Le Crestet

Hilltop castles and communities were a good idea when elevation kept floods and invaders at bay. Now, Crestet offers magnificent views over vast hectares of vines and orchards to the Giant of Provence (Ventoux). Us day-trippers get a taste, but some of the second-home owners who have restored these Medieval piles can drink in the joys at their leisures from carefully constructed sunny terraces.