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We've compiled the best of the best in Provence - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
You can pick up maps and get other information at this center, just up the D570 from the Parc Ornithologique at Pont de Gau. To explore this area, you'll have to strike out on foot, bicycle, or horseback (the park's website has a downloadable English-language brochure with stables clearly marked on a map). Note that you are not allowed to diverge from marked trails.
The bounty of the cardinals nourished this abbey, whose name translates, literally, to the Charterhouse of the Valley of Blessings. Inside the impressive 5-acre complex are spare cells with panels illuminating monastic life; the vast 14th-century cloître du cimetière (cemetery cloister); a smaller Romanesque cloister; and, within, what remains of the abbey church, its cloister garden, and the Gothic tomb of Pope Innocent VI. The rose and herb gardens are planted as they would have been by the monks. It's worth a visit if only for the delightful indoor-outdoor courtyard café, and the bookstore is fun to peruse. Theatrical events are staged here during Avignon's annual theater festival.
Despite Tarascon's modern-day drawbacks, with the walls of its formidable château plunging straight into the roaring Rhône, this ancient city on the river presents a daunting challenge to Beaucaire, its traditional enemy across the water. Begun in the 15th century by the noble Anjou family on the site of a Roman castellum, the castle grew through the generations into a splendid structure, crowned with both round and square towers and elegantly furnished. René the Good (1409–80) held court here, entertaining luminaries of the age.
The castle owes its superb preservation to its use, through the ensuing centuries, as a prison. It first served as such in the 17th century, and it released its last prisoner in 1926. Complete with a moat, a drawbridge, and a lovely faceted spiral staircase, it retains its beautiful decorative Renaissance stonework and original cross-mullioned windows.
If you're disinclined to spend your vacation sniffing and sipping, climb the hill to the ruins of the château. Though it was destroyed in the Wars of Religion (1562–98) between Catholics and Huguenots and its remaining donjon (keep) blasted by the Germans in World War II, it still commands a magnificent position. From this rise in the rolling vineyards, you can enjoy wraparound views of Avignon, the Luberon, and Mont Ventoux.
Fontaine has its own ruined château, perched romantically on a forested hilltop over the town and illuminated at night. First built around the year 1000 and embellished in the 14th century by the bishops of Cavaillon, the castle was destroyed in the 15th century and forms little more than a sawtooth silhouette against the sky.
A gracious 18th-century château houses the collections of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, de la Faïence, et de la Mode (Museum of Decorative Arts, Faïence, and Fashion). The bright exhibition rooms feature brilliant lacquered ceilings and installations by French artists and designers, all the better to show off the gorgeous tapestries; furniture; Marseille faience pottery dating from the early 17th century; 18th-century hand-painted murals; and fashions from the 15th to 21st century. Touring the museum, taking in the château's large park, and grabbing a bite to eat in the café is the perfect way to spend an afternoon in this lovely part of the city.
In the 16th century, François I recognized the strategic advantage of an island fortress to survey the mouth of Marseille's vast harbor, and he built this imposing edifice. Indeed, it was such an effective deterrent that it never saw combat and was eventually converted into a prison. It was here that Alexandre Dumas locked up his most famous character, the Count of Monte Cristo. Though the count was fictional, the hole through which Dumas had him escape is real enough, on display in the cells. On the other hand, the real-life Man in the Iron Mask, whose cell is also erroneously on display, was not imprisoned here. The views aboard the boat ( www.lebateau-frioul-if.fr) between the Vieux Port and If's Port Frioul are alone worth the trip.
This castle has loomed over the harbor since the invasions of the Saracens in the 7th century, evolving over time into a walled enclosure with stout watchtowers. It's private property today and best viewed from a sunny portside terrace.
The only way you can get into this château is by paying to see a collection of photo paintings by Belgian pop artist Pol Mara, who lived in Gordes. It's worth the price of admission, though, just to look at the fabulously decorated stone fireplace, created in 1541. Unfortunately, hours change without warning (afternoon visits are your best bet).
