Europe Chevron. France Chevron. Provence Chevron. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices will have shifted and some businesses may have closed; contact specialist Jill Jergel for updated rates and information if interested. If you book something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Find more Iconic Itineraries here. Let the romance begin! Its cobalt Luberon Mountains, seductive coastline, rippling lavender fields, and honey-stone hilltop villages have inspired everyone from Nostradamus to Van Gogh.
The Romans settled in Provence in the second century B. You were right, Nostradamus! Unless sitting Renault bumper to Renault bumper on melting highways is your idea of fun, forget Provence in high summer. The French are a wise race: More than any other European citizens, they take their summer vacations in their own backyard why would they want to go anywhere else? And since the mercury can soar to the mids in summer, a bit of froideur , if you will, could make your explorations all the more pleasurable.
Second, be realistic and take your time. Experiencing la vraie Provence is about lengthy foie gras-laden lunches vegetarians, look away now as much as it is about scoping out medieval churches and Roman ruins. Will you ever be satisfied with a Starbucks and a muffin again? After, be sure to leave the hotel no later than 9 a. Founded by the Romans in B. At the petite Place Richelme, the vegetable market unfurls under the plane trees that characterize this town and the regionβthey were planted on the orders of Napoleon, to shade his troops on the way to battle.
Note the handsome town houses opposite; with pigeon-gray shutters and ornate balconies, they were built by Aixois nobility. There has been a religious building on this site since Roman times, but most of what you see today, including the simple Romanesque and soaring crossed Gothic arches, dates from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
The tranquil Romanesque cloisters, concealed behind a heavy wooden door to the right of the main nave and open to the public from a. Hit Comptoir de Cotonniers for wide-legged pants, sharp white shirts, and peacoats; Princesse Tam Tam for beautiful bright-hued lingerie; and Sonia Rykiel for striped sweaters and studded handbags. The Impressionist painter bought land here in , near the end of his life, and had the square-foot studio built to his exact specifications, with windows occupying the entire north wall.
