Roussillon

About Roussillon

This beautiful village in Provence, nestled between the Vaucluse and Lubéron, offers traditional Mediterranean buildings of warm terracotta housing a friendly, welcoming way of life.

Roussillon a historical village

The landscape of Roussillon has been sculpted through the heavy mining of ochre, a red clay previously used for dying clothes. This reached its height at the beginning of the 20^th century, but was abandoned after the invention of synthetic colours.

You can still go on the Ochre Trail for a very affordable 2.5 euros per person. The Conservatory of Ochre and Colour is also open to visitors.

Roussillon a cultural village

Roussillon has remained close to its cultural roots, celebrating a number of traditional festivals and events throughout the year. The Saint Jean bonfire is a popular event, where local people gather around the tremendous fire enjoying local produce. As well as this, the 'La Foulée des Ocres' is a comical foot race that brings everyone out for a friendly, non-competitive race, showing the truly fun side of the village's people.

In the 1950s a famous American sociologist visited the place in the Provence region with his family and was so awe-inspired by life in the village, he wrote 'A Village in the Vaucluse,' telling stories about the interactions between the village people in their day-to-day lives.