Active Pursuits

Outdoors in Lubéron National Park -- Apt is one of the gateways to the vast Lubéron National Park. The area covers 1,200 sq. km (463 sq. miles), encompassing several villages and many desolate forests. Maybe you'll come across an abandoned farmhouse. If you read Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence, perhaps you'll fall in love with one and decide to restore it.

The information office for the park is in an 18th-century house, La Maison du Parc, 1 place Jean-Jaurès (tel. 04-90-04-42-00). The office provides maps, details of hiking trails in the park, and other outdoor activities in the area. Otherwise, the tourist office in Apt will provide information as well as useful maps. Much of the land in the Lubéron area is privately owned, but trails in the park are open to the public. On-site is a small Museum of Paleontology, of only specialist interest. Admission is free, and it's open May to October Monday to Saturday from 8:30am to noon, and the rest of the year Monday to Friday from 1:30 to 6pm. No buses or taxis serve the area. You'll have to explore by car or by foot. To reach the park from Apt, take D48 southeast to the village of Saignon or else D943 southwest, following the signs to Bonnieux.