I guess Lourmarin was at the top of my list to visit because it is classified as a Plus Beaux Villages de France - one of seven small Vaucluse villages classified as most beautiful villages of France and the English author Peter Mayle who wrote A Year in Provence and other books about Provence lives there. I should mention that Julie over at Provence Post has reported the house is for sale so that may be changing soon.
We arrived in Lourmarin late one Friday morning just as the weekly market was wrapping up. I didn't know there was a market on Friday mornings or I would have made sure we got there earlier so we could wander through the market, one of our favorite things to do.
Lourmarin is nestled in the middle of vineyards and olive groves just north of the Durance River at the foot of the Montagne du Luberon. The inhabitants of Lourmarin are called Lourmarinois.
Lourmarin was bustling with people finishing up morning shopping before heading home for lunch and tourists staking out tables for lunch at one of the cafe's that line the street.
Lourmarin is very picturesque village although not as compact or cute in my opinion as some of the other more famous villages nearby.
Brasserie Insolite where we ate lunch. Since our visit to Lourmarin was spur of the moment, I didn't do any research about local restaurants or reserved a table so we decided to eat here since it was cute and we could get a table. More about lunch in my next post.
We wandered in and out of the shops but didn't find anything that we had to buy.
All roads seem to converge on the intersection near Cafe de la Fontaine.
Another view of the center of Lourmain.
There are many narrow winding streets to explore.
The architecture is typical of a Provencal village.
Pretty shutters on a window with a pretty flower box.
Another pretty house that caught my eye.
I love all the blue you see on the walls of homes and shops.
One of several interesting fountains we saw on our walk around Lourmarin.
The Romanesque church of St. Andre.
A fortress was first built at this site in the 12th century and was rebuilt by Foulques d'Agoult in the 15th century on the foundations of the earlier castle. It was restored in 1920.
Another pretty house and arched passage we passed as we made our way back to our car to return to Sablet.
Bonne journée mes amies et à bientôt.