Holiday homes in Joucas

Joucas lies in the Vaucluse, on the foothills of the Monts de Vaucluse, between Gordes and Roussillon. The village is first mentioned in 1055 as Castrum Joucas and passed in the 13th century to the Knights Hospitaller of Saint John of Jerusalem, later the Order of Malta. From its hilltop position the view stretches across the plain to the Petit Luberon. Cobbled lanes, the calades, climb like staircases between old stone houses and flowery corners. Visit the 18th-century église Saint-Jean-Baptiste with its rich trompe-l'oeil interior, the old wash house and the late 19th-century windmill, recently restored. The lanes are also home to the monumental sculptures of the Labyrinthe d'art by Mieke Heybroek and Ulysse Plaud. Around the village grow grapes for the AOC Ventoux. In season a small weekly market brings together craftspeople and producers, and Gordes and Roussillon are only a few kilometres away.