerics enjoying what the 14th-century Italian poet Petrarch called "licentious banquets." On close inspection, two different styles of building emerge at the palace: the severe Palais Vieux (Old Palace), built between 1334 and 1342 by Pope Benedict XII, a member of the Cistercian order, which frowned on frivolity, and the more decorative Palais Nouveau (New Palace), built in the following decade by the artsy, lavish-living Pope Clement VI. The Great Court, entryway to the complex, links the two.

The main rooms of the Palais Vieux are the Consistory (Council Hall), decorated with some excellent 14th-century frescoes by Simone Martini; the Chapelle St-Jean, with original frescoes by Matteo Giovanetti; the Grand Tinel, or Salle des Festins (Feast Hall), with a majestic vaulted roof and a series of 18th-century Gobelin tapestries; the Chapelle St-Martial, with more Giovanetti frescoes; and the Chambre du Cerf, with a richly decorated ceiling, murals featuring a stag hunt, and a delightful view of Avignon. The principal attractions of the Palais Nouveau are the Grande Audience, a magnificent two-nave hall on the ground floor, and, upstairs, the Chapelle Clémentine, where the college of cardinals once gathered to elect the new pope. To get the most out of the experience, consider a €2 audio tour.

Although this disconcertingly fortresslike palace seems like just one colossal building, it actually consists of two different structures: the severe Palais Vieux (Old Palace), built between 1334 and 1342 by Pope Benedict XII, a member of the Cistercian order, which frowned on frivolity, and the more decorative Palais Nouveau (New Palace), built in the following decade by the artsy, lavish-living Pope Clement VI. The Great Court, entryway to the complex, links the two. The interiors are austere—many original furnishings were returned to Rome with the papacy, and others were lost during the French Revolution—so some imagination is required to picture the medieval splendor, awash with color and with worldly clerics enjoying what the 14th-century Italian poet Petrarch called "licentious banquets."

The main rooms of the Palais Vieux are the Consistory (Council Hall), decorated with some excellent 14th-century frescoes by Simone Martini; the Chapelle St-Jean, with original frescoes by Matteo Giovanetti; the Grand Tinel, or Salle des Festins (Feast Hall), with a majestic vaulted roof and a series of 18th-century Gobelin tapestries; the Chapelle St-Martial, with more Giovanetti frescoes; and the Chambre du Cerf, with a richly decorated ceiling, murals featuring a stag hunt, and a delightful view of Avignon. The principal attractions of the Palais Nouveau are the Grande Audience, a magnificent two-nave hall on the ground floor, and, upstairs, the Chapelle Clémentine, where the college of cardinals once gathered to elect new popes.

Set on a bluff above town, this lush hilltop garden has grand Mediterranean pines, a man-made lake (complete with camera-ready swans), plus glorious views of the palace, the rooftops of Old Avignon, the Pont St-Bénézet, and formidable Villeneuve across the Rhône. On the horizon loom Mont Ventoux, the Luberon, and Les Alpilles. The garden has lots of history as well: often called the "cradle of Avignon," its rocky grottoes were among the first human habitations in the area.

Put yourself in the hands of an expert under the arched ceilings of this new, state-of-the-art tasting room set in an ancient wine cave. This is a great opportunity to sample the region's majestic reds and dazzling whites side by side, or you can custom-design your own tasting from the 200 wines offered by the 120 estates represented here. All of the wines can be purchased at Vinadea, just above the Vinothèque.

Don't miss the formal Italianate gardens of Fort St-André, littered with remains of the abbey that preceded the fortifications. The gardens are now privately owned.

North of the city center is the Arc de Triomphe, which once straddled the Via Agrippa between Lyon and Arles. Three arches support a heavy double attic (horizontal top) floridly decorated with battle scenes and marine symbols, references to Augustus's victories at Actium. The arch, which dates from about 20 BC, is superbly preserved—particularly its north side—but to view it on foot, you'll have to cross a roundabout seething with traffic.

From this spot you can overlook the area's fields and mas (farms), and the modern vacation homes are differentiated from the older properties only by their aqua-blue pools. Belvédère is just downhill from the château; look for the signs.

One of the finest of L'Isle's mansions, the 18th-century Hôtel de Campredon has been restored and reinvented as a modern-art gallery, mounting three temporary exhibitions per year.

Fragments from a Gallo-Roman basilica were used to build this solemn, Romanesque cathedral, whose cloister is surrounded by richly sculpted columns and arches.

Built in a pure Provençal Romanesque style in the 12th century, this cathedral was soon dwarfed by the extravagant palace that rose beside it. The 14th century saw the addition of a cupola, which promptly collapsed. As rebuilt in 1425, the cathedral is a marvel of stacked arches with a strong Byzantine flavor and is topped with a gargantuan Virgin Mary lantern—a 19th-century afterthought—whose glow can be seen for miles around.

The bounty of the cardinals nourished this abbey, whose name translates, literally, to the Charterhouse of the Valley of Blessings. Inside it are spare cells with panels illuminating monastic life; the vast 14th-century cloître du cimetière (cemetery cloister); a smaller Romanesque cloister; and, within what remains of the abbey church, the Gothic tomb of Pope Innocent VI. Theatrical events are staged here during Avignon's annual theater festival.

If you're disinclined to spend your vacation sniffing and sipping, climb the hill to the ruins of the château. Though it was destroyed in the Wars of Religion (1562–98) between Catholics and Huguenots and its remaining donjon (keep) blasted by the Germans in World War II, it still commands a magnificent position. From this rise in the rolling vineyards, you can enjoy wraparound views of Avignon, the Luberon, and Mont Ventoux.

Fontaine has its own ruined château, perched romantically on a forested hilltop over the town and illuminated at night. First built around the year 1000 and embellished in the 14th century by the bishops of Cavaillon, the castle was destroyed in the 15th century and forms little more than a sawtooth silhouette against the sky.

The only way you can get into this château is by paying to see a collection of photo paintings by Belgian pop artist Pol Mara, who lived in Gordes. It's worth the price of admission, though, just to look at the fabulously decorated stone fireplace, created in 1541. Unfortunately, hours change without warning (afternoon visits are your best bet).

For many years, little but ruins remained of the once magnificent Château de Lacoste, where the Marquis de Sade (1740–1814) spent some 30 years of his life. Because his exploits, both literary and real, were judged obscene by various European courts, he was also imprisoned several times, including, in 1784, at the Bastille in Paris. It was there that he secretly wrote Les 120 Journées de Sodome (The 120 Days of Sodom), an unfinished novel that featured a Black Forest château very similar in description to de Sade's actual home. Though he had to leave his manuscript behind, de Sade escaped harm during the Storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. His Lacoste home, however, was not so lucky: it was destroyed with particular relish during the Revolution.

In 2001, wealthy Paris couturier Pierre Cardin bought the château and oversaw its restoration up until his death in 2020. His legacy lives on in the Festival Pierre Cardin (aka the Festival Lacoste), a two-week arts extravaganza held on the grounds in late July and early August. Events range from outdoor poetry recitals and open-air film screenings to ballet performances and colorful operettas. The castle is also open to the public between mid-June and late September.

L'Isle's 17th-century church is extravagantly decorated with gilt, faux marble, and sentimental frescoes. The double-colonnade facade commands the center of the vieille ville (Old Town). Visiting hours change frequently, so check with the tourist office.

Since 1895, this important local distiller has been producing not only lavender, but also essential oils of lavendin and other aromatic plants. Tours of its facility, offered May through August, cover cultivating lavender and the distillation process. You can stock up on lavender, organic essential oils, floral waters, soaps, sachets, and plant-based cosmetics in the on-site shop.