The Luberon is a long ridge of limestone hills running roughly east–west across the Vaucluse department of Provence, and the regional natural park that surrounds it. Peter Mayle put it on the English-speaking world's radar in the early 1990s, and the hills have never quite lost the gentle celebrity that came with that. The villages here — perched, ochre-coloured, smelling of lavender and rosemary — are exactly as beautiful as the books describe. They are also, in high summer, extremely busy.
The heart of the region is a string of villages along the southern and northern flanks of the Petit Luberon: Bonnieux, Lacoste, Ménerbes, and Gordes, each perched on a hilltop with commanding views and a core of medieval stone. The villages have been adopted by artists, writers, and wealthy second-home owners since the 1970s, which gives them a somewhat curated quality — the cafes are excellent, the galleries are abundant, and the boulangeries are outstanding.
The landscape itself is the real attraction: lavender fields (in bloom late June through July) stretching toward a limestone ridge, cherry orchards in spring, vineyards dropping down hillsides in autumn. The Luberon wine appellation produces very decent rosé and some serious reds, and the area has excellent producers in most villages. The Abbaye de Silvacane and the village of Lourmarin — the only village in the Luberon to occupy a valley floor rather than a hilltop — round out a landscape that rewards slow, aimless driving more than any particular sight.
Come in May, June, or September if you can. July and August bring the crowds at their most intense and the heat at its most oppressive. A car is essential; there is no meaningful public transport to most of the villages.