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Perched villages of Provence

The so-called 'villages-perchés' are found in various parts of Provence, especially in the Luberon region, and are instantly recognisable. The distinguishing features of these villages are:

- they are located high up on a rocky crag

- usually in a historically important defensive position e.g. on the edge of a valley. Most had castles and fortifications, although these are often no longer apparent. the entrance to the town was through a narrow, easily defended, doorway in the defences.

- narrow steep streets winding steeply up through medieval houses

- arcaded narrow passageways

- traditional architecture, with the houses (often tall) built of the local rock, and having stone or canal tile rooves

- there are frequently decorative features on the houses e.g. carvings, decorated lintels

- a village fountain, often highly decorated, is usually found and was originally the only source of the water for the village

- a small simple village chapel, quite often with a decorated or frescoes interior

The villagers who lived here never had an easy life, even after the defensive role of the village was forgotten. The perched villages are usually in inaccessible locations with little access to water or fertile ground, and growing enough food to survive was in itself a challenge. transport and communication difficulties meant that the villages needed to largely exist as self-sufficient communities.

By the end of the 18th century most of these Provençal villages had started to fall into decline and the trend in depopulation and deterioration continued well into the 20th century.

Even now many of the villages have only a very small permanent population, but tourism has brought a new lease of life to many of them. They tend to be very popular destinations on the Provence tourist trail, and their streets in summer will have far more life than they ever had in the past. Many of the properties are second homes however, so they can still be very quiet in the middle of winter.

Sometimes the term 'perched villages' is taken to refer only to the villages in the Luberon region, and others are referring to any village of this type in Provence - there are others further to the east for example.

Some of the best known of the perched villages include:

Luberon region: Les Baux de Provence; Gordes;  Lourmarin; Menerbes, Oppede-le-Vieux; Roussillon;

Eastern regions: Peillon (near the border with Italy); Gorbio; Eze, Saorge

You will come across others both on this site and as you travel around Provence.