Introduction

Our Canton is composed of six villages:
Bonnieux, Buoux, Lacoste, Ménerbes, Oppède and Sivergues

They cling to promontories on the steep north side of the Luberon range and dominate the valley of the Calavon with its with wooded slopes and ravines inter-spaced with vineyards and fields of lavender. Although they resemble each other, each has its own character, not forgetting the dramas that have affected its long history.
The four so called ‘perched’ villages of Bonnieux, Lacoste, Ménerbes and Oppède have looked out from one promontory to the other over the centuries and testify to the battles which took place between them in the 16C.

Buoux, at the heart of the Luberon, is a wild airy place with the enormous hulk of its fort, its graves and its prehistoric caves.

Sivergues an isolated and solitary village is where the Petit and the Grand Luberon meet at the ‘end of the world’

Luberon or Lubéron?

If you want to pass yourself off as a local, you say Luberon because in the provençal dialect the accent is not pronounced on the letter e.

The Luberon is a range of Provençal mountains which has given its name to the area as a whole. The region has a harmony which has given birth to the Natural Park of the Luberon, a sign that the inhabitants of this area recognise that they belong here.

The Luberon, covering 80km, rises up in the middle of the plain and is orientated from west to east.

The Aiguebrun is the only river which runs alongside the mountain, cutting deeply into the plateau of the Claparèdes. When you go across the ‘Coomb’ of Lourmarin you can see in the east the Grand (great ) Luberon and in the west the Petit (small) Luberon, two entities with distinctly different forms.

The Grand Luberon culminates in the Mourre Nègre, 1124 m above sea level, which has gentle but high slopes.

The Petit Luberon is around 700m above sea level and is more marked with ravines and gorges. It is a natural conservation area for a number of biotopes, flora and fauna, guaranteeing the biological richness of the Luberon.

 

Renseignements : Office de tourisme intercommunal du Canton de Bonnieux - 7, Place Carnot - 84480 Bonnieux - Tél. 04 90 75 91 90 - otibonnieux@wanadoo.fr