Le Buisson is a pleasant 15 minute walk from the charming village of Goult which is in the Luberon valley of Provence. You can get all your essential supplies here and enjoy a fine meal or a delicious pizza all without ever needing to get in a car.
Goult is a lovely village with great character and a charming café/ bar/ restaurant situated in the centre called ‘Café de la Poste’. It has a pizza takeaway, 2 very fine restaurants, a good restaurant and a grocers and bakery. The pizza takeaway is opposite Café de la Poste. This is cash only and you must pick up yourself - however the pizzas are worth the effort! Café de la Poste also does nice bistro style food at lunchtime and will allow you to eat your pizza from across the street outside in the evening whilst having a drink if you want.
At the heart of the village of Goult is a charming café/ bar/ restaurant called ‘Café de la Poste’. It offers a good brasserie style menu at lunchtime and has plans to do so in the evening at some point. Opposite the Cafe is a wonderful pizza takeaway (cash only) which also has plans to have tables outside but again we are not sure when. There is live music on the street Friday evenings in July and August so get there early!
There are two excellent restaurants for fine dining and special occasions. Our favourite is Bartavelle (labartavellegoult.com) closely followed by Le Carillon (restaurant-goult.com) with La Terrasse offering a pleasant alternative too with a very nice balcony with good views. There is also a new restaurant almost next door to Café de la Poste which we have not tried. All these places are but a few moments walk from each other. Check their websites for times etc and please remember to book as the chances of getting a table by just turning up are very slim.
Our favourite family restaurant however is in the direction of Apt called Il Doppio which does really nice pizzas and a few other Italian themed dishes plus cocktails. They have a nice garden and a mainly vegetarian menu which makes a change! Good for children and families and large groups and not too expensive. As with everything though you must book and will have to drive too even though it’s not very far by car (5 mins).
About 2km below Goult is the hamlet of Lumieres where you will find a restaurant called ‘La Bouche des Gouts’ which is quite nice and very relaxed in contrast to the far more refined (albeit excellent) restaurants of its neighbour Goult. It’s cheaper too! It merges seamlessly with a pizza/ bar next door.
There is also a nice Cave which does wine tastings too (cavedelumieres.com).
There is a good bakers, a butcher, grocers, a cheese shop and various other little shops plus a post office in Goult but no cash machine. There is also a lovely little market on a Thursday morning which sells delicious savoury tarts and flans, roasted chickens, fresh fish, fruit and vegetables.
The nearest supermarket we would recommend is Super U in Coustellet, 10km away, which offers excellent quality. However, as you will pass through Coustellet on the way to Goult if you are travelling from either Avignon TGV or Marseille Airport (Marignane) it makes sense to stop and stock up. An Aldi has just opened there too.
All the markets (unless indicated otherwise) are in the morning and the one in the local village of Goult is really charming as are the ones in Gordes and Menerbes. The one in Isle sur la Sorgue is an antiques/ bric a brac type market however the real attraction is the town itself which lies on the River Sorgue and is very pretty (and crowded) on market days.
Also nearby are the four citadels of the Luberon - Gordes (see picture), Menerbes, Bonnieux and Rousillon which despite being very busy in summer and on market days in particular are well worth the effort, especially Gordes and Menerbes which are quite stunning. They are all a short drive away. We also like Oppede-le-Vieux which is much quieter. Lacoste, where the Maquis de Sade used to live, is also nearby and very charming. It has a small pizzeria in a nice location.
For more information please refer to The Rough Guide to Provence & the Cote d’Azur and Michelin Map 332 which has excellent detail on the area.
