Gordes

Gordes climbs the north face of the Luberon in tiers of pale limestone houses with the castle and church at the top, and the view from the road below, where every car stops, is the reason it appears on so many covers. The stone is local and the roofs are Roman tile, giving the whole village one colour. Just outside, the Village des Bories preserves about twenty dry-stone huts with corbelled roofs built without mortar, used as shelters, sheepfolds and stores into the nineteenth century; similar structures are scattered across the whole Luberon. Senanque abbey lies in a fold of hills a few kilometres north.

What you actually see

• The stacked village - tiers of pale stone houses up a cliff face.
• The roadside viewpoint - the classic approach view below the village.
• The Village des Bories - about twenty mortarless corbelled stone huts.
• The calades - stepped stone lanes through the village.

When to go

April to June and September to October; July and August bring severe crowding and parking problems, made worse by lavender visitors heading for Senanque.

Honest expectations

It is expensive and heavily commercialised, with galleries and boutiques in most ground floors. Parking is difficult and charged. The viewpoint layby is small and dangerous when crowded.

Nearby

Senanque Abbey lies north; Roussillon is east.