Attraction Reviews from Provence

Be welcomed as a guest into the studio in which Paul Cézanne created some of his most famous paintings; and immerse yourself in the life of the Aix-en-Provence artist.

The Van Gogh foundation is situated in a quiet side-street of Arles and has a fresh, modern aesthetic and fits beautifully within the narrow cobblestone streets.

The town of Uzès is located just northwest of Avignon, about a 40-minute drive. If you haven't made plans to visit this town, change them right now and go.

After a stern winter, spring in Provence comes alive with a spontaneous display of colors. Along the roads, yellow broom and mauve valerian spring up to signal that the dark months of winter are over. Red poppies add a vivid accent.

Mons is a tiny, yet lovely hilltop village on the edge of the northen Var and the Alpes Maritime regions of Provence. We had read that Mons had a turbulent past with plagues, besiegements, destruction and reconstruction. From the fifteenth century onwards it had been repopulated by families from the Genoa region.

St. Paul’s Mausoleum in Saint-Remy-de-Provence is considered an important part of art-history because of their most famous patient, Vincent van Gogh, who committed himself to the institution in 1889 and stayed for one year, signifying one of the most creative and difficult periods in his life.

To many fans of Peter Mayle's writing (A Year in Provence, Toujours Provence and others) the Luberon is the heart of Provence. To us, Provence is more than just the Luberon. Nevertheless, the region offers much of what defines Provence: hilltop villages, stone houses, vineyards, olive trees, the scent of herbs and a fierce Mistral.

The Musée Réattu emanates an air of secrecy, long forgotten tales and unsettled uprising within its courtyards and high ceilinged rooms.

In 1994 a limestone cave in the Ardeche was discovered that excited the archaeology world. Three caving enthusiasts discovered a cave richly decorated with charcoal drawings, hand prints and engravings that had been closed off by a rock fall for around 20,000 years keeping its contents in incredible condition. Named after one of the cavers, Chauvet Cave quickly became regarded as one of the greatest archaeological finds of our time. 

Come September, the forest fires have been extinguished, the heat waves have abated and the first rains have fallen - for many areas in Provence the first drops since the end of May. The air is cooler, though still warm in the middle of the day, and the sea has lost quite a few degrees of temperature, after an amazing high of 28 degrees Celsius.

On a sunny Tuesday morning in April I found myself getting quite lost in the maze of narrow streets and lanes in the stunning, and slightly quirky, hilltop town of Biot.

Let’s descend into the small crypt of the Basilica in St. Maximin. To your left and to your right you see four marble sarcophagi, dating from the 4th century. They are believed to contain the remains of Mary Magdalene and four other saints, including St. Maximin.

We arrived on a Saturday afternoon in late October, when skies were overcast and visitors were few. Just as in many of the larger Provencal towns, we were led on a circular road around the centre, barred from entering the inner city by car, as it should be.

I decided to pay a visit to the amphitheatre during my stay in Arles and it turned out to be a pretty phenomenal experience.