La strada della Lavanda

Towards Provence

We leave in the afternoon heading toward Provence, crossing the border at the Colle della Maddalena and, after a short stop at Jausier, we reach Laragne where we spend the night.

Sault, the Albion Plateau and Mont Ventoux

We leave from Laragne heading toward Sederon, crossing the narrow and picturesque Gorges de la Meouge. From Sederon the lavender fields begin and we make many stops to take photographs before reaching Sault. This small village, quiet and typically Provençal, overlooks the plateau d'Albion, one of the best-known areas for lavender production. In the main square of the village we enjoy an excellent viewpoint over the fields below. We set off again toward Banon where we take a tour of this small medieval village. The next stop is St.Cristol d'Albion which we reach by crossing Rustrel and its magnificent Colorado Provencal already visited during the Easter holidays. At St.Cristol we see the church of Notre Dames in Romanesque style with very well-worked capitals.

Since it is still early to go to Malaucene, where we will spend the night, we decide to climb up to Mont Ventoux, a legendary cycling summit that offers a beautiful panorama, but also a crazy wind! At Malaucene, after dinner, we stroll through the village with narrow alleys and suggestive corners.

Crpentras, Pernes les fontaines and Senanque

The first stop of the day is Carpentras which we reach after stopping at Barroux to see the castle from outside. After visiting the city we go to Pernes les Fountaines, a village famous for having at least 40 fountains. We take a tour and see some, but not having a precise map of their location it remains difficult to track them down. It is afternoon and we decide to go as far as the abbey of Senanque to photograph it amid the blooming lavender fields. The panorama is beautiful with all this blue color! We skip, instead, the visit of the abbey because due to the great heat we are not dressed appropriately. On the road that takes us to Valensole we stop again to see the beautiful Pont Julien near Bonnieux.

Valensole, the plateau and the Lavender Festival

Today is a holiday in Valensole: it's the Lavender Festival. After breakfast we therefore head into the village and attend the various events, the costume parade, the distribution of bouquets and the market set up with stalls offering local products rigorously based on lavender. We taste and buy something, visit the small village and attend a display of artisan items and a hand massage demonstration. We have lunch, but the weather seems to be turning bad, so we decide to leave to take another tour of the Plateau of Valensole. We cross the lavender fields, stopping often to photograph the landscape. Having arrived at Riez we return to Valensole and take the road home, fully satisfied with the way we spent our time here.