Gordes, hilltop village, one of the most beautiful villages in France

With its houses clustered around its impressive castle, the village of Gordes overlooking the surrounding plain. With its narrow cobbled streets or calades*, Gordes has retained all its charm and authenticity over the centuries thanks to its preserved heritage.

Gordes has also been a source of inspiration for such famous artists as Marc Chagall, Victor Vasarely and Pol Mara, among others. Gordes is an essential stop for all those who wish to discover the Luberon Mountains and Provence.

* Calades: a Provençal word for cobbled streets

Not far from the centre of Gordes, across from the Luberon Massif, the Village des Bories (village of dry-stone corbelled structures) is testimony to the daily lives of the people of Provence in the Middle Ages. It includes sheepfolds (bergeries), bread ovens, wine vats, threshing floors and houses, some several centuries old.
Le Village des Bories, a listed historic monument since 1977, is the largest group of these typical dry-stone corbelled structures.
Le Mur de la Peste (Plague wall)
This 25km-long dry-stone wall across the Monts-de-Vaucluse was built in 1721 to protect the Comtat Venaissin from the plague epidemic. Hiking trails now follow it over almost its entire length. More information on the Mur de la Peste.