During his presidency half a century in the past, François Mitterrand had a discreet village hideaway in-built Provence’s Luberon Valley, the place he would spend holidays holed up together with his secret second household.
In distinction to the 18th-century opulence of the Élysée Palace, the stone home was small and easy—extra nation cottage than luxurious villa. It was at this cozy refuge that Mitterrand, his longtime mistress, Anne Pingeot, and later, their daughter Mazarine, would whereas away the scorching summer time days, protected from the scrutiny of the press. So intent was the previous president on holding the little home a secret, that it was reportedly off-limits even to his bodyguards.
The clandestine presidential love nest was positioned in Gordes—a tiny perched village with stone homes the colour of pale sand and a tangle of slender, cobbled alleys main as much as a medieval chateau. The city was so off the radar that Mitterrand may freely stroll the streets with out being came upon. On the events villagers did acknowledge the top of state, (who generally strolled together with his daughter in tow) they stayed mum.
“What’s humorous is that François Mitterrand may stroll round Gordes incognito with a easy hat and sun shades,” French journalist and creator Pierrick Geais advised Madame Figaro. “Folks acknowledged him, requested him who the little woman was, however nobody requested additional questions.”
He added: “At this time with social media, that might be not possible.”
He’s proper, after all, however nowadays it isn’t solely Twitter and Instagram that might hinder a French president’s try at duplicitous summertime dalliances. For the reason that days of Mitterrand’s presidency, the village of simply 2,000 individuals has advanced from an unknown hamlet to some of the sought-after stopovers in Provence. Certainly, few French cities have been the topic of as a lot media hype in recent times as Gordes, which makes common appearances in “prettiest villages in France” listicles on each side of the Atlantic.
A lot of the village’s modern-day reputation will be traced again to the late Peter Mayle’s wildly in style love letter to the area, A 12 months in Provence. Though Mayle lived a couple of 20-minute drive away in neighboring Ménerbes, Gordes made a few appearances in his best-selling circa-1989 memoir. Since then, vacationers started flocking to the world in droves searching for the sun-soaked landscapes and the bucolic, lavender-scented belle vie that the British author evoked within the ebook.
Mazarine Pingeot nonetheless spends summers on the little home that her father in-built Gordes, however nowadays she isn’t its solely high-profile resident. Fugitive movie auteur Roman Polanski is rumored to have a house within the village, and Ridley Scott, whose frothy comedy-drama based mostly on Mayle’s eponymous novel A Good 12 months, owns a winery about eight miles to the south. So quite a few are the wealthy and well-known who descend on the village each summer time, that Paris Match lately referred to Gordes as “the village of the jet-set stylish.”
Earlier this yr, Gordes snagged the primary spot in an article in Journey + Leisure’s rating of essentially the most lovely small cities on the planet, leading to extra international media protection lauding its medieval structure and, as one French way of life and tradition web site put it, “unmatched allure.”
“A veritable postcard panorama,” was how France TV put it, crediting the city’s superstar to slender passageways, white stone homes, a chateau, and a church which are “emblematic of a typical Provençal village.”
Relatively than igniting my curiosity, the myriad superlatives had me feeling barely skeptical throughout the drive from Avignon to Gordes just a few weeks in the past. The “world’s most lovely village,” is lots to stay as much as, and I’m all the time a bit cautious of locations with a great deal of hype hooked up to them. Apart from, anywhere that’s globally well-known is definite to draw huge crowds. A stroll by way of Montmartre (the place I stay) or Venice on the peak of vacationer season is extra claustrophobic than romantic, no matter what number of celebrities could also be lurking throughout the tsunami of tourists.
“A basic village fruit and vegetable retailer with prospects in Gordes.
Getty Photographs
I arrived in Avignon final month to brisk winds and grey skies, and as I made my technique to the village, the Insta-worthy panorama of cypress timber and fields of vivid crimson poppies appeared barely morose and misplaced beneath an opaque cover of clouds as an alternative of the famed Provençal sunshine. Then issues obtained even weirder.
“One thing, one thing rocks and monkeys,” the driving force introduced as we approached Gordes, snapping me out of my reverie and filling me with confusion laced with a surge of adrenaline. I’ve had an uncommon phobia of monkeys since childhood, and the thought of them anyplace close to the automotive, not to mention on the point of hurl rocks in our route, was sufficient for my struggle or flight response to kick into excessive gear.
“The monkey rock,” he mentioned once more, gesturing to our left the place, thank God, a line of phone-wielding vacationers, not primates, stood gathered earlier than a craggy lookout. From a distance, the row of heads peering over the boulders did evoke curious simians, and it was simple to see how the scenic spot obtained its title. What they didn’t know, he defined, was that there was one other lesser-known lookout close by that not solely had higher views however was freed from crowds.
