Roussillon

5 km from Joucas, 7 km from Goult, Gargas, 8 km from Lacoste, Murs, 9 km from Bonnieux, 10 km from Gordes, 11 km from Beaumettes, Saint Saturnin lès Apt, 12 km from Apt, Ménerbes, Buoux, 13 km from Villars

GPS : Longitude : 5.292778 E - Latitude : 43.903889 N
Altitude : 343 m
Population : 1190

Roussillon is officially ranked amongst France’s most beautiful villages, and is located in the heart of one of the world’s biggest ochre deposits. The many combinations of different oxides in the rock give roussillon's surroundings their distinctive colours, and are also used in building the walls of local houses.

What to see and visit: the parochial church of Saint-Michel, originally from the eleventh century; a tour of the ancient fortified walls, with their ogival passageway and nineteenth-century bell tower; the castle of Saint-Jean; the mill; the Conservatoire des Ocres et des Pigments appliqués, a museum tracing the history of Ochre housed in an old ochre factory.
Activities available: sentier des Ocres ('Ochre Trail') are taken on a journey of discovery to the Chaussée des Géants ('Giants Causeway'), passing a breathtaking succession of rocky tunnels and superb sites which have been forged over the centuries by wind, water and man.

Provençal market: Thursday morning. Festivities: Celebration of Ochre over the Ascension. Votive festival on the last Sunday in July. International festival of string quartets in summer. The cliffs are lit up during the summer months.