Provence

Fields of lavender, sunflowers and olive trees. A slower pace of life – a Sunday lunch under the shade of plane trees in a village square, a café crème at a sidewalk café or a long walk through a forest of oak and chestnut trees. All of this is Provence.

However, this is a vast region of contrasts and connections. Of snow-topped mountains and delightful sea resorts, of shepherds and yacht captains, of cork oak and palm trees, of a simple beef stew and an elaborate bouillabaisse.

Provence hides its complexity under a veil of simple delights. It is home to the red colours of the Esterel mountains, the taste of tapenade, the scent of rosemary, the cadence of the Provençal accent and the mistral, the wind that blows down from the Alps.