Provence: 7 Days Among Lavender, Villages and Markets

We arrived by TGV from Paris (2h40, from €50). Avignon is walled and can be walked in half a day. The Palais des Papes (€12) is worth it with the HistoPad audio guide: it shows you what each room looked like in the 14th century.

Don't miss the Pont d'Avignon (yes, from the song, only 4 arches remain, €5). Best seen from the other bank, on Île de la Barthelasse.

Day 2: trip to the Pont du Gard, the best-preserved Roman aqueduct in the world (€12 with museum). 25 minutes by car from Avignon.

We picked up the car in Avignon (€45/day, cheaper at the airport) and arrived at Senanque Abbey at 7:30 in the morning. Why so early: by 9 the crowds arrive and parking is impossible. The cliché Provence photo (Cistercian abbey + lavender) has to be earned.

Then we climbed to Gordes, voted France's most beautiful village. Park in the paid lot below and walk up 10 minutes. Best view from the curve of the D15.

Lunch at Le Cercle Républicain in Gordes, terrace with views. €28 set menu. Free afternoon by the accommodation pool.

Roussillon is the red village. Houses are painted with the 17 shades of ochre from local quarries. The Sentier des Ocres is essential (€3, 1h), a walk through the old quarries turned into a reddish canyon.

Provençal market in Apt Saturday morning: olives, tapenade, lavender, Cavaillon melons, goat cheeses. We ate outdoors with local product: bread, cheese, rosé wine. €25 for two.

Afternoon: Saignon, a less touristy Luberon village, with its Rocher de Bellevue (free) and 360-degree views.

The Valensole plateau is where Provence's biggest concentration of lavender grows. Bloom peak: June 25 to July 15. 1.5h by car from the Luberon.

We stopped at the Lavanderaie d'Angelvin field (free), with sunflowers and lavender together. The shot. We carried hats, water and sunscreen: by 11 it's already 35°C.

Lunch in Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, village at the entrance of the Verdon Gorge. Famous faïence pottery and the star hung between two cliffs, a medieval vow now 800 years old. In the afternoon, Pont du Galetas viewpoint over the emerald reservoir.

We moved base to Aix-en-Provence, Cézanne's city. Calm, elegant, full of fountains. Market at Place Richelme every morning: we strolled and bought for picnic.

We visited Atelier Cézanne (€10), preserved exactly as the painter left it. We climbed Mont Sainte-Victoire via the red Bibemus trail (3h, take water): the mountain Cézanne painted 87 times.

Day 7: Cours Mirabeau, the hôtels particuliers, Pavillon de Vendôme. We returned to Avignon by regional train (1h, €22) to drop off the car and TGV back to Paris.