Wine has been made in France for a very long time, and names like Burgundy and Champagne put stars in the eyes of wine lovers everywhere. But did you know that French winemaking first began in Provence, thanks to the Greeks? Or that more rosé wine is produced there than any other kind? Or that Italian winemakers won’t let the French use the name of one of their grapes–they have to call it something else?
Learn all about the wonderful wines of Provence in The Good Life France!
Provence is one of the most popular regions of France, and for good reason—think fields of golden sunflowers and lazy afternoons sipping rosé. Visitors flock to two main areas, the glamorous Côte d’Azur in the east, and the lavender-scented western part made famous by A Year in Provence.
These are so far apart that it’s hard to cover both in a week, so I’ve written a guide to the western part, home to famous towns like Avignon and Aix-en-Provence. It provides you with an itinerary with a mix of historical sites, charming hilltop villages, and some of the best restaurants in Provence. The stops are in no particular order, so you can mix and match as you please.
Read all about it in Frenchly!
One of the highlights of any trip to Provence is visiting the fabulous Carrières des Lumières. This former stone quarry now hosts an immersive sound and light show…inside a mountain! It is so popular that other sites have been created in many countries, and recently the Immersive Van Gogh program was shown around the world.
But the best place to see it is still where it started, in that enormous cavern. This year’s program is all about the Dutch Masters, from Vermeer to Van Gogh. It’s fitting that the program finishes with ol’ Vincent, as many of his greatest works were painted in nearby St-Rémy and Arles.
Read all about it in Perfectly Provence!
If you’d like to taste some of the best olive oil in Provence, look no further than the Moulin Castelas, situated just below the famous fortress of Les Baux-de-Provence.
Castelas is owned by Catherine and Jean-Benoît Hugues, a French couple who lived in Arizona before returning to their native country when they “fell in love with some old olive trees.” The Hugues make their olive oil much like a winemaker makes wine, with great care at each step of the process. And the results are spectacular: Moulin Castelas has won top awards in national and international competitions.
In addition to pure olive oils, Castelas produces oils infused with different flavors, like rosemary, basil, and citrus. And unlike some producers, they don’t just add chemical flavorings to their oils. Instead, they macerate them with ingredients, for example adding fresh rosemary to their olives before milling them together.
The Castelas staff is friendly and English-speaking, and welcomes you to taste all the olive oils you like. You can also tour the olive mill itself if they are not too busy.
Read all about it in Perfectly Provence!
Provence is a highlight of any vacation. This magical corner of France, with its charming hilltop villages, magnificent beaches, and delicious foods, is a must-see for the discerning traveler.
While Provence is wonderful year-round, it is especially nice in the springtime. I’ve put together a list of my top reasons why you should visit…though there are certainly more than 7!
Read all about it in Frenchly!
Imagine the scene:
You are in a giant storage facility in middle-of-nowhere Provence. It’s a blazing hot day and you’ve just gathered some items from your storage locker.
You are about to leave when suddenly the power goes out. You find yourself in the dark, your wife is trapped in an elevator, and there is no one in the building to help.
You suddenly feel very far from home.
Ah, isn’t travel fun? Yes, this is what happened to Val and me last summer and, happily we lived to tell the tale. But it wasn’t easy! Burly firefighters might have been involved.
Read all about it in Frenchly!
Jamie Beck was a sought-out photographer working for top brands like Cartier and Veuve Clicquot. She had legions of Instagram followers and what seemed like a rich, fulfilling life. But something was missing.
As Beck tells us in her brilliant new book, An American in Provence:
“I had it all. A ‘dream life’ with a cool job, amazing clients, luxury trips, designer clothes, a cute little vintage Mercedes convertible, a house in the Hamptons, a French-looking apartment by Riverside Park, and I could eat at any restaurant I wanted, any night of the week in New York. Why on earth was I so unhappy?”
Beck realised that all the personal sacrifices required to “make it” were squeezing the life out of her. Photography fed a deep artistic need, but working for others year after year, adapting to their needs and their timetables, had extinguished her creative spark. She desperately needed a break.
And so she moved to Provence. And now has written a book about her life-changing experiences in this magical corner of France.
I really enjoyed An American in Provence, with its fabulous photos and compelling story. Read all about it in France Today!
Val and I live part of the year in St-Rèmy-de-Provence, a charming town between Marseille and Avignon. I’ve written a guidebook about the area, An Insider’s Guide to Provence, where I share some of our favorite things to see and do. Now I’ve put together a series of articles I call Secrets of St-Rémy, based on that book.
St-Rémy has plenty of famous places, like the room where Vincent van Gogh once lived, or the fabulous weekly outdoor market. In this article I write about some of my favorite boutiques–where to get great ice cream, for example, or the best chocolates in Provence. And if you’d like to buy some stylish shoes or a new purse, or you need to get your hair done, I’ve got you covered!
Read all about my favorite boutiques in My French Life!
Just minutes from one of France’s most famous sites, the Roman aqueduct Pont du Gard, sits the tiny village of Estézargues. There’s not much there, no charming cafés or famous monuments, but on the edge of town you can find some astonishingly good wine.
That’s where the local cave coopérative sits, a big, unassuming building. In a cave coopérative, winemakers share expensive equipment that none of them can afford by themselves. And they make wine together—everyone puts in their grapes and they divide the profits based on the volume that each contributes.
This is the reason that cave coopérative wines are inexpensive. It’s also why most of them are not very good. Think about it: each winemaker wants to maximize the volume of grapes that he or she contributes. And high-volume grapes equal low-quality wines.
The clever winemakers of Estézargues have done it differently. They use the shared equipment to make their own individual wines and keep the profits. This makes them want to grow better grapes and make better wines.
The result is wines with prices that are almost as low as a cave coopérative but with quality that is light years better. Val and I love these wines and go to Estézargues with our friends to stock up every year. We go so often we even have a frequent buyer card!
This is a working winery and not a fancy place, but it does have a well-stocked tasting area. The ladies who run it are very friendly and informal. They let you taste all you want and are not afraid to open a new bottle just for you. They are also happy to give advice – “I think this one is particularly good right now.”
One of the best things about these wines is that they are ready to drink right away. So we usually do that after we buy, heading out to a secret picnic spot the tasting room ladies told us about.
It’s a 12th century church called the Chapelle de la Clastre that sits on a rise with beautiful views of vineyards all around. It has been abandoned for centuries and is currently being restored by a local volunteer group. Next to the church is a big grassy area just perfect for picnicking with our friends. It’s flat and shady and seems to invite you to lay out a blanket and enjoy some baguettes, cheese and wine. And maybe take a nap afterwards.
Santé !
What has 40 kilometers of underground corridors, orange walls, and used to grow mushrooms? If you guessed the ochre mines of Bruoux, you win!
The Luberon Valley in Provence is famous for its ochre. It was mined here for centuries and a walk through the brilliantly-colored quarries of Roussillon or Rustrel is like walking through a rainbow. At Bruoux, rather than carving out the side of a mountain, the miners dug straight in, creating tall corridors hundreds of meters long.
You can take a guided tour of the mines that is about an hour long and just fascinating.
Read all about it in The Good Life France!