Provence: Roussillon

It doesn't get much prettier than this place. The Provence village of Roussillon is built atop an old ochre quarry, which is where most of the buildings and cobbled streets get their beautiful rust colour from. Pair that with blue, green and yellow shutters and you've got a fairy tale of a place filled with ice-cream colours - the houses do look good enough to eat. 

Our trusty Lonely Planet recommended we get there early or late to avoid the midday crowds, so we arrived around 5pm, which was spot on. The main streets were still quite filled, but when we wandered off into the hidden streets and alleyways, we almost felt alone. We didn't venture into the quarry as I stupidly wore a white vintage skirt and espadrilles, but for a nominal fee you can explore it on foot; the shortest track is around half an hour.