Panorama of Gordes

The village of Gordes, perched on its rock, is located within the Monts de Vaucluse, between Apt and Avignon. The stunning panorama from Gordes offers breathtaking views of the village and a clear vista of the Calavon Valley extending to the Monts de Vaucluse and the Luberon massif.

From here, one can admire the dry stone houses cascading along the streets up to the church and the castle.

The village sits on the edge of a plateau made of  highly fossiliferous limestone sandstone known as “molasse” or “Pierre du Midi”. This rock was deposited in the Miocene sea around 20 million years ago, a warm, shallow sea stirred by currents. The spectacular oblique stratifications, oriented in various directions, are a testament to the underwater currents during the deposition of the molasse.

Perched Villages

With their stone facades often clustered around a church, castle, or tower, the numerous perched villages steeped in history are emblematic of the Luberon landscapes.

Gordes, Les Taillades, Lacoste, Bonnieux, Saignon, Saint-Martin-de-Castillon, and Forcalquier are representative of the perched villages on the edge of a molasse plateau, characteristic of the Luberon region.