For many years, little but ruins remained of the once magnificent Château de Lacoste, where the Marquis de Sade (1740–1814) spent some 30 years of his life. Because his exploits, both literary and real, were judged obscene by various European courts, he was also imprisoned several times, including, in 1784, at the Bastille in Paris. It was there that he secretly wrote Les 120 Journées de Sodome (The 120 Days of Sodom), an unfinished novel that featured a Black Forest château very similar in description to de Sade's actual home. Though he had to leave his manuscript behind, de Sade escaped harm during the Storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. His Lacoste home, however, was not so lucky: it was destroyed with particular relish during the Revolution.
In 2001, wealthy Paris couturier Pierre Cardin bought the château and oversaw its restoration up until his death in 2020. His legacy lives on in the Festival Pierre Cardin (aka the Festival Lacoste), a two-week arts extravaganza held on the grounds in late July and early August. Events range from outdoor poetry recitals and open-air film screenings to ballet performances and colorful operettas. The castle is also open to the public between mid-June and late September.
Summering in the Château de Montauban brought French journalist and author Alphonse Daudet a peace he missed in literary Paris. Daudet frequently climbed the windswept, pine-studded hilltop to the rustic old windmill that ground the local grain from 1814 to 1915—the inspiration for his famous folkloric short stories Lettres de Mon Moulin. The windmill is now closed to the public, but the graceful château houses a museum devoted to Daudet's writings, and you can freely stroll the grounds to enjoy the peace and sweeping views of the Rhône valley and the Alpilles that so inspired him.
A massive stone edifice with a striking silhouette, the Château des Baux once capped the imposing 13th-century fortress of the powerful Lords of Baux, who claimed descent from Balthazar, one of the three magi. The wide and varied grounds contain ruins of the Sarrazine and Paravelle towers, the tiny Chapelle St-Blaise, a dovecote, and a hospital (now a garden). At the fortifications’ highest point, you’ll understand the strategic importance of this sprawling 12-acre site whose panorama of Provence stretches from Aix to Arles and, on a clear day, to the Mont Ventoux and beyond.
Even if you haven't read Pagnol's works or seen his films, you can enjoy the Circuit Pagnol, a series of hikes (some up to 20 km [12 miles] long) in the raw-hewn, arid garrigues behind Marseille and Aubagne. Here Pagnol spent his idyllic summers, described in his Souvenirs d'un Enfance (Memories of a Childhood), crunching through the rosemary, thyme, and scrub oak at the foot of his beloved Garlaban.
When he became a famous playwright and filmmaker, he shot some of his best work in these hills, casting his wife, Jacqueline, as the first Manon of the Springs. After Pagnol's death, Claude Berri came back to the Garlaban to find a location for his remake of Manon des Sources, but found it so altered by brush fires and power cables that he chose to shoot farther east instead, around Cuges-les-Pine and Riboux. (The lovely village and Manon's well were filmed in Mirabeau, in the Luberon.)
Although the trails no longer travel amid pine-shaded olive orchards, they still let you explore primeval Provençal countryside with spectacular views of Marseille and the sea. To access the marked trails by yourself, drive to La Treille northeast of Aubagne, and follow the signs. For maps or an accompanied tour with literary commentary, contact the tourist office.
Spooked by rebellions, a young Louis XIV tapped military engineer Nicolas de Clerville to build twin forts strategically flanking the narrow passage of Marseille’s Vieux Port. It didn’t take long for people to notice that the cannons were not aimed at the sea but rather inward toward the city’s feisty inhabitants. Later used as a prison and then as a military base, the 12-acre site was declared a historic monument in 1969, but sat mostly empty until 2003, when the city hired heritage architects and the collective ACTA VISTA—which employs people in precarity to learn important skills on the job—to restore the structure. The fort is now open year-round, and you can stop by its café for a coffee or gourmet snack, the perfect accompaniments to eye-popping views of the port, esplanade, and city beyond. An exciting program of open-air theatre and live concerts is held here from May to October.
This peaceful haven, one of the loveliest cloisters in Provence, is tucked discreetly behind St-Trophime, the notable Romanesque treasure. A sturdy walkway above the Gothic arches offers good views of the town.
There are 10 area domaines open for tastings and buying, but the most spectacularly sited is the Clos Sainte Magdeleine set on the slopes of towering Cap Canaille. The boutique of this well-established AOC winery, noted for its delicately balanced whites and an elegant rosé, offers tastings Tuesday through Saturday.
