Living in Vaucluse
What cities are in Vaucluse? The capital and main city in the department is Avignon, which could make a great place to live if you want to be surrounded by plenty of history and culture. A UNESCO World Heritage listed city, it’s famed for its impressive Palais des Papes or Papal Palace, which is in fact the largest Gothic building in the world. Another well-known sight is the Pont d’Avignon a 12th century medieval bridge which straddles the River Rhône. The other main town in the department is Orange, lying just north of Avignon, which is popular with tourists for its historic sights.
Besides its historic towns and cities, one of the most sought-after places to buy property in the area is in Luberon. The Luberon spans both the Vaucluse and Alpes de Haute Provence departments and includes the Regional Natural Park of the Luberon, an area of outstanding natural beauty with verdant valleys, limestone craggy peaks, olive groves and lavender fields. Medieval villages sit perched on the hilltops of this spectacular region, offering stunning views and a laidback lifestyle. The villages of Ansouis, Gordes, Roussillon, Lourmarin, Ménerbes, Séguret and Vénasque, were named among the most beautiful villages in France and can all be found in Vaucluse. Ménerbes is where the best-selling memoire A Year in Provence was set and is a quaint walled hilltop town of honey-coloured stone buildings, while Vénasque clings to the edge of a gorge high above the Nesque River.
In the centre of the region lies the town of Carpentras another great option to choose in Vaucluse. Lying at the foot of Mont Ventoux, this was the residence of the Avignon popes from 1229 to 1791. Today, it’s better known for its black truffle markets. The north of the department borders the Baronnies Provençales Regional Natural Park, so it’s easy to pop over to the crossroads between the Alps and Provence for nature adventures and hiking.
Cost of living in Vaucluse
The cost of living in Vaucluse can vary, depending on where you want to live in the department. The cities and villages favoured by tourists can be slightly more expensive.
According to the price comparison website LivingCost.org, a single person living in Avignon would need a total of €1,293 per month, including rent and a family of four would need a total of €2774 per month. Another comparison website Numbeo states that it would cost €45 for two people to eat out at a midrange restaurant and €2.80 for a regular cappuccino in a café, while a ticket for a local bus is €1.50.
Generally, the countryside will be cheaper than the cities, apart from some of the touristy Provencal villages in Luberon, where the prices have been driven up. Property in Luberon also tends to be more expensive than other places in rural France because of its popularity with foreign buyers who love the idyllic Provencal landscapes and lifestyle. You may still be able to find bargains in the area if you’re prepared to look further afield and in some villages that are not so well known.
Climate and air quality in Vaucluse
Vaucluse has a Mediterranean climate, experiencing very pleasant weather year-round, which is why it attracts so many visitors and foreign expats. Temperatures here are around 2.73 percent higher than in the rest of France and the department only receives an average of 80.63 days of rain per year.
Summers are hot and sunny, winters are cold and spring and autumns are warm and mild. July is the hottest and sunniest month with an average maximum temperature of 31°C and 371 hours of sunshine. It’s also the driest month. September is the wettest month with an average of 27 mm of rain, while January is the coldest with an average maximum temperature of 10°C.
While areas to the south along the coast, big cities, ports, airports and highways have slightly poorer air quality, the rural villages and mountainous areas of Vaucluse generally have good quality. As Avignon is a fairly small city, air quality is generally pretty good there too.
History and Culture in Vaucluse
There is evidence of life in Vaucluse all the way back to the Palaeolithic times such as the L’Abri du Pont de la Combette in Bonnieux, an ancient settlement and hunting ground where traces of the Neanderthals were discovered. However, some of the most important sites in the region date back around 2,000 years to the Roman Empire. Some of the best Roman sights can be found in Orange, including one of the best-preserved Roman theatres, thought to have been built during the reign of Augustus (27 BCE–14 CE) and the triumphal arch, one of the largest to have ever been built by the Romans.
Like many places in France, living in Vaucluse, you’ll see that the culture here centres around its food and wine. The area is particularly known for its fresh produce, such as strawberries, olives, cherries, melons, truffles and saffron, and many of the small villages have excellent farmers’ markets. Although maybe not as famous as Bordeaux or Champagne, the department is also known for its wines. There are 45,000 hectares of vineyards throughout Vaucluse, producing some excellent internationally-renowned wines, including Châteauneuf du Pape, Gigondas and Vacqueyras.