He was proper. The opposite lookout, located a bit additional down from the rocher des singes was abandoned, which allowed me to absorb my first views of the city with out having to fret about being jostled by fellow guests vying for the proper shot. And despite the fact that I had seen footage of the village, the sight of the imposing, rocky hill with its nautilus-shaped maze of stone homes and fortified citadel on the summit had a wow-factor that images merely can’t seize.
The “monkey rock” and the “locals’ lookout,” I might later uncover, are one among many dichotomies in a village that has skilled myriad incarnations over the centuries and possesses a formidable and indefatigable resilience. No matter historical past has thrown at it—invading Huguenots, earthquakes, or Nazi bombardments—Gordes has managed to rise from the proverbial ashes and start anew.
“In summer time, there are two Gordes, similar to there are two Provences,” Le Figaro noticed some years in the past, referring to the distinction between the cool mornings and the searing noon warmth. However there are additionally two Gordes all year long (in winter, the village is reportedly abandoned) and all through historical past, and I used to be additionally struck by how a spot that’s presently lauded for its pure magnificence and serenity has a previous rooted in centuries of tumult.
After I arrived on the town, an annual literary competition was winding down and college holidays had been in full swing, so the streets had been busy however not overwhelmingly so. Pedestrians walked in single file alongside a slender sidewalk lined with stone buildings the colour of sun-bleached bone, and a tent had been arrange in entrance of the chateau that was manned by writers flanked by stacks of books prepared for signing.
A view of the Abbey of Senanque in Gordes, Provence, France.
Franco Origlia
Gordes dates again to Roman occasions, however the village as we all know it emerged throughout the eleventh century when its chateau and fortifications had been constructed. The neighboring Abbey de Senanque was constructed about 100 years later, however its low-lying place was an obstacle throughout the brutal Wars of Faith that raged within the latter a part of the sixteenth century throughout which the Huguenots raided the monastery and murdered most of the monks. Closely fortified Gordes, nevertheless, resisted the assault from its strategic hilltop place because it had resisted different aggressions since its inception. The chateau underwent a Renaissance-style transform within the early-1500s, and when it’s not internet hosting readings from the French literary set, it homes the city corridor and an exhibition house devoted to works by modern Twentieth-century artists (and onetime residents of Gordes) Pol Mara and Victor Vasarely.
Airelles Gordes, La Bastide served as my dwelling throughout my keep, and the property can be simple to overlook had been it not for an unobtrusive signal hooked up to the façade and a big picket door that jogged my memory of a set piece from a Shakespearean drama. Perched on medieval ramparts, the core of the constructing dates again to the sixteenth century, however the remaining was added on some two-hundred years later. The Christophe Tollemer-designed inside has a chic, nation manor-style ambiance and is stuffed with 18th-century furnishings that had been sourced from the vintage markets at close by l’Isle-sur-la Sorgue.
“Like a fairytale” appears so cliched, however there are points of the lodge that nonetheless appear to have tumbled out of the pages of a luxurious fable. Possibly it’s the considerably foolish but whimsical 18th-century-style apparel of the attentive workers, who bustled about like a coterie of fairy godmothers (and godfathers), or my spacious room with the paisley wallcoverings, ridiculously comfy mattress, and Alice in Wonderland-esque assortment candy treats ready on the espresso desk, together with blue and tan Ladurée macarons that matched the colour scheme of the couch. Or perhaps it was the huge breakfast buffet that spilled throughout two rooms and had sufficient muffins, pastries, and crepes to rival the sugar-laden daydreams of my childhood.
The partitions are adorned with stern-faced 18th-century oil portraits whose eyes appeared to observe me generally, and plush animal heads are mounted trophy-like alongside the hall resulting in the youngsters membership as if a trigger-happy hunter had gone on a safari at FAO Schwarz. This sort of barely zany magnificence provides a contact of playfulness to the expertise—virtually such as you’re visiting the summer time dwelling of a complicated, but eccentric aunt—and after a protracted day of metros, trains, and automotive journeys, it’s simple to sink into a comfortable sofa on the parlor-like bar and unwind over tea (or one thing stronger) in entrance of the hearth, which is strictly what I did.
It’s the views that take the enchanted mansion ambiance up a notch, although, and whether or not I used to be watching the dawn from my room or feasting on trendy Provençal delicacies on the terrace of Clover Gordes, the sight of the sprawling Luberon Valley dotted with pointy cypress timber and previous stone buildings was nothing wanting cinematically lovely. The Emily in Paris manufacturing designers apparently felt equally, as a result of Clover Gordes and its scenic terrace stood in for the L’Esprit de Luberon restaurant in season 3 of the favored sequence.