It's within these walls that Cézanne and his schoolmate Emile Zola discussed their ideas. Cézanne received his baccalauréat cum laude here in 1858 and went on to attend a year of law school to please his father.
L'Isle's 17th-century church is extravagantly decorated with gilt, faux marble, and sentimental frescoes. The double-colonnade facade commands the center of the vieille ville (Old Town). Visiting hours change frequently, so check with the tourist office.
St-Rémy is wrapped by a lively commercial boulevard, lined with shops and cafés and anchored by its 19th-century church Collégiale St-Martin. Step inside—if the main door is locked, the side door is always open—to see the magnificent 5,000-pipe modern organ, one of Europe's loveliest. Rebuilt to 18th-century specifications in the early 1980s, it has the flexibility to interpret new and old music with pure French panache; you can listen for free on weekends mid-April–September.
In a striking modern edifice designed by architect Kengo Kuma in the Forum Culturel (which includes the Pavillon Noir dance center), the Darius Milhaud Music Conservatory celebrates the music of Marseille's native composer, who spent several years of his childhood in Aix and returned here to die. Milhaud (1892–1974), a member of the group of French composers known as Les Six, created fine-boned, transparent works influenced by jazz and Hebrew chant. Aix has yet to make a museum of his memorabilia, but you can visit during its eclectic series of student performances, jazz and classical concerts, and dance recitals.
In 1985, diver Henri Cosquer discovered a mostly submerged cave with chambers containing more than 500 evocative images of bison, horses, deer, ibex, aurochs, seals, jellyfish, and human hands. On this simulated visit at Marseille's Villa Mediterranée, groups of six, equipped with headsets, are taken by cable car though a near-perfect replica of the cave to learn the story of these mysterious drawings, the original artists, and their relationship to the animals they depicted some 33,000 years ago.
This center of bohemian flânerie (hanging out) is a lovely place to relax by the fountain, in the shade of plane trees, or under a café umbrella. Its low-key and painterly tableau is framed by graceful 18th-century buildings, and the warren of streets surrounding it is full of young fashion designers, vintage shops, and hip boutiques.
Shaded by a double row of tall plane trees, the Cours Mirabeau is one of the most beautiful avenues anywhere, designed so its width and length would be in perfect proportion with the height of the dignified 18th-century hôtels particuliers lining it. You can view this lovely assemblage from one of the dozen or so cafés that spill onto the pavement.
Entering through the elegant 17th-century City Hall, you can gain access to these ancient underground passages dating from 30–20 BC. The horseshoe of vaults and pillars buttressed the ancient forum from belowground. Used as a bomb shelter in World War II, the galleries still have a rather ominous atmosphere. Yet openings let in natural daylight and artworks of considerable merit have been unearthed here, adding to the mystery of the site's original function.
Since 1895, this important local distiller has been producing not only lavender, but also essential oils of lavendin and other aromatic plants. Tours of its facility, offered May through August, cover cultivating lavender and the distillation process. You can stock up on lavender, organic essential oils, floral waters, soaps, sachets, and plant-based cosmetics in the on-site shop.
This vineyard has a tasting cave, where you can sample some of the wines, which include mostly whites but also reds from grapes such as grenache.
Once prolific here, many Camargue vineyards succumbed to the saline soils. Around Aigues-Morte, home of the Sable de Camargue appellation, you can taste gris-de-gris and granache-gris rosé wines made from red grapes pressed to keep a faint blush without maceration of the skins. Domaine Terres de Sable’s vineyards might date from 1800, but the estate has a modern cellar where you can taste (€15) its all-organic wines. Make reservations online.
The Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the 17th century are on display at the 1,000-year-old-and-counting residence of the Dukes of Uzès (when the blue flag is flying you know the duke is at home). Tours (in French) from the cellars to the Bermonde tower narrate the history of the castle (which is also basically the history of France), including one of its most colorful residents, Anne de Mortemart, wife of the 12th duke. She was the first woman in France to earn a driver's license and also the first to get a speeding ticket.
Though the facade now bears 19th-century touches, this small 17th-century church still contains the center panel of the fine 15th-century Annunciation Triptych, attributed to the father of Jan Van Eyck, the greatest painter of the Early Netherlandish school. Some say the massive painting on the left side of the transept is a Rubens. The church is used regularly for classical concerts.
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