Provence question
 

Author: ilovetulips
Date: 06/23/2004, 04:29 pm
Message: I would love to visit Provence one day. The lavender looks breathtaking. I am always reading about how wonderful the produce markets are. I get summers off from my job. I am off from late May to early August. What is a good time to visit Provence? I understand that many Europeans are on vacation during August. Is it nicer to go in May or June. I have no definate plans to go yet, we are planning a trip to Switzerland, Paris, and Amsterdam next May. Just wondering if I do have the opportunity to visit Provence one

Both May and June are beautiful in Provence, but you might not see any lavender in bloom--it sometimes flowers in late June, but July is the time to count on as a rule. August is the month to avoid because of the crowds.

We have seen some lavender in Provence in very early June but only in small patches. The very best time, as noted above, is July. But the produce markets are wonderful all year and especially so from May - October. Except for the lavender, May would be my choice as it can get hot later in the summer.

I always had to go in August because of no choice because of work. I find it beautiful and you can avoid the crowds in many villages and others like Les baux are crowded but it never bothered me. In august you will see the fields of sunflowers and lavender. The harvesting starts late august, early September. My voice here is different than others who visit there, in that we drive miles and don't mind to go out of the way to a restaurant we might want to try. Nor do we feel the traffic was heavy as we travel the smaller roads.
I love that area and spend most of our time in the Alpilles.

I prefer going in June..August is way to hot in Provence.. I was there last year in July and because of the extreme heat wave, the lavender blooms were tiny and the plants looked awful.

it may be where you were kismet, in the upper parts of Provence is where the true lavender grows, the higher altitude makes a difference towards the Albion plateau. The öther"lavender, called lavandin, is found across the entire Sault plateau. The ones I picked were beautiful.

I was just in Provence for 2 weeks (first 2 weeks of May), and the weather was absolutely gorgeous, cool at night, but warm (not hot) in the daytime. No lavender, but other beautiful flowers and fruits. I can't imagine a more beautiful time to go (but that was my only trip to Provence thus far). I would love to see the lavender in bloom, but not at the expense of being really hot there. I'm from South Florida and like to be a little cool when I travel!

I live in Boston. My husband hates the heat, the humidity is bad here but not in Provence. Yes they have had a terrible summer two years ago but that was uncommon. We go every year and rarely is it like here,

Last year was a freak heat wave. Yes, it gets hot, but it's not usually a sustained heat like it was in 2003.

We've been there in May, June and July and while they are all lovely (it IS Provence), I prefer June. We often see lavender in bloom in June. Of course, we have a back yard full of it so if we miss it in France, we still have plenty at home!

The weather is usually perfect in June and the tourist hordes haven't yet arrived so it's more peaceful. You might compromise and go in late June.

BTW, if you want to see fields of lavender, you can always go to the wine country northeast of Sacramento, California. ((@))

We just drove down to northern Provence (Drome Provençale) to see the lavender fields in bloom with some relatives who were visiting. Not all the varieties of lavender were in flower, but some were, and the views were breathtaking.

There is an excellent website that gives you the lowdown on all the lavender growing areas in Provence, with itineraries, maps and background info you can download. It's at: http://www.routes-lavande.com/presen...iation-GB.html

The lavender fields in the Drôme are indeed beautiful--once we were lucky enough to be going from Montélimar to Dieulifit when the harvest was going on and could see the whole operation. Some of the fields are still intact, and it was a wonderful sight.