Touch Provence. Car trip. An engineering view of things

There are enough places in Europe that you need to visit at least once in your life. In addition to the standard European “must visit” - London, Paris and Rome, dictating policy traveling around Europe, – there are also less traveled routes. How do you like the idea of ​​going to an authentic French village?

“If you don’t speak French, don’t come to France”

The widespread myth about the disgusting attitude of the French towards those who do not speak their native language collapses in gallant Paris. However away from the capital, indeed, they will speak to you exclusively in the language of Voltaire. This should not be taken as an insult - the French are extremely friendly people. You can tell by their smiles and polite nods. Moreover, after spending a week or two in Provence, you yourself begin to chirp in a language vaguely reminiscent of French.

What to do in Provence?

You can’t think of a better activity in Provence than traveling from one village to another. Every road here passes through sleek vineyards, blooming lavender fields and cherry orchards, olive groves and romantic castle ruins, and roadside wineries add a pleasant sour taste to wandering through the expanses of France.

Tiny towns are found every few meters in Provence. The stone villages, even from a distance, do not resemble the usual Russian villages. Here you will not see any rickety wooden huts or sad cabbage beds. A sea of ​​​​various colors catches your eye: balconies and terraces are buried in bright pelargoniums and verbenas, not to mention endless fields of lavender. And in Luberon, for example, not only grow lavender, but also produce essential oils. The best time to plunge into the blue French lavender fields– mid-June, and from the beginning of July you can watch the flowers being collected.

Calm, just calm

The idyll of Provence is most clearly illustrated by a local saying that states that after lunch it is so quiet here that you can even hear the olives falling from the trees. Still, during the season roads of Provence filled with miniature Peugeots and Renaults, you might end up in a traffic jam.

Driving route through Provence

There are two ways to organize a Provençal auto trip. In the first scenario, you can settle in a specific city and explore the surrounding area every day. Another way is to travel along a pre-planned route. Here is an example of one of the possible routes in Provence:

Avignon

Medieval Avignon, surrounded by strong walls, is often called the city of the popes. This city is perfect for the role starting point for a trip to Provence. The main city attraction is the Papal Palace, where in the 14th century the papal residence was located, moved from the Vatican. For 70 years the entire Catholic Church was ruled from Avignon. Another Avignon hit is the medieval bridge of Saint-Bonese, which has only partially survived.

L'Ile-sur-la-Sorgue

A small medieval town located along the five branches of the Sorgue River. Numerous canals, coupled with indecently narrow cobblestone streets, make up an amazing urban ensemble. The banks of the canals, connected by nice bridges, are decorated with huge millstones of water mills. Every Thursday and Sunday there is a market in L'Ile-sur-la-Sorgue.

Luberon Valley

Roussillon, Gordes and Apt are just three of the many charming villages Luberon Valley. The brightest (in the literal sense of the word) - Roussillon, based on the site of ocher deposits. In addition to the traditional beauty of Provence, Roussillon boasts colorful ocher mines. To fully enjoy the views of the colorful rock outcrops, take a walk along the Centire des Ocrés hiking trail. The houses of Roussillon, by the way, also do not lack color - they are all painted in shades of red.

Greu-les-Bains

The town of Gréoux-les-Bains is located on the banks of the Verdon River. During the Roman Empire, Gréoux-les-Bains was famous for its thermal baths. And today he is famous thanks to healing springs, the temperature of which reaches 42 degrees. The city also houses a 12th-century fortress.

Aix-en-Provence

Central Boulevard Cours Mirabeau, planted with neat trees, is the main attraction of the village of Aix-en-Provence. In addition, in Aix-en-Provence you can see many large and small fountains.

Salon de Provence

The town of Salon-de-Provence stands on a hill, surrounding Amperi castle, which was built in the XII-XV centuries. and is considered one of the most beautiful castles in Provence. Another attraction of the Salon de Provence that should not be missed is the wonderful mossy fountain in the form of a mushroom. Salon de Provence is also famous for the fact that the famous medieval prophet spent 19 years of his life and died here Nostradamus.

Les Baux de Provence

The village of Les Baux de Provence is surrounded by olive groves and vineyards, and one of the main natural attractions here is Hell Valley with fantastic rocks. Les Baux de Provence can serve as a textbook example of a fortified Provençal village. The city has many craft workshops and souvenir shops, which are located on the ground floors of medieval houses.

Use of Skartoy materials.

