Hilltop villages, ramparts, Romanesque chapels and a château: the villages of Mont Ventoux have kept their character.
Photo: Antoine Sougné, Unsplash
Around Mont Ventoux, every village has kept its character: flower-lined lanes, ramparts, Romanesque chapels, belfries and a château. Here are the ones worth the detour, and what to see there.
On 13 July 1967, during the Tour de France, British world champion Tom Simpson collapsed one kilometre from the summit and did not survive. A memorial stone marks the spot. It has become a place of pilgrimage: cyclists leave bottles, caps and little notes there.
Practical info. On the road to the summit from Bédoin (D974), about 1 km before the top.
Built between 1708 and 1736 at the top of the village, the Église Saint-Pierre has a Jesuit-style façade, rare in the region. You reach it through the lanes of old Bédoin, with a lovely view over the plain and the vineyards.
Practical info. In the old village, on foot from the centre.
From Monieux, a path leads down to the bottom of the Gorges de la Nesque to a small Romanesque chapel tucked beneath a rock shelter. The river, almost always dry, seeps into the limestone: you walk along its bed, between the cliffs. The wildest way to discover the canyon.
Practical info. Starts from Monieux (lake). About 2 hrs there and back, or a loop of about 8 km (3.5 hrs, 366 m of ascent). From 15 June to 15 September, check access to the hills the day before (fire risk). Find out more ↗
Just outside Malaucène, on the road up Mont Ventoux, a spring gushes out at the foot of a cliff more than 100 m high: it is the second-largest resurgence in the Vaucluse after Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, tapped by the Romans to supply Vaison-la-Romaine. Close by, the Romanesque chapel of Notre-Dame-du-Groseau was once a summer residence of Pope Clement V.
Practical info. Free access all year, car park and picnic area: a cool spot in summer. The chapel, closed to the public, can be seen from outside. Waymarked 5.4 km loop from the village. Find out more ↗
At the foot of Mont Ventoux, this long, narrow lake is held back by a dam built between 1764 and 1766, one of the oldest large dams in France still in use. Surrounded by pines and olive trees, facing the Dentelles and Mont Ventoux, it is perfect for a stroll, a picnic or some fishing.
Practical info. Free access, picnic tables. Fishing regulated (permit required). No supervised swimming: for a family swim, choose the plan d'eau des Salettes lake instead. Find out more ↗
Set on a hillock facing Mont Ventoux, this small fortified village takes its name from a comrade-in-arms of Henri IV. In the lanes: remains of ramparts and their gates, a 17th-century belfry with a wrought-iron bell cage and the Romanesque church of Saint-Romain.
Practical info. Explore freely on foot. Small market on Saturday morning. Find out more ↗
This 12th-century fortress, turned into a Renaissance residence, overlooks the Comtat plain facing Mont Ventoux. Burnt down in 1944 and then restored, it is open to visitors: halls, terraces, loggia, spiral staircases and a chapel with 18th-century wall paintings.
Practical info. Open every day from May to September, with a lunch break the rest of the year; closed in January. Paid entry, reduced for children. Find out more ↗
Perched above the Toulourenc valley, this hamlet of barely a hundred inhabitants faces the north side of Mont Ventoux, the steepest. Cobbled lanes, vaulted passageways, a wash house and the ruins of a medieval castle: one of the finest balconies overlooking the Giant.
Practical info. Park at the bottom of the village, then explore on foot. Combine with the Gorges du Toulourenc. Find out more ↗
A large church in Provençal Gothic style consecrated in 1420, about fifty metres long. Its fortified bell tower also served as a watchtower; inside, an organ dating from 1701. It is a listed historic monument.
Practical info. Free entry. Combine with the Tuesday morning market and the lac du Paty. Find out more ↗
In Mazan cemetery, 62 Christian sarcophagi from the 5th and 6th centuries are lined up along the boundary wall. Within the grounds, the chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Pareloup has 11th-century walls. A surprising and peaceful place.
Practical info. Free access, on the plateau north-east of the town. Find out more ↗
Begun in the late 13th century, Saint-Michel church is credited to Pope Clement V, who spent his summers close by, at the Groseau. It was never finished and was fortified in the 14th and 16th centuries: its machicolation can still be seen on the west front. A listed historic monument, it guards the entrance to the old village, where the poet Petrarch spent three nights in 1336 before climbing the Ventoux.
Good to know. On the edge of the old village, a stone's throw from the Cours des Isnards. Explore the village freely, on foot. Find out more ↗
A castle once stood above the old village; it was taken down stone by stone in the 18th century and replaced by three crosses. A cobbled path lined with thirteen small shrines climbs to this quiet, green hilltop, with a view over the red-tiled roofs and the village's monuments.
Good to know. On foot from the old village, up the cobbled path. Free access. Find out more ↗
AOC Ventoux wines, muscat, cherries, lavender and truffles: the Ventoux country is one to savour.
Gorges, springs, ridges and forests, from a one-hour stroll to a hike to the summit.
The three roads to the summit, kilometre by kilometre, with routes and GPX files.
Lifeguarded swimming, treetop adventures, a river to walk up, a resort that stays cool in summer.
Every day has its market: the weekly calendar, village by village.
Places checked on 29/09/2026. Find them all on the map.