Bonnieux

Population: 1,190 inhabitants Inhabitants: Les Bonnieulais

Altitude: 420 meters Market: Friday 8am-1pm

Want to learn more about the beautiful village of Bonnieux? Read on …

Bonnieux is a beautiful perched village located between the Grand and the Petit Luberon, opposite the village of Lacoste. Bonnieux being very steep, the views are magnificent everywhere. It is nicknamed "Le Mont Saint Michel Provençal" thanks to its "high" church which dominates the village. It is by traversing its steep alleys that remarkable residences, village houses, vestiges of ramparts, fountains and washhouses. Bonnieux conceals many treasures and reveals beautiful surprises. It is also highly appreciated for its friendliness and authenticity, which you can enjoy on the restaurant terraces. From the aperitif on the terrace, to the flowered balcony, through the exchanges between neighbors and the famous traditional market of the village, here, life is sweet.

Every Friday morning, the Place du Terrail in the center of the village is filled with stalls. You will discover the know-how of our craftsmen and the originality of their creations as well as local producers. Every year, during the Easter weekend, the village hosts a pottery market where craftsmen come to exhibit their work and offer unique works. Bonnieux is a village steeped in history. In the plain, at the bottom of the village, you can see the illustrious Pont Julien.

Located 5 kilometers from the village, the Pont Julien is a Roman built bridge located on the route of the Via Domitia, the great Roman road that linked Italy and Spain via the Narbonnaise Province. Its construction was completed in the year 3 BC, it has withstood time, history and the many floods of the Calavon. Its state of preservation makes it the most beautiful Roman bridge in Provence. In 2005 a new bridge was built next to it in order to allow traffic and to protect this magnificent monument bequeathed by the Romans.

If you like nature walks, you will find in Bonnieux the majestic Foret des Cèdres. Easily accessible by car from Bonnieux by a narrow road which dominates the valley of the Pays d'Apt, this magnificent cedar forest is located on the crest of the Petit Luberon between the villages of Bonnieux and Lacoste. Ambitious foresters wanted to reforest the plateau of the Petit Luberon, which until then had been exploited for sheep grazing. In 1861, the site was sown with cedar seeds from the Algerian Atlas. This variety, known to be resistant to drought and fires and of great longevity, corresponded perfectly to the environment of the Petit Luberon. It was a real success, the cedars fully integrated and reproduced over the years. Covering an area of more than 250 hectares, this vast forest offers magnificent walks and beautiful views of the Durance and Luberon valleys as well as the other surrounding mountains.

On the practical side, the village has a kindergarten as well as a primary school, several mini-markets and grocery stores, a pharmacy, a post office and a police station. On the leisure side, the village has a tennis club, a football stadium, a dance school, numerous restaurants gites and Bed & Breakfast.

Everything you need to live and have fun all year round. Bonnieux is also a film star: the village appears in several audiovisual productions, including: Swimming Pool by François Ozon, shot mainly in the neighboring village of Ménerbes, but some sequences of which are shot in Bonnieux; A year in Provence, BBC TV series adapted from the eponymous book by Peter Mayle, partially shot in Bonnieux; A Good Year by Ridley Scott, based on a novel by Peter Mayle, shot at Château La Canorgue, wine domain near the village of Bonnieux; the third episode of the first season of the British series Absolutely Fabulous shot partly in Bonnieux, where Edwina and Patsy come to stay; one of the five sequences of Faces, villages by Agnès Varda and JR is shot in Bonnieux.

To resume, a village where life is good, views and sunsets are amazing, a real walk into an alive movie set.