I still can’t believe that I managed to get away on vacation in the summer, during the lavender blooming period! What struck me most was the Verdon Gorge! The Cretan road is very scary, exciting, but stunningly beautiful, these are the places that take your breath away, take your breath away, these are the moments that you want to keep in your memory forever! Of course, LAVENDER!!! It really is as beautiful as the photos, but alas, the photos don't do the smell justice!!! And you must feel it! This is the smell of Provence! MARKETS!!! This is a must! While reading the reports, I thought, why do people go to the market for the second day in a row? Is one day really not enough? No, not enough! In each village the market has its own flavor, each village has its own zest, and I advise you to visit as many markets as possible.

Saint-Paul-de-Vence is a very beautiful city, I recommend visiting it. Narrow streets, beautiful cobbled steps. Reminiscent of Lefkara. This town is one of the most visited on the Cote d'Azur, located very close to Nice. Surrounded by a 16th-century fortress wall, the city lives its own life, unlike other cities. Medieval streets, of which there are very few in the city, form a kind of pilgrimage route through the city’s numerous art galleries. Modigliani, Picasso, Soutine, Matisse, Cocteau, Colette, Sartre, Yves Montand and Garbo, Sophia Loren and Alain Delon at one time lived in this picturesque fortress. Here's the famous one Grasse We somehow didn’t like it, there are a lot of black and suspicious personalities, if you go a little away from the central streets, it stinks, excuse me, of urine, I don’t recommend this city. In the 16th century, humanity learned to make thin leather gloves, belts, boots, cloaks and dresses. And it all smelled bad. This is how perfumers appeared who were able to add a delicate aroma to leather products using essential oils. Here, in the valley near Grasse, the skill of perfumers flourished. There are 40 perfume factories around this valley. The history of perfume production in Grasse goes back 400 years. Grasse flowers are the basis of all French perfumery! In the evening we booked the Logis Hôtel Le Vieil Amandier for one night in the city Trigance to explore the Verdon Gorge early in the morning before the crowds of tourists appear there. I categorically did not like the hotel - terrible dinner, poor breakfast, not included in the price, the Internet does not work in the room, they charge extra for everything, they even charged some kind of tourist tax, although this is the first time we have seen this in France. Day 3, Monday, Verdon Gorge, Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, lavender fields Leaving Trigance we drove along the D952 to La Palud-sur-Verdon, where we turned off and made a full circle along the D23 (Route des Crêtes du Verdon) Cretan road, stopping at all the viewpoints. It is very important here that you do not follow the navigator, but follow the signs to Cretan road! I understand that previously the road was two-way along its entire length, but we “broke it off”; having driven halfway, we saw a brick sign, we had to go back and go around it completely, but in a different direction. This is truly a must visit place!!! The views will take your breath away! For me, the feeling of this place can be compared to the observation deck in Dachstein. And if there is an opportunity, I will definitely visit these beauties again! Photos cannot convey the full power of these places, but it is simply a delight! After a trip around the gorge, we decided to refresh ourselves with a swim in the lake And this is the beach! We turned to the closest one (although the reports say that the best beaches are further away), so as not to waste time, we quickly changed clothes and ran into the water! Bliss! Water invigorates! Out of habit, after the Mediterranean Sea, it’s hard to keep your body in the water, because the salty sea itself holds you! But now we have a second wind and we can continue on our way! After swimming we stopped at the village Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, which simply charmed us! Waterfalls, mountains, beautiful streets, a wonderful selection of souvenirs. We had a great meal and rested in La Cascade, 3 Rue de la Bourgade The town, although very small, is very colorful; it is not for nothing that it appears on the list of the Most Beautiful Cities in France. We don’t have time to drive far from the village when we see a crowd of Chinese surrounding something and taking photographs (in general, crowds of Chinese are a common occurrence in Provence), we stop and see them - donkeys! The weather turned bad, it became cloudy and it was drizzling, but we had lavender fields according to plan, so we drove to the city Valensole, and from there to Digne-les-Bains. Just between them we found the greatest concentration of fields! My first lavender field! Remember how you shouted to your husband: “Stop!” And he grumbled that the field was not photogenic enough and that we needed to look further and why the lavender was so low and the ground was visible. But I didn’t care - here it is, my first field, I’ve waited!!! A dream come true! Ahead we encountered many more fields - of very different lengths, widths, heights. Some of them are completely ugly - with weeds and half-dried flowers. But there are also a lot of