I’ve only been in Provence once during lavender season. It was many years ago when everything in the region was new to me and I was much less adventurous. As a result, I didn’t see much lavender and have regretted it ever since. This year I wanted to be here …

Access to the Calanques National Park is controlled this summer due to damage to the ecosystem caused by the burgeoning numbers of visitors and increasing fire risks.  The Calanque de Sugiton, which used to attract up to 2,500 people daily, is limited to 400 entries in peak season. Pre-booking one …

A walk along the promenade at Les Lecques, around the little port and out to sea along the jetty has always been a family favourite, but I’ve always struggled to find a vegetarian lunch after our walk.  It’s a typical French seaside resort with all the menu choices the locals …

As is the case in the rest of France, in Provence and along the Mediterranean coast, you don’t need to go far for the landscape to change dramatically. There are mountains, vineyards, orchards, gorges, lakes and sometimes crowds. So, if you feel like you need to get away without going …

Those iconic images of rows of lavender, fields of sunflowers and bright red poppies, Roman ruins and cobblestone villages are beautiful landscapes of Provence but not likely to interest your children for long. Family Vacation in Provence Whenever friends visit the Alpilles with their families, it has been our experience …

Provence is magical during the holiday season, and December is a wonderful time to visit the South of France.  The festivities begin in mid-November, running right through early January. The sparkling, festive ambience of Europe’s Christmas markets is legendary. The Strasbourg Christkindelsmärik is one of the largest in France, with …

As I told you in my previous post about my favourite things in Provence, one of them is finding purple fields of lavender under a brilliant blue summer sky. So, of course, our first outing after arriving back in Sablet after our long absence due to the pandemic was to …

There’s only one island in Provence’s Bouches-du-Rhone with trees, and that’s the Ile Verte, off the coast of La Ciotat.  It’s just a 10-minute hop by navette from the Vieux Port of La Ciotat to this tiny island which is just 430x260m in size. Once there, you can enjoy the …

If you are here because you have already read about my brief visit to Avignon, you probably recall that I spent a few days there last fall – my first trip back to France after 22 months of absence and my first visit to this wonderful city. Picking up the …

While in Mougins to give a talk on my latest book, The Birdwatcher’s Wife, I was delighted to reacquaint myself with the enchanting area. My previous visit had been three years ago when I made a presentation on my first book, Passion for Provence: 22 Keys to La Belle Vie. …