Whirlwind two days in Valensole, Provence
The idea of a whirlwind two days in Valensole, Provence originally started two years ago. This was when I first heard about the beautiful flower fields in the South of France. It has been on my bucket-list ever since. It was a much quicker trip than I expected but one that I won’t be forgetting any time soon!
Lavender season in Valensole normally lasts from the start of June to the start of July, however there are many other spots in Provence where they don’t start harvesting till later in the month. We were lucky enough to see it this year as the season started later than normal. With it extending to mid July, the week we arrived had much less tourists and was perfect for us as most farmers hadn’t started harvesting yet.
If you’re thinking of going read on, as there is a lot more to do than just smell the lavender!
Day One:
Before we left Chamonix we decided that Lac de Sainte-Croix was going to be our first destination. Here we would spend the morning hiring a kayak, taking a paddle down Gorges du Verdon and then head to our accommodation for an afternoon snooze. Don’t know who else can relate to this but for me, naps are life.. And in this case especially needed after a 3am wake up call.
The route to Lac de Sainte-Croix mainly consisted of driving on the expressway however travelling from Chamonix provided some pretty spectacular views. After 4 hours of mountain landscapes we caught a golden sunrise driving through the beautiful Parc Naturel Regional Du Vercors. With the scenery forever changing as we approached the outskirts of Valensole we said goodbye to stunning bridges and landscapes and said hello to fields of sunflowers, wheat and lavender.
Driving direct, it took us 6 and a half hours before we saw the start of the lake. We parked before the bridge (which you can walk across and also gives you a spectacular view of Gorges du Verdon), changed into our swim gear and headed to the kayak hire. Due to high season, there was a line but it moved quick so by eleven we were in our little green kayak heading down the Gorge. They even gave us a water proof bag for our camera and phone. If doing this, I would recommend two hours. It gave us plenty of time to swim, kayak, take photos and admire the crazy green water. To this day it is one of my travel highlights so if you’re in the Valensole area its a must-do! Once finished we headed back to the car and made our way to our accomodation.
I did some research and heard great things about Route de Moustiers, a road that follows the lakes outline. Countless lavender fields provided some incredible views.. Just a cherry on top of the scenery that you already have. Once we made it to our accomodation, the afternoon was fairly chill. I snoozed and Liam relaxed in hopes of revamping ourselves for what we believed would be a spectacular sunset.
For sunset we chose one of the most liked spots in Valensole and it’s understandable why it’s so popular. Lavender line after line with two trees perched in the distance and the smell was incredible! With a half hour sunset (including stunning golden hour) we took photos, people watched and soaked in the amazing view. Once the sun had disappeared we decided to find somewhere for a bite to eat. In the heart of Valensole we found a little pizzeria, which we inhaled after finding a nice spot that overlooked the town. By this point we called it a night and headed to our accomodation.
Day two:
Much to Liams disappointment day two was another early morning. We went along the D6 again, looking for a place we had seen after sunset. This was one of my favourite spots, where sunflowers and lavender meet.
Aside from the bees we were the only ones at these fields, a nice contrast to the night before. We took our time wandering through the lavender fields and once the sun approached, explored the sunflower fields as well. We were here for roughly forty minutes before others started to show so we took that as our cue to head back for breakfast. After brekkie we decided to chill and have yet another nap before checking out and exploring Moustiers-Sainte-Marie.
By midday we had arrived in Moustiers-Sainte-Marie. Once parked we roamed the quaint streets and later found that there was a viewpoint from the church. Even though we weren’t in any way prepared for a mini hike (both in jandals and I was wearing a skirt) we thought, we’re here, why not. It took us roughly twenty minutes to get to the top and a view well worth a bit of sweat. After making our way down we had lunch and tried the famous lavender ice-cream. Provence is well-known for this particular flavour which I’m not going to lie, wasn’t my fav but still something that we would recommend giving a go as you won’t find it anywhere else! We made our way back to the car, punched in the coordinates for Cham and headed home.
As you can tell this was a crazy weekend but it was definitely worth the visit! We would have loved to stay longer as we had a lot of driving included. Nevertheless, this was one of our best travelling experiences! From paddling down Gorges du Verdon to the constant smell and views of endless lavender, we definitely wouldn’t have done anything differently!
Hints and tips for Valensole:
– Toll Roads: If travelling a fair way to get to Provence it’s important to know that there are toll roads. For us, it was helpful to know how much we would be paying in advance, especially being on a budget! A route planner, such as this one from Michelin gives you multiple routes from your start to your end point. It also tells you how much you’ll be spending on tolls and gas. HOW GOOD!
– Accomodation: Le Petite Fabre we booked through booking.com and is a guesthouse that we would highly recommend. It is within a good distance of all the places mentioned above plus the homey, countryside atmosphere was super relaxing. An ideal spot for stargazing and Natalie provides an amazing breakfast with all locally sourced products, she even had lavender flavoured honey. YUM!
– Parking for Moustiers-Sainte-Marie: Only due to having a small car (and Liams great parallel parking skills) were we able to get a free carpark during peak hour close to the centre. If you’re not willing to drive up and down the steep, narrow streets or aren’t very confident with the parallel parking (feel ya) you can either park right at the base of the town and walk up or there are paid parking spaces usually available near the non-paid spaces with a lot more room.
– Parking at Gorge du Verdon: There is free parking on both sides before and after the bridge. We got there at around 10:30am and there were still plenty of spaces, more so before the bridge than after! They also both have trees to keep your ride nice and cool during those hot summer days.
– Do your research: I always do some research before visiting a destination. For us this time it meant that we were able to visit a lot more places in a shorter amount of time!
– Taking a cruise down the road ‘D6’ is something that I would definitely suggest! Along this road you will find so many diverse lavender fields. We found ourselves there so often due to it being perfect for both sunset, sunrise and middle of the day.
If you were on the fence about visiting Valensole during lavender season I hope this post has helped you make up your mind! I can say without a doubt that you will enjoy it just as much as we did!