beautiful fields! In the evening we checked into our permanent hotel-mill, where we spent 5 nights and with which we are very, very pleased! Cost – 85 euros with breakfast! The place is quiet, cozy, colorful! Keep in mind that on a Monday in Provence many restaurants are closed and we had to have pizza for dinner, although to be fair the pizza was very tasty! Day 4, Tuesday. Aix-en-Provence-Ansois-Cucuron-Lourmarin-Chateau la Canorgue-Salon-de-Provence On Tuesdays at Aix-en-Provence there is a market, so the first thing we did was go there. Keep in mind that the city is quite large, there are traffic jams, but there are also equipped multi-level parking lots. The market is not easy to find, but we finally found it by wandering. In general, to be honest, I don’t really understand the excitement about this city; there are prettier towns in Provence. But in Aix-en-Provence there are many chain stores like Zara, etc., if anyone is interested in such shopping, then keep it in mind. We then visited two small but charming villages Both villages are very small, we got there in the afternoon, apparently during siesta, so it was not crowded at all. Ancois was remembered for the castle (which was closed) and beautiful views of the surrounding area. Kyukuron is distinguished by a large number of cats and good souvenir shops. This is all, of course, not counting the wonderful architecture, flowers and cute details! Then we stopped at a castle in the village Lourmarin. As I have written many times, we love castles and always try to visit them when we travel. Provence was no exception. After searching through information about the region, I found a magnificent castle worthy of our visit - Lourmarin. Our visit to this palace more than lived up to our expectations! We enjoyed walking not only inside the castle, looking at its interiors, but also in the park with blooming lilies. In the evening we still had time and we were going to visit the lavender fields near the city of Sol, but in that direction the sky was black and lightning was flashing, so we decided to stop by Salon-de-Provence, wandered around the town a bit, we didn’t particularly like it, and I don’t recommend dining at the L’endroit restaurant - it’s a mess on the plate. Day 5, Wednesday, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence - Monastery of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole - Carriers de Lumiere - Les Baux - Moulin de Daudet-Arles On Wednesdays there are markets in the city Saint Remy, so be sure to visit it on this day, this market is one of the largest and there are a lot of interesting goods and souvenirs for every taste! This was the most interesting and colorful market we have seen in Provence! They sell everything here - from clothes, paintings, souvenirs, stained glass, bags, soap, ending, of course, with a huge variety of food products - olives, pates, tapenade, vegetables, fruits, cheeses, sausages, seasonings, fish and much, much more! The market occupies a huge area! And street musicians play to lift your spirits! In the vicinity of Saint-Rémy there is a mental hospital where Van Gogh lived for a long time. I read in some reports that people from the city can walk to it, but in the summer when it’s hot, I don’t recommend it, we went by car, and that’s right, it’s not particularly close, about 1.5 km. This is an iconic place for connoisseurs of the artist, I was a little “stuck” and infected with madness, and I even entered into the navigator instead of Les Baux, which is 15 minutes away, Bonniex, which is 2 hours away, I realized my mistake only 20 minutes later, when we We've already gone quite far. So, the spirit of Van Gogh really hovers there))) Van Gogh's chamber is still preserved in the clinic. His attending physician, Théophile Peyron, after examining the patient, came to the conclusion that Van Gogh suffered from a form of epilepsy. When the attacks passed, the artist felt quite well. Van Gogh painted a lot in the clinic. During the year that he spent in Sant Pol de Mosol, he painted dozens of paintings! It remains a mystery to me why the Impressionists and Van Gogh in particular did not paint lavender fields? In Provence, Van Gogh became interested in painting cypresses, olive trees, wheat, painted the famous irises, blooming almonds, but not lavender!? Has it been grown in Provence for 150 years or is this a tourist marketing ploy? Carriers de Lumieres(Quarry of Light) – really liked it! We watched several videos, not only with impressionists, but also with nature! What an amazing idea to have a light show like this in the quarries! My husband didn’t want to come here, he grumbled that it would be something horrible. But in the end, he squealed with delight even before entering the show, since he liked the rocks and quarries themselves)) And he was absolutely delighted with the show! Huge projectors on the walls, floor and ceiling of a huge area show impressionist paintings accompanied by beautiful music; it’s difficult to describe in words, but it’s a must see! After the show we walked around the village Bo, nice, but it was already a bit hot, and the village is hilly, so the impressions were blurry. Then on the way to Arles stopped by Daudet Mill, beautiful! According to legend, the French writer Daudet bought this mill and lived in it for a long time. The mill was built in 1814 and ground grain until 