Ansouis - a very small village

But it has a big chateau!   And that is the dominant feature.  Built in 1178, the chateau had been lived in by the Sabran family for the past 800 years!   It had to be put up for sale in 2008 because the family was in financial straits.  Photos were not allowed inside the chateau, much to my regret, as there were some really striking rooms, particularly the medieval chambers in the lower part of the chateau.  The 17th century additions on the upper levels were interesting too with many connecting corridors and secret doorways.  

The entrance gate to the chateau

The main portal

There are many terraces on many levels.  The lion sculpture that you see on the roof of this building is actually on a terrace.  And you can look down on another terrace garden below.  

View from the terrace.

It doesn't look like it, but this is actually on the roof of another part of the building;

another aspect of the rooftop garden.

View of the village from one of the chateau terraces.

This is the church even though it doesn't look like one on the outside.

The inside was a little unexpected.

You could almost count on one hand the number of businesses in the town.  The bakery was only open in the morning and a few hours in the evening.  But it has a really nice restaurant, La Closerie, where we had a fabulous dinner the first night that we arrived at our apartment at the Ferme de la Platane.    Below, you see two gentlemen in the village - one very much at home, the other behaving like a tourist (he was trying to show how narrow this street was - and it actually has a name!)

Here is a view of the Ferme de la Platane from the village.  We visited Ansouis on the last day of our stay at the vineyard.  With this, we said a reluctant goodbye to this marvellous region, moving on to our last stop, Cassis and Marseille on the Mediterranean.

Place of Enchantment

With views like these, is it any wonder that we found the Ferme de la Platane enchanting?  The magical village of Ansouis, which you can see in the distance, is just a short walk away.  The truth is, we drove everywhere.  The Ferme became our base for exploring the villages of the Luberon and we returned each evening to a home away from home, it was such a comfortable haven.

This is the private garden entrance to our apartment - 

with one of my favourite trees

The charming and spacious apartment -

Provencal still life

A relaxing meal (mussels and oysters in the shell) on the porch -

This is the view from the front porch

The sideview of the renovated 18th century farmhouse

Picture perfect views everywhere we looked -

The vines catching the setting sun - a magical time of day

We had the time of our lives!