L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue & Gordes
We visit three Provençal towns in one day: shopping in the center of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, strolling along the canals and walkways of L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, and taking in sunset views over dinner in Gordes.
Morning in Saint-Rémy
Wednesday is market day in Saint-Rémy, so Marianne and I began our morning with a bit of shopping in the town center. We gawked at pastries, tasted truffle spread, bought a bottle of wine, and purchased ceramics from an artisan who was closing shop for the season.
As I went to retrieve our car for the drive to L’Isle-sur-la-Sourgue, I walked past the carnival, in full swing for another day. I learned later that Les Fêtes Votives includes not just a street fair but bull races and processions of herd animals in the city center, but we saw only colored lights with food vendors, bumper cars, and games of chance.
L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue
We drove northeast from Saint-Rémy for a half hour before reaching L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, a market town known for its picturesque canals that branch away from the Sorgue River to encircle the old city. Some call it “the Venice of Provence.”
Waterwheels along the canals once powered mills making silk, corn, wheat, paper, wool, rugs, and more. Fourteen waterwheels remain along L'Isle’s canals, but today the town is known for its antique shops, flea markets, and art galleries. It’s a perfect place to shop and stroll on a sunny day.
La Collegiale Notre Dame des Anges sits at the center of the old city. Originally built in 1222, the church was renovated in the Italian Baroque style in the 17th century. Its austere exterior did not prepare us for the beauty inside as sunlight splashed dramatically across frescoes, statues, sculpted woodwork, and some of the 222 angels accompanying the Virgin to heaven.
We continued our promenade through the pleasant shopping streets and began to consider our plan for lunch. I had scouted the restaurants in L’Isle weeks before, perusing menus and setting pins on maps to represent our best options. But the breezy day, light on fixed schedules and full of wandering, led us instead to Le Beer’s Chope (“The Beer’s Mug”), a simple spot along the river where we enjoyed charcuterie and beers.
Afterwards, we completed our circuit of the old town, ambling back along the main canal toward our car.
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque
We made a brief stop back in Saint-Rémy to dress for the evening, then headed east, eventually passing our dinner destination in Gordes to reach Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque, a Cistercian monastery nestled into a charming mountain valley. Founded in 1148, the southern part of the monastery and its archives were destroyed in 1544 during a precursor to the country’s Wars of Religion between Protestants and Catholics. The abbey was sold as state property following the French Revolution, then restored in 1854. Today, it is best known for the fields of lavender that extend more than a hundred yards from the abbey but, sadly, were not in bloom during our visit.
A small monastic community remains at Sénanque. We walked the quiet grounds, hearing only the buzzing of beehives well-situated near the lavender. As the sun set beyond the enveloping hills, singing commenced from a chapel near the back of the abbey — evening prayers delivered through lovely, meditative, devotional voices.
Gordes
We backtracked along the hilltops to Gordes, a village with a commanding view of the Luberon Valley. Gordes was occupied by Romans and invaded by Arabs before its château was constructed in 1031. The castle remains on the very hilltop at the center of the city after numerous restorations. The village was also a cauldron of Nazi resistance during World War II, resulting in destructive reprisals and 13 deaths.
We parked our car and walked a short distance down a winding cobblestone lane to an Asian-themed restaurant called Tigrr, our dinner choice for the night. The food was outstanding — crispy veggie rolls, king pao chicken dumplings, and green chicken curry — but we came in particular for Tigrr’s broad terrace and stunning sunset view.
A DJ arrived as night fell over the lively scene on the terrace. We made our exit and began our descent toward Saint-Rémy.