Fort de Buoux (Citadelle du Luberon)

Fort de Buoux (Citadelle du Luberon)

Fort de Buoux (Citadelle du Luberon)
4.5
About
At the top of the rocky spur, the Buoux Fort served as a refuge for the population during the Middle Ages.
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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles134 reviews
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familytravel4x4
Liphook, UK725 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2022 • Family
The site is spectacular giving views in all directions. However as other reviewers have said, it is quite a climb on very uneven ground, so take care in ascending and descending. We agree the information sheet provided is limited and not to scale(!) but all 37 points of interest can be found and are worth seeking to fully explore the site. The ruins are extensive and spread right to the top of the cliff, and afford some spectacular views. Well worth the effort……and very few tourists to get in the way!!
Written 29 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

normandy2014
Spofford, NH128 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2016 • Friends
Good hike even for and old fart like me. I'm 65 but I was able to handle the trek up to the top of the fort. Be careful. Not much to keep you from going over the edge but a few signs. The secret stairs are not for the faint-of-heart, but if you have good shoes and some testicular fortitude your descent will provide you with a thrilling memory for life. Plus there is all the history of why this fort was built. In the US, I doubt that a site like this would be open to the public.
Written 21 June 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

aquaspeleo
Derry, UK58 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2019 • Couples
Yes, we loved it. Once we found it!!! It isn't in the small village of Buoux but about 3 miles distant. You go through the amazing climbing area. Huge limestone walls and overhangs. Drive past all the car parks until the one immediately before the gates at the end of the road.
11 minutes of uphill walking on a good track give you a clue this is going to be a challenge. And it's an amazing walk past woodland and a lovely rock undercut.
The gentleman at the house was very short on conversation but gave us an English guide. One sheet of a4 with 36 one word descriptions of items on the hand drawn map.
Off we went up the rickety uneven walk, up slope to what appeared to be a very basic shell. In we went and got very confused. Which way? Where? What is what? Then it slowly dawned on us. This was a massive example of what Roman architecture was all about. And there was plenty of it! We climbed ever higher up the hill. It got more and more interesting. It lacked description of items but our discussions between us two finally sussed out what was going on.
There were some extremely precipitous areas and it did really underline that it's very unsafe for children or those who can't be trusted to control their movements. I don't walk so well any more but my previous climbing skills ensured I was safe on the very uneven route.
The final piece de resistance is the secret stairway out of the place. Here, if you suffer any vertigo, don't do it! Go back the way you came. But that exit route is a bit of a navigation challenge as the white painted arrows have slowly weathered down. But hey it was fun! And we learnt a lot!
If you suffer from vertigo or you can't control your children or if you're infirm in your leg movements you might want to think twice but this place is well worth it if that's ok.
Written 15 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

sophie s
3 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2024 • Family
I arrived with my son 16:00 today, in the parking lot and 16:15 at the reception of the fort. We were very rudely denied entry, and I quote: "you are French, you can read, it is marked closed at 16:00" I explained that my son spent one day a year with me because he came from Quebec and that we wanted to visit the fort quickly. This gruff man speaking to us from upstairs in his house was bordering on insult. I did not know following the comments of the site that access closed at 16:00, nothing was specified in the parking lot. In addition access is paid at 6€ entry. On the way back a car that was parked in front of the house of the gruff guard tried to hit me several times and insulted me while access is forbidden to vehicles, he was wearing a fluorescent pink jacket. Anyway, I would never go back! Nothing to do with the kindness of the Luberon on Gordes or Rustrel!
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Written 26 December 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Iweinvanaalst
Lille, Belgium608 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2011 • Couples
The archeological site of Buoux is located in the Luberon Mountains on a rock platform surrounded by deep ravines.

Given the safety it provides the site has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The archeological remains date from various time periods :

On your way up you pass a natural cave under overhanging cliffs (inhabited since prehistoric times) and some rock carved graves (9th century at the latest).

Near the entrance a wall section with corner turret (16th century) is still standing.

On the rock platform most noteworthy are the ruins of a parish church and three defensive walls with ditches (13th century), a hidden stair (still accessible) and a celto-ligurian lookout .

As a history adept my main focus is on cultural tourism and I feel the archeological site of Buoux falls short in this respect for a double reason :

First and foremost important : There is an acute lack of information.

At the ticket office you merely receive a numbered map of the rock platform. This does not even allow you to properly distinguish the different phases of occupation and to tell which ruins date from the same period !

