A Wednesday in Provence: Ménerbes

This dreamy little village of Ménerbes will whisk you away into a fairytale of your own!

A Wednesday in Provence france in a village called Menerbes

Map to Ménerbes

Let’s take a walk!

Visiting this village enchants you with views of vineyards at the foot of the Vaucluse Mountains in the Regional Natural Park of the Lubéron. The village was named after Minerva, the Roman goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, and magic. All in stone, Ménerbes is very pretty with beautiful old houses and narrow streets winding through the village. You will find the shops and restaurants on the bottom of the village and a tranquil timeless square perched up high.

From Violent Wars to Artistic Revival

Ménerbes, with its fortifications, was reputed to be impregnable in the 16th century. However, during the wars of religion, the Huguenots used a ploy to seize the village in 1573 and occupied it for 5 years. Taken over by Protestantism, the Catholic armies of the Pope and the king laid siege to the village for 15 months. On December 10, 1578, having used up their water reserve putting out fires, the Protestant occupiers left.

beautiful turret — A turret on the Citadel, a miniature fortress of the 16th century.

In the 1990’s, the town was overrun with tourists after Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provence, which he wrote here in Ménerbes! The village has always attracted artists. Nicolas de Stael lived here in the 1950’s, and Picasso bought his mistress, Dora Maar, a house near the top of the village. If you want to visit something out of the ordinary, there is the Musée du Tire-Bouchon (the Corkscrew Museum). It exhibits over 1,200 corkscrews! Why? I don’t know. Did you know that the corkscrew was invented by a Frenchman in the 12th century? No surprise there…

old clock tower — 17th-century belfry tower

Enjoy a long walk to the top, through paths and alleys and the many examples of 16th and 17th century architecture. Up at the top, you get to the church and cemetery, where you can reflect and admire the view.