Event Previews & Reviews from Provence

One of the most pleasant ways to spend a vacation in Provence and learn something to boot is by signing up for one of the cooking schools in the south of France. There is a wide choice of schools and courses, some of which are booked a year or longer in advance.

Arles is world renowned for its Roman history and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, thanks to its many incredibly well preserved monuments and buildings.

More than just an exhibition of photography, Les Recontres d'Arles is a three month long photography festival, with seminars and workshops that takes over the city of Arles each summer. 

The city of Nimes is well worth a visit in its own right; it’s got all the classic attractions like the amphitheatre, Maison Carrée, roman ruins and a fantastically huge park at the north of the city which is great for a stroll around with views spanning the entire city.

At this time of the year (May) the local vineyards look spruced up, the leaves green, the paths cleared of weeds, the tiny grapes ready to develop. It is just a matter of time and patience, a little rain and lots of sunshine, before the September harvest can begin. A perfect time, so a French national wine association must have decided, to celebrate what is and what is to come, by creating a day of the vineyard and the wine - La Fete de la Vigne & du Vin.

One of the great pleasures of spending time, even for a day, in Provence is to visit a local market. Practically every town or village has a weekly market - sometimes more often - where fresh fruits and vegetables, cheese and roasted chicken, herbs and olives, t-shirts and flip-flops are sold.

When driving through Provence you may stumble upon a large flock of sheep, guided by its shepherd and driven by a trio of smart dogs. Much less common than a hundred or even fifty years ago, these flocks nevertheless subsist in the same way as they did then. During the winter and spring months they remain in the lower regions, during the summer and autumn the return to higher altitudes. The long trek from low to high, and vice versa, is called La Transhumance.

In September, the tranquil countryside of Provence undergoes a dramatic change. Heads pop up in the vineyards, farmers stoically take over the departmental roads with tractors pulling the harvest to the coopérative. It's the month of the Vendange!

In many ways the Christmas holidays in Provence are not much different than those elsewhere. Towns and villages are decorated with lights and evergreens, shops do a brisk business with the sales of Christmas decorations, toys, perfumes, electronic gadgets and other thoughtful gifts. Mailboxes are stuffed with catalogs from supermarkets, encouraging people to add foie gras, langoustine, oysters or champagne to the holiday dinner tables. But there are details in the celebration that are unique to Provence.