No reconstruction drawings are available. Therefore you have no clue as to what the original buildings and structures actually looked like.

You learn nothing about the history of the site and its occupants.

Second : The site is badly maintained.

The path is uneven. There is a lot of vegetation. The cliff edges are not secured.

In conclusion :

The archeological site of Buoux certainly has a historic interest and a touristic potential. I believe with the proper investments in visitor information and maintenance it could be a second Les-Baux-de-Provence (****). In its current status of neglect I can however grant it no more than **.
Written 21 August 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Heather220_1
Belfast, UK422 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2019 • Couples
You have to park & walk 10 minutes up an incline just to get to the entrance & pay €5 each to get in.
UK health & safety would have a fit as it’s a very steep & uneven hike up without any railings, guard rails or fences!
Wear hiking boots or similar & pack plenty of water. When you think you’ve reached the top, look across to the next cliff on the right & that’s actually where you need to go. There’s a small pamphlet with a poorly photocopied map along with numbers/signs identifying the ruins but not much else to explain the history of what you’re looking at & the signs are all in French. There are so many places where you could slip & fall which is most likely why it’s closed in any bad weather! I’m glad we went as it’s a piece of history spanning about 5000 years but it’s scary how high you are without any real protection from a very real fall to your death. We were lucky to make the top on our own without any other tourists so it really did feel like we were the only people left in the world. Nature rules there & the views are stunning...
Written 27 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Angela M
Sydney, Australia69 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2016 • Couples
If you're in the area you have to put this on your list. It's hard to describe the experience but it's just mindblowing to imagine this was built as an actual fort and habitation. What a location, what boldness, what hardship. Inspiring leaders these must have been that built this and guarded over their people. We were actually at Buoux to test our rockclimbing skills and knew nothing of this fort, but this turned out to be the highlight! Be prepared for a long-ish, but gentle walk up the hill to the entrance, and then a quite exposed trip along the top - it probably would get quite hot in summer! Don't miss the amazing descent down the hidden staircase at the back and through the overgrown surrounds to your starting point at the little shelter with the elderly local taking your fee. Relax with a drink at the shady seats afterwards and savour the experience.
Written 9 November 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

summertimeNY
New York22 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2015
These ruins of an old hilltop fort and village is a must see if you want to get a sense of what the Luberon was once like centuries ago. Unlike many other places in Provence, there were no crowds when we visited and we had the place virtually to ourselves. We could wander among the ruins of stone houses and a church in the quiet afternoon sun and travel back in time to another age. Aside from the breathtaking views of the valley below, the highlight is the "hidden" stairwell, three stories high, carved out of the side of the cliff-face by which the fort's inhabitants could escape. You can descend the stairs, however, like the rest of the site, the stairwell has no handrails or other safety features and visitors should take extra care when walking and roaming around the site since it would be very easy to slip and fall several hundred feet to your death if you're not careful. There are no facilities for food or other modern conveniences. Also, on the day we visited, even though it was summer, the site's caretakers stopped allowing visitors to enter after 5pm in order to be sure no one gets stuck up there at nightfall.
Written 30 August 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Caroline H
Sydney, Australia40 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2014 • Couples
Recommended by our AirBNB hosts, this walk is a dramatic hike through history, past a cave that was inhabited in pre-history to successive rock fortifications on a high butte - and the 'secret staircase' down. A bit demanding but doesn't require super-fitness. Gives a great sense of the region and its history.
Written 28 May 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

LeeAlexandria
Colorado Springs, CO67 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles

A definite must when in Provence! We visited in April - it's a little off the beaten path which we liked. Make sure you have good directions or gps to find. From the parking lot, go around the gate, than hike about 1 km to the base of the fortress grounds. Wear comfortable hiking shoes. The gate sign said 6€ per person but there was no one there to collect money (and the couple of others there at the same time said it was free this time of year). We basically had the site to ourselves when we got to the top. Once you are up to the top, it feels more like you are on a private archeological site/ the place is sprawling with 11th century village remnants carved out of rock, chapel with walls mostly intact, tower, fortress walls, dwellings built into the Rock, etc. The site was about half the size of Les Baux de Province ruins with tons more charm and authenticity. There are no facilities here so pack a picnic and water and enjoy the amazing ruins and scenery.
Written 12 April 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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FORT DE BUOUX (CITADELLE DU LUBERON) (2025) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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