Visiting the lavender fields in Southern France was on my list for several years. This past summer I had a few extra days in Europe at the prime time for viewing, end of June and early July.
Before visiting, I was told by several friends that they wouldn’t be as pretty as I expected. And that they aren’t as purple in real life as they are in photos.
I did not find that to be the case. Maybe I had lower expectations than most people, but I loved it. I thought it was beautiful, and I am so glad I took the time to see them.
To help you decide for yourself, all of the photos in this post were taken by me, with my iPhone 12pro and have no editing.
You will definitely want to rent a car. We flew into Nice and rented a car from there, but Marseilles is a few hours closer and another great option. The driving is easy and once in the area you will see cultivated farms and fields of wild lavender.
I would recommend you start in and around Valensole. Kudos to The Blonde Abroad for her great blog post on a driving route. I will not take credit for her route which we duplicated and have linked to her recommendations here.
Of the dozens of fields we visited, Sénanque Abbey was by far our favorite. We spent well over an hour there just enjoying the views and the fields.
It was not as crowded as I expected. The light is definitely better in the morning. And if you are up and out early you can get great photos before the crowds start to arrive around 9 am.
A friend of a friend also recommended we visit Gordes while in the area. This was a great tip and it is an absolutely beautiful village. We rented an Airbnb near the town and then walked around and had dinner there. We also returned the next day for more photos in the morning light. There is also a weekly market which is famous in the area.
Hope you are able to visit and enjoy it as much as I did. I also heard that the same area is filled with poppies in the spring. And so, the South of France goes back on my list.
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