One of my (Bryant’s) bucket list trips was lavender fields in Provence. As well, we have friends that just love that area and have encouraged us to check it out. Summer of 2025 was the time. We ended up super-lucky with the weather managing to arrive after the big heat wave, and also after the big fires in Marseille were mopped up! Whew!
Day 0 & Day 1, arriving, Nice
We arrived late in Nice, and missed our window for picking up our rental car. Not great, but I was able to get one the following morning. We stayed in … modest … accommodations that first night in Nice and had a great time checking out some amazing sights!
Musee des beaux artes
After a scenic drive through the city, we struggled to find parking near this lavish villa which the City of Nice transformed into a Palace for the Fine Arts in 1926. The architecture itself is quite eye-catching and impressive and the collections are highlighted by their surroundings.
Lunch at an amazing place! La Maison de Marie in old town Nice with a lovely garden and outdoor eating.
Musée Matisse and Nice Archeological Museum
We visited the Matisse museum and the archeological museum that is right next to it. Matisse is cool, but I (Bryant) did not get a lot of pictures and it did not really speak to me. But I thought the archeological museum was really cool!
Finally, we headed to Lauris where our vacation home was booked at 17:00 – and a nearly 3 hour drive! The house offered by 3 sisters was picturesque and really what we needed for relaxation- space in the country with the warm Provençal glow! We woke each morning to the friendly bray of a donkey, the call of a rooster and lots of birdsong, followed shortly by the hum of cicadas as the air warmed.
Day 2 – Aix-en-provence
On the second day, we made our way to the nearby city of Aix-en-Provence. We all really enjoyed the city and the Musée Granet with its Cezanne exhibit. The rest of the collection was awesome as well! Additionally, we visited (twice) the little (famous) Madeleine shop for some of sweet treats and squeezed in lunch al fresco at a place H recognized from instagram suggestions, a lucky find because it was quite late for lunch and much too early for dinner. We found meal timing to be a bit of an issue for us, given our nordic habits.
Day 3 – Avignon
The third day was in Avignon and focused on the Palace of the Popes. It was a lot of walking and standing in sweltering, stuffy interiors so eventually Jen and H detoured to cool off with some AC and refreshments, but L and I persevered and were rewarded with some fantastic views of the city and the prime lunch spot secured by the two heat sensitive Noices.
After lunch we strolled around the city, catching a glimpse of the famous Bridge of Avignon and toured the Musee Lapidaire to finish out the day. Jen’s favorite part here was the collection of scent vessels, with samples of how essential oils were used historically. It was a fun challenge to guess the smells.
We cooled off a bit with ice-cream treats from Chocolaterie de Puyricard, which we were forced to gulp down or risk being covered in melty goodness. We also found some interesting cicada-shaped chocolates, to remind us of the near constant drone made by the little critters, which we now associate with Provence.
After we got back to the house, Jen and I searched for a hiking trail near the BnB outside of Lauris and got some cool pics of Lauris and La Durance river.
Day 4 – Sailing from Marseille
On Sunday we drove through more of the Provençal countryside to Marseille for a sailing trip around the Calanques – a national park, regulated to preserve the limestone coastal formations, plants and wildlife. We had a cool wooden boat, with a 3 person crew, and not very many people on the tour. We passed many cool sites – both human and natural – and had 2 stops to swim as well as a light lunch on the boat. The captain gave a guided tour as we sailed so we learned quite a bit about the history of the places we passed.
Day 5 – villages and lavender
For day 5, we wanted to see a bit more of the countryside. So we headed out, hitting Lauremain for bread and coffee, the Forêt des cèdres du Luberon for a nice walk among the cedars, and then the (super picturesque) Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque for the lavender.
Day 6 – Departure
On our last day, we bid farewell to our little house in the Luberon, loaded up the car and drove to Antibes for lunch, then finishing in Nice for the flight home.
Overall, a lovely survey of the highlights of Provence, and I might go back to dig a bit more into the smaller villages. Bucket list item – CHECK!
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