Death in Provence

Travel Guide

Provence – Luberon Valley

When you come to the valley to get away from it all and enjoy the new life, you do expect a crumbling farmhouse and the quietness but not the murder! No, not the murder.

The valley seems idyllic:

“Penelope had been energized by the cloudless blue skies of the south of France”

“The Cote d’Azur had long since become summer, but the Luberon valley was charming, Penelope had visited this area of Provence many times during the course of her marriage and had always been able to relaxing its sunny friendliness.”

“Churches and crumbling fortresses and narrow streets had the slumbering feel of the warm south and the orchards and vineyards below promised a land of plenty. The pace of life seemed more relaxed, less full of braying expats..”

The  farmhouse itself:

Voila Le Chant D’Eau. the name of the property is The Song of the Water. It is an old farm”

“The property was  decrepit. A couple of substantial outbuildings were suffocating under thick ivy. The two-storey farmhouse itself was built of pale stone in the traditional style. The wooden window shutters were flaking lavender coloured paint.”

It’s located in the fictional but very nice sounding valley of Saint Merlot!

Authors Trail Tips:

Apt is the market town of the region, with Roman origins visible in the amphitheatre under its medieval centre. On Saturday mornings, it has a huge market that has taken place in the narrow street and squares every week for 800 years. The ultimate Provençal market, full of the scents of lavender products and Savon de Marseille, goats’ cheeses, olives, tapenades, spit-roasting chickens, linens, tablecloths, pottery and magnificent displays of seasonal fruit and vegetables.

Saignon overlooks Apt from a fortress-like cliff. It has a gorgeous main street that looks like a set from a 1950s French film, and some sweet little restaurants.

Gordes is the queen of the Luberon perched villages, and often described as one of the most beautiful in France. In summer, it’s home to holidaying French politicans, showbusiness stars and Paris Match photographers. Nearly is the Abbaye de Senanque, the monastery that features on a hundred postcards, with its iconic rows of lavender up to the door and all around.

Bonnieux and Lacoste face each other from separate hills, sacred and profane: Bonnieux with its churches, the largest on the summit, another at the foot of the village; Lacoste with its ruined castle, once the home of the notorious Marquis de Sade, now owned by Paris designer Pierre Cardin, who stages operas there during festival time in the summer.