Private Omma parking; ask in advance about availability
Practical details checked 29 July 2026. Omma is currently closed Thursday and Friday; lunch is served 12:00–15:00, with last orders at 14:00.
First impressions
The ochre palette.
Swipe the photographs, or use the arrows.
The perched villageOchre houses, cliff edge and the Vaucluse beyond.Sentier des OcresNatural colour on an improbable scale.Village lanesEvery wall seems to borrow a different shade from the soil.Look upwardsBelfries, sundials, signs and old fortifications.ÔkhraThe colour story continues inside the former Mathieu factory.Roussillon under summer skiesThe village and its cliff, turned up to full colour.The Belvédère viewThe reward beside Parking des Ocres—no summit climb required.Ochre and the VaucluseA red quarry edge against fields and distant hills.In the old quarriesTiny figures give the landscape its extraordinary scale.Walking through ochreYellow ground, red walls and green pines.A natural paint chartPink, terracotta, cream and faded green shutters.Houses on the rockRooflines and walls borrowing colour from the cliff.The creative villageGalleries and terraces tucked into the slope.A village detailOld stone, hard sunlight and one extremely committed bicycle.At the village edgeThe buildings stop; the Luberon carries on.Near the ochre entranceThe point where village streets meet the ravine.Vines below RoussillonThe perched village is a small ochre line on the horizon.Rooftops from aboveTiles, trees and the ochre ridge beyond.Colour as materialÔkhra explores pigments beyond earth reds and yellows.The old ochre worksMachinery from the former Mathieu factory.
Getting to lunch
Thirty minutes before Omma.
A short, attractive look at Roussillon without accidentally committing everyone to the steep upper village.
First, set the right destination
Do not navigate straight to Omma unless it has confirmed a parking space.
For the normal plan, navigate to Parking des Ocres, immediately east of the centre. If anyone would benefit from an even shorter walk, make a brief stop at Place Pasquier first, then send only the driver to the car park.
Park here and ignore signs tempting you directly towards the ochre trail.
02
The Belvédère
Start with the viewpoint beside the car park: an immediate panorama without climbing to the Castrum.
03
Place de la Mairie
Walk west for roughly 3–5 minutes, stopping for the ochre façades and small shops around the centre.
04
Omma, Place de la Poste
From the mairie it is only another minute or two to lunch. The terrace supplies the grand cliff view.
Option B
Least walking
Drop off, park, then regroup.
01
Stop briefly at Place Pasquier
Let anyone saving their energy get out with a companion. Ordinary spaces are limited to 45 minutes; two designated accessible bays are also here.
02
Driver continues to Les Ocres
Everyone else can browse the compact centre while the driver parks and walks back.
03
Meet at Place de la Mairie
Take ten or fifteen minutes for the square and nearby lower lanes, then make the one-to-two-minute walk to Omma.
04
After lunch, reverse the arrangement
One driver retrieves the car while the rest of the group waits centrally, avoiding a hot return walk.
↗
Save the uphill village for another time.
The belfry, Saint-Michel church and Castrum are above the central squares; the ochre trail has 350 steps. Neither is necessary for a satisfying 30–45 minutes before lunch.
What to do
Four ways into Roussillon.
01 / The essential
Walk into the colour.
The Sentier des Ocres threads through former quarry landscapes just east of the village. In July and August 2026 it opens at 09:00, with last entry at 19:30 and closing at 20:00. Admission is €3.50 per person.
Best for: drama, photographs and curious children who can walk
Allow: roughly 30–60 minutes
Reality check: 350 steps; no pushchairs; ochre dust stains pale shoes
The route is simple: belfry, Saint-Michel church, then the Castrum at the highest point. The payoff is a panorama across the Luberon, Mont Ventoux and the Monts de Vaucluse.
The streets are beautiful but steep and uneven. For an easier view, use the Belvédère beside Parking des Ocres.
