A one-week loop from Avignon: Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, the hilltop villages of the Luberon, the ochres of Roussillon and Rustrel, the lavandin of the Valensole plateau, then Les Baux and Saint-Rémy in the Alpilles. The drives are short; what matters is the paid parking in every village and the summer heat.
| Days | Stop | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Avignon | Start |
| Day 2 | Gordes | 51 km · 1h15 |
| Day 3 | Roussillon | 10 km · 15 min |
| Day 4 | Lourmarin | 42 km · 50 min |
| Day 5 | Valensole | 63 km · 1h15 |
| Days 6 to 7 | Saint-Rémy-de-Provence | 116 km · 1h45 |
| Day 8 | Back to Avignon | 23 km · 30 min |
Road route calculated from the stops (OpenStreetMap). Driving times assume no stops and no traffic: add time for photo breaks.
May-June and September: bearable heat and quieter villages. Lavandin flowers from mid-June to mid-July on the Valensole plateau, and lavender around Sénanque in July; from 15 June to 15 September, access to the hills depends on the wildfire risk. In winter, the Sentier des Ocres closes until early February.
🚗 51 km · 1h15 of driving from Avignon
D900 towards L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, a detour via Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, then the D25 and D2. On Tuesday morning, market day, avoid driving through Gordes.
🚗 10 km · 15 min of driving from Gordes
The D102 along the hillside, a quarter of an hour. Paid car parks at the village entrance, to keep cars out of the centre.
🚗 42 km · 50 min of driving from Roussillon
Luberon back roads via Ménerbes, Lacoste and Bonnieux, then the Combe de Lourmarin (D943), the gap between the Petit and Grand Luberon.
🚗 63 km · 1h15 of driving from Lourmarin
D56 via Cucuron, D27 and D956 via La Bastide-des-Jourdans, then Manosque and the D6 onto the plateau. No tolls.
🚗 116 km · 1h45 of driving from Valensole
D6 to Manosque, the toll A51 to Pertuis, then along the Durance to Orgon and the D99. Without tolls: 20 minutes longer.
🚗 23 km · 30 min of driving from Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
Spend two nights in Gordes, visiting Roussillon and Sénanque as day trips, and skip Valensole outside the lavandin season: from Lourmarin, the D973 takes you to Saint-Rémy in an hour. Nights: Avignon 1, Gordes 2, Lourmarin 1, Saint-Rémy 1.
| Car hire only, July | ≈ €61 a day |
|---|---|
| Car hire only, January | ≈ €38 a day |
| Small car, average | ≈ €51 a day (Kayak Avignon, Sept. 2026) |
| Your own car | The simplest option. No low-emission zone (ZFE) listed in Avignon; only one toll motorway on the loop, the A51. |
|---|---|
| Vehicle | A small car: narrow lanes in the hilltop villages, and Avignon's underground car parks limited to 1.90 m in height. |
| Where to pick it up | In Avignon, in town or at the TGV station. It is a loop, so no one-way fee. |
| Age | With Europcar, from 18 with 1 year's driving experience; under 26, €40 a day extra. |
⚠️ July costs ≈ €61 a day in Avignon against €38 in January: lavandin week comes at a much higher price, so book early.
Vaucluse and Bouches-du-Rhône stay at 80; 90 on 4% of roads in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Motorways 130.
Gordes €8 for up to 4 hours, Les Baux €5 for the first hour, Roussillon paid at the entrance.
Green, yellow, red or extreme red level each day: check the prefecture's map before hiking.
0.2 g/l on a probationary licence. Up to 0.8 g/l: €135 and 6 penalty points; above that, a criminal offence.
Italiens (1,454 spaces) and Île Piot (1,100), with a free shuttle to the centre.
Car parks at the entrance, payment by PrestoPark or PayByPhone; card theft reported at the pay machines.
From May to August, cars by online booking in the morning; no booking needed from 13:00.
Unmarked camera cars driven by private contractors. Radar detectors are banned: up to €1,500 and 6 penalty points.
Avignon and the Luberon have no listed low-emission zone (ZFE); Marseille and Toulon do. Crit'Air sticker €3.85.
