LUBERON · PROVENCE
A Week of Markets in the Luberon Which village, which morning, and how to shop like you live here Cover: the village of Gordes, which holds its market every Tuesday morning.
A W E E K O F M A R K E TS I N T H E LU B E RO N
In the Luberon, the week has a rhythm, and the markets set it. Every morning, somewhere within half an hour of Gordes, a village square fills with trestle tables, striped awnings and vans that left the farm before dawn. By one o'clock it's all packed away again, and the square goes back to pétanque and pigeons. This guide goes through the week day by day, separates the markets that run all year from the summer-only ones, and finishes with the small habits that make a market morning go well. One caution before we start: markets move, change hours and stop for the season, sometimes with little notice. The lists published by the Parc naturel régional du Luberon and Destination Luberon are the most reliable places to check before you set off.
Two kinds of market The traditional market (marché provençal) mixes everything: fruit and vegetables, cheese, olives, roast chickens, soap, baskets, table linen, sometimes clothes and shoes. Some sellers are farmers, many are traders who follow the market circuit around the region. The farmers' market (marché paysan or marché de producteurs) is stricter. Only people who grow, raise or make what they sell can have a stall. The Luberon park runs its own "Marchés paysans" label, and the very first of these markets was created at Coustellet in 1982. If you want to talk to the person who picked your apricots, these are the ones to look for.
The week, day by day Morning markets generally run from about 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Evening markets are noted. M O N D AY
T U E S D AY
• Cavaillon (morning, all year): a real town market, less pretty than the hill villages but full of locals. Cavaillon is the melon town, so come in summer for that.
• Gordes (morning, all year): stalls wind through the streets below the château. Very busy in summer. • Apt (morning, all year, about 8 a.m. to noon): the Tuesday farmers' market on the Cours Lauze de Perret, smaller and calmer than Apt's big Saturday.
• Lauris and Cadenet (morning), both on the southern side of the mountains.
• Cucuron, Saint-Saturnin-lès-Apt and La Tourd'Aigues (morning). • Lourmarin (evening, April to October): a producers' market at the Fruitière Numérique, from about 5 p.m. On some evenings from May, local chefs cook in front of the crowd. Exact hours change a little from year to year, so check the current listing.
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A W E E K O F M A R K E TS I N T H E LU B E RO N
W E D N E S D AY
T H U R S D AY
The quietest day of the week for markets in the villages around Gordes.
A big day. • Roussillon (morning): a small market with ochrered houses all around it. The full market runs from mid-March to the end of October; in winter only a handful of regular stalls stay.
• Viens (morning, roughly April to October), up in the hills east of Apt. • Coustellet (summer evenings, roughly 5 to 7 p.m.): a farmers' market that only runs in high summer. In 2026 it ran from 10 June to 2 September; the start date moves a little each year.
• L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (morning, all year): a big market spread along the canals, open early, from about 6 a.m. • Ménerbes, Saignon (roughly April to October) and Goult (roughly April to September): three small seasonal village markets.
• Rustrel (evening, roughly May to October).
• Lauris (evening, farmers' market, all year with shorter winter hours) and Cavaillon (evening producers' market, spring to late September). F R I D AY
S AT U R D AY
• Lourmarin (morning, all year): one of the bestknown markets in the region, so arrive early.
• Apt (morning, all year): the big one. The whole town centre turns into a market, and it's where people from the surrounding villages do their serious shopping.
• Bonnieux (morning, April to October): small, local, on the steep streets.
• Gordes (morning, December to March only): a small winter producers' market.
• Pertuis and Gargas (morning). • Les Taillades (evening producers' market, most of the year, with shorter hours in winter).
• Cadenet (morning, farmers' market, roughly April to October).
S U N D AY
• Coustellet (morning, roughly late March to late December): the original Luberon farmers' market, in the valley below Gordes. • L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (morning, all year): the food market, plus the antiques and second-hand stalls that the town is famous for. • Ansouis (morning) and Saint-Martin-de-laBrasque (farmers' market under the plane trees, from late April into the autumn; the end date varies between listings, so check before you go), on the south side.
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A W E E K O F M A R K E TS I N T H E LU B E RO N
All year or summer only? If you're coming outside the summer, these are the ones you can count on through the year: • Monday: Cavaillon • Tuesday: Gordes, Apt (farmers' market) • Thursday: L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (and a much smaller Roussillon) • Friday: Lourmarin • Saturday: Apt (and Gordes from December to March) • Sunday: L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue The small seasonal markets (Ménerbes, Goult, Saignon, Viens, Bonnieux) and most evening markets wind down in autumn and come back in spring. In winter, the year-round markets shrink too. Fewer stalls, more locals, and a much better chance of a real conversation.
What's on the tables, season by season • Spring: asparagus, the first strawberries, young goat's cheeses, cherries toward the end of May. • Summer: Cavaillon melons, tomatoes in every shape, apricots, peaches, garlic, courgette flowers, lavender honey. • Autumn: figs, grapes, chestnuts, wild mushrooms, the new season's quince and pumpkin. • Winter: citrus from further south, olives and new oil after the harvest, and the black truffle at certain markets. Seasons shift a little each year with the weather, so treat this as a rough guide.
How to shop a Provençal market Go early. By 8 or 9 a.m. the best fruit is still there, the sellers have time to talk, and you can park. By 11 a.m. in July, it's hot and crowded. Bring cash and a basket. Plenty of stalls take cards now, but not all, and small farmers often prefer coins. A basket or a sturdy bag beats a stack of plastic. Don't touch, point. At most fruit and vegetable stalls, the seller picks for you. Tell them when you plan to eat it ("for tonight" or "for Sunday") and they'll choose accordingly. Taste when offered, buy if you liked it. Tasting is part of the fun, but it isn't a free buffet. Say hello. A simple bonjour before you ask for anything goes a long way, every single time.
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Look for the farmers. At the traditional markets, signs saying producteur or the name of a farm help you find people selling their own crops. Plan where you'll park. On market mornings, village centres often close to cars. Use the car parks on the edge and walk in. Think about the heat. Cheese, butter and fish don't love a car in July. Bring a cool bag, or shop for those last.
The pool and gardens at Villa Hautvallon, near Gordes.
After the market The best part of a market morning is often what happens after it: a coffee on the square while the stalls come down, then lunch with whatever you couldn't resist buying. That's easy if you have a kitchen, and our self-catering cottage, the Clos de Manon, has one, along with its own pool. At our boutique guesthouse, Villa Hautvallon, a ten-minute walk from Gordes, guests don't cook, but we serve lunches at the house and can arrange a barbecue or bring in a private chef for the evening. Either way, the market is the best place to start the day.
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Villa Hautvallon Boutique guesthouse 10 min walk from Gordes, Provence · villa-hautvallon.com
The pool terrace and gardens at Villa Hautvallon, with the Luberon on the horizon.