Ôkhra occupies the former Mathieu factory, 1.6 km from the village. Exhibits, old equipment and workshops explain how raw earth became a world of pigments.
Best for: a cooler afternoon and anyone who likes materials or making
Galleries and small shops make the centre easy to enjoy without a programme. On Thursdays from 15 March to 31 October, the market fills Place Pasquier from 08:00 to noon.
Important: Thursday is a lively village morning, but Omma currently closes Thursday and Friday.
It sits at 38 Place de la Poste, about 60 metres from the mairie—roughly a one-to-two-minute walk. There is no separate journey from “town” to lunch.
Lunch 12:00–15:00Last lunch order 14:00 · Closed Thursday and Friday
The restaurant’s terrace looks towards Roussillon’s red cliffs and across the Luberon valley. From Parking des Ocres, walk west towards Place de la Mairie, then continue a few steps to Place de la Poste. Expect a modest slope, but nothing like the climb to the Castrum.
Roussillon is compact, but it is built on a hill. The useful trick is to arrive at the same level as lunch, enjoy the central village, and treat the upper lanes and ochre steps as optional—not as the route to Omma.
The least walking
Ask Omma about a private space when you book.
Omma publishes four private parking spaces, available by advance reservation. Its website describes them for staying guests, so ask specifically whether one can be reserved for a restaurant booking. If the answer is yes, this is the simplest option: arrive directly at 38 Place de la Poste with virtually no outdoor walk.
Place Pasquier has two designated accessible spaces in the centre. From there, Omma is only about a minute or two away—without climbing into the upper village.
There are also two designated bays on the approach to the Sentier des Ocres, close to Parking des Ocres. They leave a short, roughly 3–5 minute walk to Omma and are useful if you also want the nearby Belvédère.
If the designated spaces are full, the mairie asks visitors to speak to the municipal police at Place Pasquier during busy periods so they can help find a suitable solution.
02 / Without a parking badge
Drop off centrally, then park.
Drive first to Place Pasquier. Anyone wishing to save their energy can get out there and wait in the central village while the driver continues to Parking des Ocres. Omma is around 60–100 metres away, depending on exactly where you stop.
The driver’s walk back from Parking des Ocres is around 3–5 minutes. The ordinary blue-zone spaces at Pasquier are limited to 45 minutes, so they are useful for a brief stop—not for leaving the car during lunch.
Place Pasquier is closed to parking on Thursday mornings for the market; Omma is currently closed on Thursdays in any case.
03 / A gentle visit
Keep the best bits, skip the climbs.
Use the Belvédère beside Parking des Ocres for a broad view, then concentrate on Place de la Mairie, Place de la Poste and the nearby lower lanes before lunch.
The Castrum and Saint-Michel church are lovely but involve a sustained climb. The ochre trail has 350 steps and is not the easy route. Ôkhra is a good afternoon alternative: drive the 1.6 km and use its free on-site parking.
In hot weather, let the driver collect the car rather than having the whole group walk back uphill together.
A
Best practical plan: call Omma first. If its private parking is unavailable, use a designated central bay if eligible; otherwise make a brief stop at Place Pasquier, then send only the driver to Parking des Ocres.
Orientation
A very compact centre.
Tap a marker for walking notes and directions.
P
Parking des Ocres
Best overall. Around 3–5 minutes to Omma and well placed for the trail. Park once and leave the car.
Shortest central approach. Two designated accessible bays; ordinary blue-zone spaces are limited to 45 minutes. A useful brief drop-off point when the square is open.
July and August overflow: the mairie recommends Grimaud (1.5 km) or Aire du Sage (1.8 km) for arrivals between 10:30 and 11:30. These are sensible capacity fallbacks, not convenient options for older walkers.
For this particular group
Divide and reunite.
The clever version of Roussillon is not making everybody do every climb. Let confident walkers take the ochre steps while the pushchair group uses the Belvédère and village centre; meet again for the upper lanes only if energy allows. Everyone can reunite at Omma without moving the cars.
