A Day Trip to the Lavender Fields of Provence

When you think of the Provence countryside, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? For me, it’s lavender fields. Beautiful rolling hills that seem to go on forever with waves of purple and pink flowers swaying in the wind. When we first moved to the South of France, I knew that one thing I absolutely had to see was the lavender fields in the summer. A few summers had gone by and we always seemed too “busy” visiting other places that by the time summer was over, we had forgotten about the gems right in our backyard.

Last year, we knew we had to finally make our way to the famous lavender fields of Provence. Since we were in a pandemic, we wanted to travel but still maintain social distancing. The best solution we found was to rent a car for a week and explore all the places near the French Riviera that would have been difficult to get to without a car. One of these trips consisted of a whole day in Provence, which I will detail in a future blog. We ended off our day in the best way- watching the sunset over the lavender fields.

We visited the lavender fields in the last week in June. I find this to be the best time as the lavender fields are in full bloom and the farmers have not begun to harvest just yet. While there are no specific spots that you need to search (the whole area is teeming with lavender and sage fields), I would start off with Plateau de Valensole. I ended up taking most of my photos in a random field near the village of Puimisson. While you may see lots of posts mentioning the town of Valensole, there are actually no fields in the town. There are, however, many small local shops in the town where you can purchase local products such as honey and soap if you would like.

 

 

How to Get There

By far the best and most convenient way to get to the lavender fields is by car. I do believe you can also take a combination of trains and cars from the coast and nearby larger towns, but this may take some time. I’ve found the Apple Maps is usually more accurate than Google Maps when it comes to more rural areas in France.

• Aix-en-Provence to Valensole is 69.7 km (43.3. mi)

• Marseille to Valensole is 100.7 km (62.5 mi)

• Nice to Valensole is 162 km (100.6 mi)

 

 

What to Know

Bring a tripod

You will definitely want to bring a tripod, especially if you are with your family or significant other. The photos come out beautiful no matter the time of day, and you will want to keep these photo memories forever.

Make a day out of it

There are so many outdoor activities in the surrounding areas, so if you have a limited amount of time in the area and would like to maximize your time, you may end up combining a trip to the lavender fields with something else. Before we visited the lavender fields, my husband and I went kayaking in the Gorges du Verdon. I packed a dress and changed in the car so I could still have some cute photos in the fields

Beware of bees

I know this may seem like an obvious one, but I truly could not believe how many bees there were. I’m not afraid of bees, so it wasn’t much of a problem for me as the bees were more interested in the lavender than anything else. You are in their territory of course, so be aware of your surroundings. I had to run back and forth setting up the camera on self timer and posing, so that is something to consider. If you are allergic to bees I would be very careful.

 

 

What to Bring

A camera

Like I said, the photos come out absolutely stunning here and you will want to keep the memories for a lifetime. I would personally consider bringing a nice camera instead of just your phone.

A tripod

If you’re bringing a nice camera, this is a total must! They also make tripods for phones nowadays. Make sure your tripod is of pretty good quality as the ground is very uneven, flimsy tripod legs may fall over easily.

A change of clothes

As I said earlier, since we were doing other outdoor activities, I decided to bring a dress with me for the lavender fields. You could also go to various locations throughout the area and bring different outfits for each location and time of day.

Water

It is extremely hot and dry in the area, so make sure to stay hydrated. As it’s a pretty far drive no matter where you’re coming from, packing a snack isn’t a bad idea either.

Where to Stay

The three closest “big cities” to the area are Aix-en-Provence, Marseille and Nice. Aix-en-Provence is landlocked, while Marseille and Nice are both major port towns. All have great hotel options as well as Airbnbs. If you are looking for more of a local feel, there are many beautiful Airbnbs in Valensole, Manosque and Puimisson.

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