Roussillon is a hilltop village in the Luberon of southeastern France, surrounded by some of the region’s richest ochre deposits. Its houses, walls, and narrow streets are colored by the same natural pigments found in the surrounding earth, ranging from pale yellow to deep red. The village stands within the Luberon Regional Natural Park, where wooded hills and agricultural land meet the ochre landscape. Roussillon is recognized as one of France’s designated “Plus Beaux Villages,” reflecting its preserved architecture and distinctive setting. Its identity is closely tied to the ochre that occurs naturally beneath and around the village.

Ochre shaped Roussillon’s local economy and appearance through extraction and processing, with the pigment used for paints, textiles, and building finishes. The village’s façades were traditionally colored with locally available ochre, creating the warm tones that remain visible throughout its streets. The former Mathieu ochre factory now houses Ôkhra, the Conservatory of Ochre and Color, where visitors can learn about extraction, processing, and traditional uses of the pigment. Workshops also demonstrate techniques involving natural pigments. This industrial heritage remains an important part of Roussillon’s cultural identity and connects its architecture directly with the surrounding geology.

The Sentier des Ocres leads through former open-pit quarries below the village, passing cliffs, pinnacles, and exposed layers of yellow, orange, and red earth. Interpretive signs explain the geological formation of the deposits and the history of their extraction. Within the village, narrow lanes lead past ochre-colored houses, small squares, artisan workshops, and viewpoints over the Luberon countryside. The surrounding landscape is a mixture of pine woodland, agricultural land, and exposed ochre formations. Roussillon also forms part of the wider Luberon ochre area, which includes other former mining sites and routes dedicated to the region’s pigment heritage.

Local Provençal food in Roussillon reflects the agricultural traditions of the Luberon, with olives, herbs, vegetables, fruit, goat cheese, and regional wines commonly found in restaurants and markets. The village's artisan shops also make use of its distinctive natural pigment, selling paints, pastels, ceramics, and decorative objects colored with ochre. One unusual feature of Roussillon is the way the mineral appears not only in the surrounding cliffs but throughout the built environment, giving walls and façades naturally related shades. The combination of geology, architecture, and former industry makes ochre the defining thread running through the village and its surrounding landscape.