OPPÈDE-LE-VIEUX

This intriguing village, constructed on the north slope of the Luberon mountain, was the site of wars and invasions for years. Villagers vacated and relocated in a new village below, closer to their farms. The area was abandoned for many years. During World War II, artists and writers started to fill some of the houses again, but the village still retains a somewhat half-empty feeling. Wear good walking shoes and climb up the steep, roughly cobbled path past houses carved of stone, which feel lost in time. At the top sits a beautifully preserved Romanesque church, built in the 13th century and rebuilt in the 16th, along with the ruins of a 13th century fortress. From here the panoramic view across the valley and village below are magnificent. The village is pedestrian only, but there is a parking lot a few minutes’ walk from the village, in the Jardins de Sainte-Cécile. The footpath leads to the small town at the foot of the old village.