A week in the Luberon: our itinerary from Villa Bonnieux

Morning. If your flight lands early, head for Apt’s Saturday market, the biggest in the area and 13 minutes from the villa. Stock the fridge for the week: goat’s cheese, charcuterie, melons, tomatoes, olives, and a box of the candied fruit Apt is famous for.

Afternoon. Check in from 15:00, unpack, and take the first swim of the week. Our getting to Bonnieux page has driving times from the airports and stations.

Evening. Start in style at one of Bonnieux’s two Michelin-starred restaurants: JU – Maison de Cuisine in the village, or La Bastide at Capelongue, which opens from late April to late September. Book weeks ahead in summer, then walk home under the stars.

Morning. Leave by 8:30 for Les Baux-de-Provence, about an hour west, and arrive before the coaches. The village sits on a bare limestone spur of the Alpilles, so striking that bauxite, the ore of aluminium, is named after it. Climb to the Château des Baux, a medieval fortress on three levels cut into the rock, with its keep, towers, cave dwellings, chapel and dovecotes, and views across the olive groves towards the Camargue. Below the village, the Carrières des Lumières fill a vast former quarry with art projected onto walls several storeys high; it is cool inside even in August, and children love it. Book online.

Afternoon. A long Sunday lunch at Château d’Estoublon, the olive oil and wine estate at the foot of the Alpilles, just below Les Baux. Allow two to three hours, book well ahead, and leave time for the shop and its olive oils. Then on to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, where Van Gogh spent a year at Saint-Paul-de-Mausole in 1889 and 1890 and painted some of his most famous works. The cloister and his room can be visited, and the Roman town of Glanum is just beyond. Wander the old streets and galleries before heading home, about 52 minutes away.

Evening. Back for sunset cocktails on the deck, and a light supper on the terrace after the big lunch.

Morning. Yes, you can go to the beach from the Luberon. Leave by 7:30 for Cassis, about an hour and a half away; Monday is quieter than the weekend. Park at Les Gorguettes and take the shuttle into town, then take a boat from the harbour to see the calanques from the sea, with the three-calanque trip taking about an hour. Or walk the coastal path to Port-Miou and Port-Pin and swim in water as clear as a pool.

Afternoon. Fish for lunch on the harbour with a glass of Cassis white, then a swim at the town beach or a drive along the Route des Crêtes above Cap Canaille, the highest sea cliff in France. Our Calanques guide has everything, including the summer access rules.

Evening. Home by about 19:30, a swim in the pool to wash off the salt, and an easy dinner in: the raclette machine is made for nights like this.

Morning. From late June to mid-July, be at Sénanque Abbey early, when the lavender in front of the 12th-century abbey is at its best in the soft light. Then drive up to Gordes for its Tuesday market and a coffee looking out over the valley. Out of lavender season, add the Village des Bories, a hamlet of dry-stone huts just outside Gordes. Our lavender guide has the flowering dates.

Afternoon. Back to the villa for lunch on the terrace and the pool through the heat of the day.

Evening. Sunsets Vignerons en Luberon: on Tuesday evenings in summer, wine estates open their doors for tastings with live music and food as the sun goes down. Book in advance. Our wine tasting guide lists the estates we love, including Château La Canorgue just outside Bonnieux.

Morning. Lourmarin, 12 minutes away over the Combe de Lourmarin: the Renaissance château, bookshops and galleries, coffee under the plane trees, and the grave of Albert Camus in the village cemetery.

Afternoon. Lunch in Lourmarin, at La Louche à Beurre or a café on the square, then the pool, or a tasting at one of the estates on the south side of the Luberon.

Evening. Music under the stars. Through the summer, Les Musicales dans les Vignes brings jazz and classical concerts to wine estates, Les Musicales du Luberon plays in chapels and château courtyards, and in July the Festival de Lacoste takes over the quarries below the château. Book as soon as the programmes are published.

Morning. Roussillon’s Thursday market, then the Sentier des Ocres before the heat: 30 or 60 minutes among cliffs of red, orange and gold. Wear old shoes, as the dust stains.

Afternoon. Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, where the Sorgue rises from the foot of a sheer cliff in one of the most powerful springs in France. In summer, canoe the clear green river down towards L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, about two hours. Our cycling and kayaking page has the details.

Evening. Sunset on the deck, then dinner at Café de la Gare in Bonnieux.

Morning. Walk seven minutes down to our own Friday market for bread, cheese, olives, lavender and flowers, then coffee in the village. Climb the steps to the 12th-century upper church for the best view in the valley. We are not biased, of course.

Afternoon. L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, 26 minutes away, where the antiques villages open from Friday to Monday; our antiques guide explains how to tackle them. The canals and water wheels are lovely at the end of the day.

Evening. A last sunset drink in Lacoste, across the valley below the château of the Marquis de Sade, then dinner back in Bonnieux at Goût Bistrot or Bistrot Francis. Walk home, and one last look at the stars from the terrace.

Check-out is by 10:00. If your flight is later, the Apt market is on again for picnic supplies. Our Luberon villages guide has the places you did not reach, and we would love to welcome you back.

Summer storms in Provence are usually short. On a wet day, head to Avignon for the Palais des Papes, or to the Carrières des Lumières, both indoors. The antiques villages in L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue are under cover and open Friday to Monday, and the Musée de la Lavande makes a good hour. Leave the ochre trail for another day, as it closes during heavy rain and storms. And a rainy afternoon by the fire with a book and a bottle of Luberon red is no hardship.

From November to March the Luberon is quiet, the light is clear and the villages belong to the people who live in them. Some restaurants close, including La Bastide at Capelongue from late September to late April, so check before you plan a dinner. The Sentier des Ocres closes from the Christmas holidays until the February school holidays.

Winter has its own rewards: the Carpentras truffle market on Friday mornings from mid-November to the end of March, 52 minutes away; the Sunday antiques market in L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, which runs all year; and crisp, sunny walks in the cedar forest. See Luberon guide for more.