The real Provence

Provence is famed for its lavender fields, sunny vineyards, charming villages and excellent cuisine. There's much more to see  and to discover in this magnificent region in southern east France. Maybe one holiday will not be enough for you. Just let it take your breath away with its beautiful colors, light and smell. Provence is pure emotion, for all your senses. That's all what you need.

If you think of Provence (Provença or Prouvènço in Provencal), you probably first think of purple lavender fields, vast plains of wheat and rolling hills covered with green vineyards and above a clear blue sky and a bright summer sun. Or perhaps even the charming Provencal villages with the terraces under the shady plane trees, good wines and cuisine, traditional markets and the many festivals.

With this image in mind one might go on holidays to Provence, for one week or maybe two, and most probably during the summer. One wanders in a few touristic villages, enjoys a glass of wine on a nice terrace every day, makes a few pictures of a lavender field, buys a little bag of lavender in a traditional market and then goes home all tanned and satisfied. What a wonderful holiday that was in Provence.

Art de vivre
But is that really all we can say about Provence? I guess not. There is so much more to see and to discover. To experience Provence and the art de vivre you would have to come several times. And maybe then you even get to know the locals. At six o’clock drinking a pastis or 'pastaga’ as the Provencal call this strong anise-flavoured liquor with herbal extracts, after having played a game of petanque with the local men on the square under the plane trees. And later on, preferably for the entire evening, enjoying traditional dishes such as soupe au pistou, bouillabaisse, farcis or ratatouille and then, totally satisfied, ending the evening with a glass of local wine listening to heroic tales about the history of the village. But that is not given for everyone.

Richness

For those who are a bit more curious about Provence and wants to dive a little bit deeper into the region may be more than content. The Provence has a culture of great value, a variety of landscapes that are to be found almost anywhere else in western Europe and a rich history with an impressive architecture that goes back to ancient times.

Almost every village in Provence is characteristic and besides the unusual beauty it has its own rich history, mostly tragic. Provence is not only desired by today's tourists but was envied by many rulers in all times who fought each other in order to posses Provence: the Romans arrived in the 2nd century BC and called the region Provinzia, derived from Provence, the Counts of Provence (9th-13th centuries) and the Popes of Avignon in the 14th century. Many villages are therefore built high on a hill with on top an impressive castle to defend against the enemy.

Impressive architecture

You'll find washhouses that witness the lack of water supply to the houses and are now an added valuable attraction for the village. You'll find stone houses, the ‘maisons en pierre’ mostly in the village itself, sometimes built in the rock with more than six stories high where in the Middle Ages the cattle and humans lived together in the village. You will see throughout the countryside farms, called 'mas' around Arles  and 'bastide' in the surroundings of Aix-en-Provence, the ‘maisons à cour’ (impressive farms and side buildings with a courtyard). But also 'cabanons', small houses in the middle of vineyards, where farmers stored their tools, and the similar ‘bories’ to be found for example around Gordes, entirely built of stone ‘en pierres sèches'. The amphitheatres in Orange and Vaison-la-Romaine, the Palace of the Popes in Avignon and the Pont du Gard that dates from Roman times are a few examples of museum treasures and architectural masterpieces in Provence.

Variety of nature

A variety of different landscapes can be admired in Provence: the lavender fields and plains of wheat in Drôme and Haute Provence to the rolling hills with vineyards around the Mont Ventoux, Aix-en-Provence, Vaison-la-Romaine and the Enclaves-du-Pape. The river canyon Gorges du Verdon - named after its magnificent turquoise-green colour river Verdon - and the nature reserve of Camargue, the largest river delta in Western Europe, and the beautiful coast of Marseille and Cassis on the Mediterranean Sea. The rugged majestic mountains in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, the massif of the Luberon, the Mont Ventoux beloved by cycling fans, and Colorado provençale with its unique ochre rocks are one of the many examples of natural richness of Provence.

Authenticity

Although tourism is present almost everywhere in Provence fortunately enough beautiful villages are not yet overwhelmed by tourism. You can still find the authenticity of Provence in the villages and especially in the Vallée du Toulourenc, on the border of the Vaucluse and Drôme such as Savoillan or Monnieux in Gorges de la Nesque.

Actually Provence still deserves much more to talk about. Not all can be mentioned, especially not in a few sentences. I have not even mentioned the famous santons, traditional figurines of clay - some find it ugly and some find it beautiful - and the various herbs such as rosemary and thyme, that besides the lavender takes an important role in Provencal cuisine, the countless fountains, the writers of Provence like Jean Giono and the famous painters such as Vincent van Gogh and Cezanne, who were inspired by Provence and its breathtaking scenery, colours and light.

Provence is emotion

Maybe it's actually better to just lie down by the pool, enjoying the sun that almost always shines, to stroll in a touristic village with its traditional market and to cherish the lovely scent of lavender from the bag you brought home as a souvenir. You cannot discover the real Provence in a whole in such a short time, certainly not in a week, or a few weeks, in the summer when you are surrounded by tourists. And that’s not necessary either. Sometimes you don’t have to have it all deep going and is the emotion you get more than enough.

That goes for Provence: an image of a lavender field or a sunny terrace at a square in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence brings already a smile on your face. Can you imagine if you are really there? Then all your senses are stimulated with the beauty of the sunny and colourful landscapes and medieval villages, the smell of lavender, the Mistral caressing your hair, the wine cherishing your tongue and cicadas singing to you out of the plane trees. And maybe that is actually more than enough.