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Geonivora
District

Vaucluse

Located in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region, France Coordinates: 44°00′00″ N 5°10′00″ E

Map showing the location of Vaucluse Vaucluse
Location in France
Population
568,702
568.7K
Elevation
345 m
above sea level
Local time
UTC+01:00
Europe/Paris · UTC+01:00
Places inside
38
listed under Vaucluse
When to go
May–JulySeptember
See the climate
Airports
AVN Avignon Caumont airport24 km
MRS Marseille Provence Airport63 km

About Vaucluse

Vaucluse is a district. Location: Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region, France. Population: 568,702.

From Wikipedia

Vaucluse (French: [voklyz]; Provençal: Vauclusa (Classical norm) or Vau-Cluso (Mistralian norm)) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 572,056 as of 2023. The department's prefecture is Avignon. It is named after a spring, the Fontaine de Vaucluse, one of the largest karst springs in the world. The name Vaucluse itself derives from the Latin Vallis Clausa ("closed valley") as the valley ends in a cliff face from which the spring emanates.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

Built
1793
Area
3,567 km²

Source: Wikidata

Travel notes for Vaucluse

From Wikivoyage

Vaucluse (Occitan: Vauclusa) is a department of the Provence region of France. The Vaucluse retains in part its historical identity as the Comtat Venaissin, an independent papal entity until the 1791 post-Revolutionary annexation by France.

Understand+

The name of Comtat Venaissin is supposed to derive from either Comitatus Vendacensis (the county of Venasque), or from Comitatus Avennicinus (County of Avignon). The territory belonged to the Popes, but was de facto independent, governed by its own executive representative appointed by the Pope, as well as popular representatives. The area was very marked by the bloody history of the French invasion, as well as the civil war which followed, between the partisans of independence and the partisans of the attachment to France.

In line with other departments across France, the Vaucluse was named after a significant local geographical feature, in this case the Fontaine de Vaucluse spring. The new name was intended both a definitive rupture with the past, and as a way to harmonise local administration into the nascent French Republic. However, despite generations of central government attempting to stamp out regional languages and cultures, a strong Occitan identity persists in the department. Linguistic aside: despite looking like a feminine noun, Vaucluse is actually masculine.

Get in+

By car:

The main access from the north is undoubtedly the A7 motorway (Autoroute du Soleil), which bypasses the famous national road N7, nicknamed la Route bleue and la Route des vacances during its mid-20th-century heyday. The A8 and A9 bring traffic in from the east and west respectively.

By train:

Avignon TGV station: on the Paris-Lyon-Marseille corridor, connects the Vaucluse to the outside world.

Avignon-Centre and Orange stations both welcome regional and national TGVs and TERs, in addition to departmental traffic. A rail shuttle operates between Avignon Centre and Avignon TGV.

By plane:

1 Avignon-Provence Airport (access by bus: TCRA Line 3 from Avignon-Centre). Only receives seasonal (i.e. summer) flights from Birmingham and Bournemouth. (updated Aug 2018)

Source: Wikivoyage · CC BY-SA 4.0 · abridged

Places bordering Vaucluse

  • Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
  • Ardèche
  • Bouches-du-Rhône
  • Drôme
  • Var

Twin towns and sister cities of Vaucluse

Source: Wikidata. Only places with a page on this site are shown.

Population of Vaucluse over time

Population of Vaucluse over time
2015 557,548
2017 559,479
2018 559,793
2019 561,469
2020 561,941
2021 564,566
2022 568,702
2023 572,056

Censuses and official estimates; source: Wikidata.

Climate of Vaucluse

Best months for sightseeing

Best months for sightseeing: May–July, September.

This month · November

Outside the best season

Day 13° · Night 4° · Rain 75 mm

Hottest month
July (day 29°)
Coldest month
January (night 0°)
Wettest month
October (111 mm)
Driest month
July (29 mm)

Bars: average monthly low and high temperature. Below: precipitation. Monthly averages for 1970–2000 at about 18 km resolution, adjusted for elevation. Highlighted months are mild and relatively dry. Source: WorldClim 2.1 (CC BY 4.0).

Show values as a table
Climate of Vaucluse
Month JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Average high (°C)9°11°14°17°22°26°29°29°24°19°13°10°
Average low (°C)0°1°3°6°10°14°16°16°12°9°4°1°
Precipitation (mm)6954567172492954831117566

Other places to visit in this season: May June July September

How to get to Vaucluse

The nearest airport is Avignon Caumont airport (AVN), 24 km to the southwest as the crow flies. For international flights: Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) (63 km). The nearest large city is Aix-en-Provence, 57 km to the southeast.

Airports

  • Avignon Caumont airport (AVN) Avignon 24 kmsouthwest
  • Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) Marignane, Bouches-du-Rhône 63 kmsouth
  • Nîmes-Arles-Camargue Airport (FNI) Nîmes/Garons 66 kmsouthwest

Nearby large cities

  • Aix-en-Provence Population: 146.8K 57 kmsoutheast
  • Nîmes Population: 148.2K 67 kmwest
  • Marseille Population: 877.2K 80 kmsouth
  • Montpellier Population: 248.3K 112 kmwest
  • Toulon Population: 168.7K 115 kmsoutheast

Straight-line distances; road distances are longer. Airport data: OurAirports.

Day trips from Vaucluse

Within 100 km: 151 historic and cultural sites, 738 natural sites, 255 lakes, rivers and coasts.

0–25 km42 places

  • L'ile aux castors Island 12 kmSW
  • Mont Ventoux Mountain 21 kmNE
  • Monts de Vaucluse Mountain 16 kmE
  • Canteduc Mountain 23 kmS

25–60 km334 places

  • Île d'Oiselet Island 27 kmW
  • Île de la Piboulette Island 38 kmW
  • Île de Miémar Island 32 kmW
  • Île du Colombier Island 39 kmNW

60–100 km768 places

  • Alba-la-Romaine (Ardèche, France) -- Théâtre gallo-romain Historic site 77 kmNW
  • Plages du Prado Beach 84 kmS
  • La Grande Plage Beach 98 kmS
  • Plage du Bestouan Beach 92 kmS

Straight-line distances.

Places in Vaucluse

38 places
  1. 1 Arrondissement of Carpentras 227.3K
  2. 2 Arrondissement d'Avignon 214.3K
  3. 3 Arrondissement of Apt 127.8K

Bar: population relative to the most populous place in this list.

Mountains & nature10

Lakes, rivers & coasts25

Nature and heritage in Vaucluse

Sources & licences

Data last updated: · 2 independent sources