Thanks (or no thanks) to Peter Mayle’s best-selling novel, “A Year in Provence”, the towns that he mentions in the book – Gordes, Menèrbes and Bonnieux – attract a large number of tourists, many of whom arrive in tour buses that barely fit through the streets of these villages.

The crush got so bad that in an interview with a travel magazine, Mayle admits that he and his wife had to leave the Luberon and move to the US to escape the tourists and journalists who were hounding him in Menèrbes.

There’s nothing ugly about these villages, in fact, they’re lovely except you can’t really see them in their full glory because the tacky souvenir shops have gotten in the way. There’s nothing truly special about them either. I call it the “St. Paul de Vence” effect after the town that used to be a beautiful medieval village not far from Nice, but is now nothing more than a collection of souvenir shops that happen to be located amidst medieval buildings. The pushing, shoving crowds really diminish whatever allure these places once had, especially in 35 degree weather.

Gordes is the most scenic of them because it clings to a rocky hill and the views from the village (and onto the village from a side road) are among the best in the Luberon. It also has a larger selection of expensive hotels and chambres d’hotes than most other villages, but then again, they’re not necessarily that special in terms of decor or ambiance. Of all the villages I visited, I hated Gordes the most because it was so horribly crowded. Bonnieux is a much better place to have lunch or a drink.