On the Road Again – From Saint-Rémy-de-Provence to L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

This is the last installment in my road trip series through the south of France. Here are the links if you’re interested in the previous posts:

More Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, and One That Should Be

On the Road Again – From Carcassonne to Arles

Ten Days in Arles – Road Trip Continued….

On the Road Again – From Arles to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence

After a few days in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, we hit the road again, this time our destination was the beautiful market town of L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. We were traveling with friends Shirley and Jim, and this was our second time together with them in the village. We have visited this quaint town even before that, with other friends, Tim and Lisa, and another time on our own. It’s a place worthy of revisiting time and time again. Shirley and I even collaborated on a blog about L’Isle, often referred to as the Little Venice of Provence; click here to read that post.

But first we took a slight detour on our way to L’Isle, to visit Les Baux-de-Provence, another charming village in the land of villages with long names. This quaint village with just a few hundred residents was named when aluminum ore was discovered here in 1821 by geologist Pierre Berthier. What he found was bauxite, a sedimentary rock high in aluminum content, and thus the area was named.

Les Baux is known for it’s ancient stone fortress, perched high on a hill with commanding views of the Alpilles mountains and the valley below. We thoroughly enjoyed exploring this enchanting town before heading to L’Isle.

We didn’t take the time to tour the fortress, but enjoyed the view nearby, looking down at the spot where I took the first photo in this post.

Les Baux-de-Provence is a Les Plus Beaux Villages de France. As I have written about before, this association was formed in 1982 to increase tourism in small villages in France. Villages with less than 2,000 residents and a specific historical element are eligible to apply for the distinction.

Our next stop was L’Isle to meet up with Shirley and Jim for lunch at Olive et Raisin; one of our favorite restaurants in the town. We have eaten here on multiple occasions and are never disappointed.

L’Isle has an expansive street market on Thursdays and Sundays with a huge variety of local products.

If you’re craving local delicacies any other day of the week, head to Les Délices du Luberon where you’ll find a nice variety of local items from nuts, olives, tapenades, hummus and much more.

Et bien sur, L’Isle is a beautiful town to wander through.

During our stay in L’Isle, we took a drive to Gordes another Les Plus Beaux Villages de France. Made famous in the 2015 movie A Good Year with Russell Crow and Marion Cotillard, this is yet another amazing village to see. Nestled in the foothills of the Vaucluse, the village’s 10th century château is a prominent feature of the town.

Shirley has this to say about Provence:

Everywhere you look is art.

I think this quote sums up Provence perfectly. Which of these villages do you like the best? We thoroughly enjoyed our road trip through the south of France and hope to visit again someday. As always, I would love to hear from you, so leave a comment if you’re so inclined.

Wishing you grand adventures,

Tricia