Every year the Provence countryside is set ablaze with purple lavender. It is a spectacular sight. The bets time to see the lavender bloom is from late June to mid-July — though for that incredible scent on the breeze, visit at harvest time, from mid-July to mid-August.
Drive east from Avignon and you’re soon in the heart of lavender-growing and distilling country. A good place to start is the peaceful 13th-century Prieuré de Salagon, now a museum a couple of miles from the pretty village of Forcalquier. The medieval-style herb garden is a riot of colours and scents.
From there, the D6 road runs east across the Plateau de Valensole, a gorgeous 300-square-mile tract given over to the cultivation of lavender. With purple ridges in the background and serried avenues of bushes in front, it’s quite a sight. There are plenty of picnic stops on the plateau, and you’ll find lavender honey on sale at the side of the road.
It’s a short drive to Digne-les-Bains, which has a week-long lavender festival at the beginning of August. The tourist office there can give you a map of the more mountainous terrain north of town, where you can walk through wild mountain lavender. At Thoard, 12 miles away, visit the Distillerie du Siron, where lavender is distilled into perfume. There are free guided tours in season.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.