The Lavender Fields of Provence: A Side Trip from Nice

When we bought a place in Nice, France it was the perfect opportunity to make sure we were there to visit Provence during lavender season, which runs from mid-June to early August. This was something we'd always wanted to experience and now we had the perfect excuse! So we planned an overnight trip from Nice with a few stops along the way. Instead of following the Routes de la Lavande, which provides tourist itineraries that allow you to discover lavender landscapes, producers, distilleries and cultural highlights, we charted our own course, but check it out if you want to spend more time there.

We'd visited Provence before, so we knew it was an expansive region and wanted to make sure we went to the right place to see the fields in bloom. There are three areas to view lavender fields: the Valensole Plateau, the Luberon Valley, and Sault. The Valensole Plateau is the place to go for quintessential postcard scenes, so that's where we headed. The plateau, which is known for cultivating cereals, olive trees and lavender, extends over 800 km² and offers an amazing panorama of the Provencal countryside.

There's lots to see in the area, including the Verdon gorges, the largest canyon in Europe, with steep cliffs and turquoise water. But this trip was all about lavender, and we'd visited the gorges on a past trip, so we were just Valensole bound.

It's just under three hours from Nice to Valensole, and once we got off the highway it was a beautiful rural drive with expansive Provence views. We really had no idea what to expect, so we were on the lookout and then...purple! The first field appeared to the right and we pulled off to snap a few pictures.

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There's an actual town of Valensole, a charming medieval spot featuring 11th-century architecture that we thought would be a good spot to stop for lunch. Honestly, it was quaint but not much to it except a few lunch spots, ice cream and...shops selling anything and everything lavender of course! We were amused by the baguette vending machine outside a bakery, what a brilliant invention! Town was pretty bustling, as it was late June and everyone was there to see the lavender fields. Is this a spot we'd spend any length of time? No, but it served its purpose.

We continued along the lavender road and that's when we knew we were in the thick of things. The Angelvin Lavender Fields are found on an expansive estate on the plateau. You can take a guided tour of the fields, buy lavender products, or just roam on your own. We decided to roam, and we weren't the only ones. Cars were parked along the road and people wandered the fields taking photos in the rows and rows of purple and yellow (sunflowers). Here's the thing we realized: you're basically visiting farmers' crops and wandering their fields, although it is way more attractive then, say, walking a corn field.

The fields were beautiful and when we rubbed the plants they smelled so good. And that's pretty much it! Not sure what we expected, you drive there to look at fields, walk among the fields, and admire the colors. That's not exactly something you can do all day (or maybe you can, but we were pretty much done after the first few fields). So we headed to our next stop, a winery (find a bunch to visit here).

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Domaine Saint-Jean Les Durance has been a family estate since 1754 and a vineyard started in 1880, making it one of the oldest estates in Haute-Provence .

Today, the family's fifth generation passionately cultivates vines of southern grape varieties, giving nobility and character to the estate's wines.

After a tasting, we bought a few bottles and decided to head to our hotel. We had a second vineyard on our schedule but it was 108° in a heatwave--wow was it hot--and all we wanted to do was cool off!

We were staying at La Bastide Saint George, a boutique hotel with spectacular views of the rolling hills of Provence (although at that point the only thing we wanted to see was the pool).

Located in Forcalquier, in the Lubéron nature park in Provence, La Bastide Saint George is one of those places you arrive at and feel like you're in another world. From the flowers and the immaculate grounds to the serene design of the hotel itself, we had plans to check out the Citadel in town and do all sorts of things and decided we didn't want to leave. Being here was exactly where we wanted to be.

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We spent the afternoon by the pool relaxing and cooling off, and that evening we walked through the garden to the patio restaurant for an amazing meal that included...a double rainbow!! It perfectly summed how how we felt...like we'd reached the pot of gold we'd been searching for.

The next day we wound our way back toward Nice. The drive is lovely, through gorges and past blue lakes, with a few old towns if you want to stop and stroll. We decided to have lunch in Entrevaux, a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France. It's also a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France Association. Nestled along the Var River, it's famous for its dramatic 17th-century mountaintop citadel designed by the royal military architect Vauban, its medieval stone architecture, and its iconic drawbridge entrance. We explored a little in the village before getting back on the road.

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Provence is stunning and just spending a few days here was a beautiful change from the coast. Seeing the lavender fields in person was something we're glad we did, but it's not something we feel we need to do again. It's a great excuse to visit Provence and spend some time there, but the lavender fields are just one part of that. See the fields, but make sure you explore the rest of Provence as well...the vineyards, the quaint towns, the amazing nature and lakes.

If we'd just gone to see the fields, stand in them, walk around and take a few photos, we're not sure it would have been worth the time. It's what you wrap around your "field trip" that makes a trip to Provence truly worth while.

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Enjoy a taste of our travels with drink recipes on Instagram - Worldwide.Cocktails.