A much less stylish, however traditionally wealthy spot to absorb the view is on the Cercle Républicain—an unassuming cafe-bar that’s a fast stroll from the lodge and was a hotbed for covert exercise many years earlier than Mitterrand’s secret home existed. It was based in 1912—simply three years after a strong earthquake struck the area and broken or destroyed quite a few buildings—and was one among 1000’s of its type all through the nation.
These members-only institutions initially functioned as native assembly spots to guard the values of the French Republic from the specter of the church and any royalists who had been nonetheless pining for the times of the courtroom of Versailles. Within the early Forties, when France was dealing with a brand new and extra horrifying menace, Resistance members would collect right here and collude towards the Nazi occupation. The Cercle Républicain in Gordes is one among only a handful left in France and stays a favourite native hang-out.
After I walked in, a 60-something girl behind the bar was shouting at an older gentleman to “shut your mouth” in a tone that prompt that this sort of banter between the proprietors and native patrons was pretty commonplace. A crude signal dangling close to the doorway listed the present president, vice-president, and treasurer, and in addition to the charge for each day and annual membership playing cards—20 centimes and €6 respectively—however the coverage didn’t appear to be closely enforced as a result of the brusque madame behind the counter simply took my drink order with out asking any questions. In a sparsely-decorated again room, a younger man was strumming a guitar and the small terrace outdoors was crowded with individuals sipping late-afternoon beers or glasses of rosé and gazing out on the sprawling Luberon Valley.
When French Resistance fighters weren’t plotting towards the Nazis over beers, they had been making use of the underground tunnels on the Caves du Palais Saint Firmin. Simply two minutes from the Cercle Républicain, this fascinating warren of underground cellars dates again to the Center Ages, and was found within the late-Seventies throughout the restoration of a Renaissance-era mansion.
Apparently, even again within the medieval period there have been two Gordes—one above floor and one beneath. Whereas the inhabitants lived aboveground, enterprise and commerce had been carried out underground. The caves protected the employees from the summer time warmth and the violent mistral winds, and remnants of Center Ages-era trade, together with an olive oil press, a cistern, and grain silos, are on show within the cool, dimly-lit areas. Bullets believed to have belonged to Resistance members had been found within the tunnels, however the cave community was used as a hiding place centuries earlier throughout the bloody Waldensian wars when residents took refuge there.
I knew that Gordes was tiny, however it took me circling it twice to understand simply how small the city heart is. Other than the chateau, different primary websites embody the Romanesque-style Eglise Saint-Firmin with its 18th-century woodwork and colourful murals in various shades of periwinkle and shell pink, in addition to the Place Genty Pantaly and its 14th-century fountain.
Throughout one among my first treks by way of city, I handed tourist-centric boutiques promoting linen attire, perfumed soaps, and brilliant pottery, but additionally extra offbeat storefronts, together with L’Alchimiste et La Fée—an incense-scented esoteric store whose assortment of amethyst nightlights, sage bundles, tarot playing cards appeared straight out of Berkeley, California within the ‘70s. It was the gathering of artisanal booze, together with rum and pastis infused with flavors like cayenne ginger and lavender, nevertheless, that caught my eye greater than the woo-woo ephemera.
On the opposite facet of the road stood a clinic providing kinesiology, power therapies, and one thing known as pose minerale that I believe has one thing to do with therapeutic crystals. The California vibe continued as I made my approach by way of the tangle of slippery, cobbled streets previous an natural wine store and a juice bar. Wellness is huge in Provence, and Gordes is not any exception. A cursory Google search reveals a couple of dozen therapeutic massage and wellness facilities within the village, and that’s not together with the spacious spa at Airelles Gordes, La Bastide that was impressed by the Abbaye de Sénaque—assume stone archways and heavy, picket ceiling beams—and provides the whole lot from customizable massages to high-tech hydrating facials utilizing LED gentle remedy.
Essentially the most intriguing storefront (when you may even name it that) was located on the sting of the city heart, and featured a crude signal tacked onto a weathered picket tour providing truffles on the market immediately from an area producer with a cell quantity beneath it. The home windows had been barred shut and there was no different promoting. I forged a cautious look on the empty avenue. Had been these illicit truffle sellers? Or perhaps it was an outpost for members of the truffle mafia, which, by the way in which, is a factor in France.
No matter was happening, the signal sparked a longing for the dear fungus, which happily was obtainable in sauce kind and bottled in neat jars after I stopped by the weekly market later in my keep. If you happen to miss market day, one other spot to select up native delicacies is at Vanille & Lilas, which is owned by Airelles Gordes and is stocked with upscale artisanal merchandise, together with delectable, high-end olive oils produced on the Airelles lodge group’s Château d’Estoublon property in Fontvieille that’s a bit greater than hour away from Gordes.
