Got a group together and want to be expertly guided through Provence? With over 20 years of experience based here in Provence, this trip combines what we consider its best hikes, its top accommodations, all while being led by a local & professional guide, absolutely passionate about the region. Not a bad combo, n’est-ce pas?
You’ll start in the 5* hotel Crillon le Brave, perched in the tiny village that carries the same name, high above olive groves, cherry orchards and vines. Facing the giant Mont Ventoux, it’s the perfect luxurious base to explore the region by foot. With a trusty and private minivan for the group, we’ll explore the Dentelles de Montmirail, a set of vertical limestone cliffs that rise above the wine-making villages of the Rhône Valley. We’ll also hike to the very summit of Mont Ventoux, atop its famed moonscape, carpeted with rare Alpine and even Arctic flowers.
Leaving Ventoux towards the south, we’ll enter the Luberon Mountains, home to so many stunning hilltop villages; and we’ll hike to possibly the most stunning of them all – Gordes – set dizzyingly above the Calavon Valley, its homes rising in concentric circles, and up to the Renaissance castle that crowns the top. After a café lunch in Gordes we’ll reach our luxury hotel, set high above the plains, with a jaw-dropping panorama of the valley.
With Gordes as a base for three nights, we’ll hike through canyons, ocher fields, and to tiny hamlets lost in time. And there’ll be a few surprises along the way
Day 1 : Transfer to Crillon le Brave
We’ll meet you at Avignon’s train station and transfer your group to Crillon le Brave, at the foot of Mont Ventoux, Provence’s biggest mountain. Settle into the luxurious Hotel Crillon le Brave, at the very top of the village. After a welcome drink and a stroll through the village’s cobbled streets, we’ll enjoy a dinner together in town, where we’ll review the week’s itinerary.
Meals included: welcome dinner in Crillon le Brave.
Day 2 : Hike the Dentelles de Montmirail
Distance: 12 km
Climbing: +/- 350m total
The soaring cliffs of the Dentelles de Montmirail stand defiantly atop the Rhône Valley, the world’s second largest vineyard. A veritable playground of hiking paths crisscross the imposing rock formations. We’ll hike between the famed vines of Gigondas on farming tracks, and visit the pretty streets of the village. And then we’ll head to the crests, atop the limestone peaks, where jaw-dropping views of the Rhône Valley await.
Meals included: breakfast, picnic lunch.
Day 3: HIKE Mont Ventoux
Distance : 14 km
Climbing : +/- 600m
We’ll begin our hike on the northern face of Mont Ventoux, in the Alpine pastures, with views extending over the chain of the Alps. A remote path will take us up scenic zigzags: first through spruce and fir, then larch, and finally up the scree that tops Ventoux’s famed moonscape. At the summit the road reappears, and also the cyclists tackling France’s hardest climb. We’ll enjoy a café lunch at the summit, with one of the world’s best panoramas (at least in our humble opinion). There are several options for our return hike.
Meals included: breakfast
Day 4 : HIKE to Gordes via Sénanque Abbey
Distance : 10 km
Climbing : +300m/-200m
We say goodbye to Crillon le Brave as we take a transfer to the Luberon mountains (45 minutes). We’ll begin our hike along the Mur de La Peste: a 300 year-old wall built to protect Provence from the looming plague. Between stone walls and on thyme-laden paths, we’ll reach a jaw-dropping perch over the village of Gordes. We’ll enjoy an included lunch in town before continuing to our hotel, hidden in the garrigue vegetation above the village. We’ll check in for a 3-night stay.
Optional afternoon visit to 12th century Sénanque Abbey, surrounded by its lavender fields.
Meals included: breakfast, café lunch.
Day 5: HIKE the Colorado Provençal in Rustrel
Distance: 10km
Climbing: +/- 300m
Around the village of Rustrel is the Colorado Provençal: a natural deposit of otherworldly sands, in every hue from pale yellow to deep red, mined in the past for their valuable ochre pigments. We’ll hike through the colorful cliffs and paths: it’s a stunning juxtaposition to the austere limestone villages in the rest of Provence. We’ll enjoy an authentic lunch in a local café before a guided tour of the nearby ochre mines, with 11 meter-high ceilings and 40 kilometers of tunnels.
Meals included: breakfast, café lunch.
Day 6: HIKE the Luberon Mountains
Distance: 12km
Climbing: +/- 400m
We’ll begin our hike as deep into the Luberon mountains as we can get, and along its only river. At the base of the canyon the vegetation is lush, with gigantic ivy climbing the walls and towards the skies. We’ll reach a hamlet lost in the mountains: just a few homes separated by a single cobbled street. A former goat farm will be the setting for our authentic café lunch before visiting a 3000 year-old fort in the afternoon. We’ll return to Gordes for a third and final night.
Meals included: breakfast, café lunch.
Day 7: Au Revoir la Provence
We’ll drive you back to Avignon’s train station in time for your ongoing travels.
Meals included: breakfast
Luxury category
- Days 1, 2 & 3: Hotel Crillon le Brave 5* in Crillon le Brave
- Days 4, 5 & 6: Hotel les Bories 5* in Gordes
What is included in the price of your stay
- Nights and breakfasts in your hotel(s) for the duration of your stay.
- Transfer of your luggage between hotels.
- Welcome and end-of-stay briefing.
- Concierge service for advice and reservations for restaurants or activities.
- Your routes loaded onto a GPS application.
- Assistance in case of problems 24/7.
What is not included in the price of your stay
- Transfer to reach the starting point of your stay.
- Transfer at the end of your stay.
- Lunches and dinners.
- Activities during your stay (wine tasting, visit to a wine estate, etc.)..
