PROVENCE - France 2014 - page 1047

Cost and Hours: €7, with or without the French-only tour (mandatory Feb-Oct after
11:00), tours offered Mon-Sat usually at 10:10, 10:30, 14:30, 15:30, and 16:30; Sun at
14:30, 15:30, and 16:30; more tours June-Sept; tel. [phone], www.senanque.fr . Ap-
propriate clothing is required for entry—shoulders and knees must be covered. You can
also attend Mass (Mon-Sat at 11:45, Sun at 10:00, check website or call to confirm).
Joucas
This understated, quiet, and largely overlooked village slumbers below the Gordes buzz.
Vertical stone lanes with carefully arranged flowers and well-restored homes play host to
aspiring Claude Monets and a smattering of locals. Joucas has one tiny grocery, a view
café, one pharmacy, a good kids' play area, and several good-value accommodation op-
tions. Sleep here for a central location and utter silence. For views, walk past the little
fountain in the center and up the steep lanes as high as you want. Several hiking trails
leave from Joucas. Gordes and Roussillon are each three miles away, uphill. The three-
mile hike up to the attractive village of Murs (which has several cafés/restaurants) is more
scenic, though it's easier in the other direction (yellow signs point the way from the top of
the village). You don't have to go far to enjoy the natural beauty on this trail.
Sleeping and Eating in Joucas: $$$ La Ferme de la Huppe*** has a Gordes ad-
dress, but it's closer, physically and spiritually, to Joucas. This small farmhouse-elegant
hacienda makes an excellent mini-splurge. Eleven rooms gather on two levels behind the
stylishpool.Thedecoristasteful,understated,andrustic(Db-€170,muchbiggerDb-€215,
includes good breakfast buffet, mini-fridges, air-con, Wi-Fi; between Joucas and Gordes
on D-156 road to Goult, just off D-2; tel. [phone], www.lafermedelahuppe.com ,
[e-mail] ) . The restaurant has an excellent reputation (notice the shelf
of French cookery books at reception). Dine poolside or in the smart dining room (lunch-
€17-28, dinner-€42 seasonal ever-changing three-course menu or €62 five-course tasting
menu, closed all day Sun and Mon at lunch).
$$$ Le Mas du Loriot, a 10-minute drive up from town, is another worthwhile
value near Joucas. Gentle owners Alain and Christine have carved the ideal escape out
of an olive grove, with eight soothing rooms, private terraces, a generous pool, and
home-cooked dinners—all at fair prices and with a view to remember (Sb/Db with view
and terrace-€135-150, Sb/Db sans view and smaller terrace-€135, request a view room,
Nov-March-€70-115, pricey breakfast-€13, €40 four-course dinners available 4 nights a
week—when half-pension is a smart idea, guest computer, Wi-Fi; on D-102 between Jou-
cas and Murs, turn left onto dirt road and another left at yellow wall with sign; tel. 04 90
72 62 62, www.masduloriot.com , [e-mail] ).