As a result of Gordes was such a French Resistance hub, the Gestapo finally retaliated, bombing the village and executing over a dozen residents. So well-known had been the village’s anti-Nazi exploits that three years after the struggle, the French authorities offered Gordes with a prestigious Croix de Guerre medal for being “some of the energetic facilities of German Resistance beneath Occupation.”
The struggle might have been over, however Gordes was dying. Through the years, the village’s inhabitants had been leaving the hilltop city in droves, and within the months after the struggle it was all however deserted. This modified from the tip of the ‘40s by way of the early ‘60s when trendy artists like Marc Chagall, Victor Vasarely, and André Lhote found the village and have become seduced by its panorama and pure gentle.
“Whether or not at Senanque Abbey or in essentially the most humble dwelling in Gordes, a small sq. window in a big wall allows a lot gentle…” Vasarely recalled in 1964. “This identical opening, considered from the skin, turns into an ethereal and unfathomable black dice. The villages and cities of the South, blasted by an implacable solar, had been my introduction to the contradictions of perspective.”
The present housing market in Gordes is off-limits to most artists with out belief funds, however some members of the inventive set have been residing and dealing right here lengthy earlier than the village’s jet-set stylish days and had been savvy sufficient to carry onto their property.
Jean-Max Toubeau grew up in Gordes at a time when working water and electrical energy had been scarce and Marc Chagall would usually drop by the household dwelling to go to his father, who was additionally an artist. Born in 1945, the painter presently divides his time between Paris and Gordes, and has witnessed the village go from peasant village to international vacationer hub.
“Throughout my childhood, there have been two sorts of people in Gordes,” he recalled. “Artists and farmers. At this time it’s rich individuals and vacationers.”
Certainly, in current many years the city has been beset with a distinct type of invasion. These interlopers come bearing cash moderately than medieval weapons, however their sheer numbers can annoy the residents and put a pressure on the village’s celebrated tranquility.
“Nightmarish, hellish, and insane,” had been among the many phrases a number of individuals used to explain the crush of vacationers that descend on Gordes each July and August after I requested about them, and my thoughts turned once more to Montmartre throughout excessive season. France Information reported lately that the variety of each day guests can high 10,000, which is horrifying given the city’s small measurement. Add the blistering summer time warmth to the equation and “hellish” appears about correct.
“There have all the time been lots of people,” Pierre-François Lamiraud, a Paris-based singer and actor in his 30s, who has been visiting the village for the previous decade, advised me. “However yearly there’s extra.”
He believes that the inflow of rich retirees shopping for second houses right here mixed with the throngs of vacationers, a few of whom even ship drones buzzing over native properties, have brought on the village to lose a little bit of its authenticity in an analogous approach that Montmartre’s artist colony previous on the iconic Place du Tertre has been overshadowed by expensive actual property and annual swarms of tourists.
Regardless of this, he’s nonetheless drawn to Gordes’ pure magnificence and “high quality of life,” recounting the open-air concert events and personal events which are held behind excessive backyard partitions throughout the summer time months. One time, he advised me, a gaggle of revelers even hauled a piano out onto a terrace for an impromptu recital.
The native motion, he added, occurs farther down the hill and away from the principle websites within the village.
A consultant on the Luberon’s vacationer workplace appeared to agree, telling me that it wasn’t a query of too many guests, however moderately the timing of their travels and a bent to cluster across the identical landmarks.
“The key downside is that many of the vacationers come on the identical time, which creates a mass impact,” Bianca Ogel of Vacation spot Luberon mentioned in an electronic mail, explaining that autumn and spring had been a greater guess when it comes to climate and crowds. Visits, she added, must be unfold out to incorporate the late-afternoon and the early morning, and guests ought to take the time to “get misplaced within the village.”
“Most of them keep within the higher ranges of the village, whereas the decrease half is simply as charming and virtually empty of vacationers.”
On the day earlier than I left, I took a last early-evening stroll across the city. The retailers had been closing up for the day, and as I ventured additional down the hillside the slender streets turned more and more empty. Excessive stone partitions hid many of the homes from view, and my thoughts turned to illicit conferences and furtive music recitals underway in non-public gardens.
Because the shadows grew longer and the blasts of the mistral obtained cooler, the alleys turned even quieter, and it was simple to think about a band of revolutionaries lurking behind a blind flip or a philandering politician peering out from behind a big straw hat. It was as if, for just a few transient minutes, I obtained a glimpse of the opposite facet of Gordes; the Gordes that for hundreds of years has served as a refuge, an inspiration, and a protector of secrets and techniques.