Probationary licence: 110 on motorways, 100 on expressways, 80 elsewhere.
≈ €2.15 a litre for unleaded SP95-E10, €2.39 for diesel (24 Sept. 2026)
Price recorded in September 2026: it changes every week, sometimes by 10 to 20 cents in a month. Today's price: prix-carburants.gouv.fr →
⛽ 305 km at 7 l per 100 km: about €50 at September 2026 prices, to share between passengers.
National daily averages. Prices vary widely between stations: compare on prix-carburants.gouv.fr before filling up.
| A7 from Lyon | Toll; Lyon-Marseille €28.10 as of 1 February 2026, Avignon is on the way |
|---|---|
| A51 Manosque-Pertuis | Toll, fare for this section not published; avoidable via the D956 |
| Luberon and Alpilles roads | Free |
| Avignon park-and-ride (Italiens, Île Piot) | Free, free shuttle |
| Palais des Papes underground car park | €19.30 for 24 hours outside July-August |
| Gordes car park | 30 minutes free, €8 for up to 4 hours, €10 for up to 11 hours, €30 beyond |
| Les Baux-de-Provence car parks | €5 for the first hour, €1 for the second, then €0.50 an hour |
| Colorado provençal, parking and entry | €8 per car from May to September, €6 out of season |
| Palais des Papes and Pont d'Avignon | €19.50, palace only €16 |
| Sénanque Abbey | €8, €4 for ages 6 to 17 |
| Sentier des Ocres | €3.50, free under 10 |
| Carrières des Lumières | €16.50; with Les Baux castle €21 |
| Glanum | €9, free under 26 |
| Luberon and Monts de Vaucluse hills | Access depends on the wildfire risk, from 15 June to 15 September |
|---|---|
| Sentier des Ocres | Open from 7 February to 31 December; closed in heavy rain |
| Colorado provençal | Mornings: cars by booking only from May to August |
| Gordes | Tuesday morning: market, driving through the village not advised |
| Sénanque Abbey | On Sundays, afternoon visits only |
Allow a week for this loop of 6 stages and 7 nights from Avignon: Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, Gordes, Roussillon, the Luberon villages, Lourmarin, the Valensole plateau, then Les Baux and Saint-Rémy. The drives are short, often under an hour, two at most. In 5 days, skip Valensole.
In your own car, the loop is about 300 km: around €50 of fuel at September 2026 prices (7 litres per 100 km), plus the A51 and parking, €5 to €10 per village. With a hire car from Avignon, allow about €490 for 8 days in July (€61 a day), €300 in January.
On the Valensole plateau, lavandin flowers from mid-June to mid-July; the light is best at sunrise and sunset. Around Sénanque Abbey, near Gordes, flowering peaks in July. Higher up, in the Verdon, it lasts from early July to mid-August.
In Gordes, parking is paid every day from 08:00 to 19:00: 30 minutes free, €8 for up to 4 hours, €10 for up to 11 hours. On Tuesday morning, the market makes everything harder. In Les Baux, a village closed to cars, the car parks cost €5 for the first hour, €1 for the second, then €0.50 an hour.
Yes, but from 15 June to 15 September access to the Luberon and Monts de Vaucluse hills depends on that day's wildfire risk. Green or yellow: access allowed, set off in the morning. Red: access banned except at exempted sites. Extreme red: everything is closed. Check the prefecture's map or call +33 4 28 31 77 11 the day before.
At the free park-and-ride car parks: Italiens (1,454 spaces) and Île Piot (1,100 spaces), linked to the centre by a free shuttle. Inside the ramparts, street parking is paid from 09:00 to 19:00, Monday to Saturday, limited to 4 hours. The underground car parks refuse vehicles taller than 1.90 m.
Driving rules, prices and closures checked in September 2026; hotels checked on OpenStreetMap and then on Booking. Rules change: read the official source before you leave, and check your own government's travel advice for the country. Stop photos: Wikimedia Commons, authors and licences under each image.
Off We Gooo road trip guide · offwegooo.com/en/road-trips/provence · by Pierrick, updated 1 October 2026