1915. Moulin Alphonse Daudet is the only surviving tower windmill in the area. Driving near the village of Mees, we saw very unusual rocks. We stopped to take photos of them. And already at home, in the guidebook, I came across an interesting legend. The rocks turned out to be monks turned into stones. Day 6, Thursday, L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue – Fontaine-de-Vaucluse – Abbaye de Sénanque – Roussillion In the morning we went to the market in Ile sur la sorgue, of course, the antique market is there on Sundays, but Sunday didn’t work out for us, so we had to go on Thursday. I really liked the town itself – the streets by the river, the bridges, the beauty! I highly recommend visiting it! Many travelers indulge in comparing cities of different countries with Venice. So I also decided to pay tribute to this tradition, because in my opinion, L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue really resembles this magical city on the water. In ancient times, this place was a vast swampy area with an unhealthy and harmful climate. Several families of fishermen settled here, who drained these lands using drainage canals to improve living conditions. This market has a wonderful selection of clothes, I bought myself several sundresses and a new T-shirt, which I immediately put on Fountain de vaucluse, to be honest, I was not impressed. I was in love with this place in absentia, because everywhere they unanimously wrote that it is simply a must see, people come here from all sides and corners of the world to admire the magical source of unearthly beauty, emerald waters, the famous poet Petrarch sang these places in his works , attracted by their mystical beauty and lyricism and, in general, terribly beautiful! I think in the spring, when there is high water, it should be very beautiful there, but in the summer, when we walked there for about 45 minutes in the heat from the parking lot and found the lake not full, it was somehow even a little disappointing. Although the road to the lake itself is beautiful! Next on the plan is the famous Senank Abbey, whose monks believe that only they grow real lavender. I was hoping to buy some souvenirs from this very lavender there, but the packages listed Marseille and other cities, the monks apparently don’t bother themselves with work. A very recognizable place, because its photograph is perhaps the most popular among the covers of guidebooks to France and Provence with the Cote d'Azur, and among postcards too. I think many people started or are starting to get acquainted with Provence with the books of Peter Mayle or with the film adaptation of one of them - the film “A Good Year”. If you haven’t read the Mail or haven’t seen the movie, be sure to correct this mistake! I have never met a single person who would remain indifferent to these works! We visited many places in Provence that are connected with them. For example, Peter Mail lives in Lourmarin, by the way, I understand him, and now, after 3 visits to Provence, I would also give preference to this village and its surroundings. Near the village of Bonneux we stopped at Chateau la Canorgue – the chateau from the film. And in this post I will show you Gord and its surroundings, which also actively appear in the film. Roussillon is considered one of the most beautiful villages in France, and in my opinion, rightfully so! The colors of the houses are amazing: yellow, orange, pink, red, crimson, which turns every street into a bright postcard, somewhat reminiscent of Burano. A short walk from the city center there is an ocher reserve - a beautiful route through the quarry. A forty-minute walk through the reserve will give you landscapes that seem unearthly! We still had time, but we were tired, so we walked a little around the town of Apt, sitting in a restaurant and looking at passers-by Day 7 Friday, Carpentras, Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer I know that the route is not logical, but on the last day I wanted to visit one more market, and on Fridays Peter Mail praised the market in Carpentray. In my opinion, this was the worst market we have seen, there are a lot of Arabs here, and Chinese-Turkish things, more like Barabashka and Cherkizon (for those in the know). But there are also several rows with Provençal goods Camargue wonderful! We saw white horses, black bulls, pink flamingos! Swimmed in the Mediterranean Sea. The influence of Spain can already be felt here! By the way, for those who complain that the sea in Cyprus is cold! You're kidding me! Swim in France and you will understand that the sea in Cyprus is just fresh milk! Even my arms and legs were a little cramping from the temperature of the water, although, of course, it’s invigorating! There is a bird park in the Camargue! In general, I am rather indifferent to birds, but the best representatives are presented here)) The pearl of the park is, of course, pink flamingos! As far as I understand, wild flamingos fly to the Camargue, as well as to Cyprus, for the winter, but some sources write that in the summer only wild flamingos gather in the park. In any case, it doesn’t matter whether they are wild or tamed, the main thing is that they are beautiful! In addition to flamingos, you can find about 200 more species of birds here - seagulls, birds of prey, hawks, black kites, tits and more. The Camargue is worth a visit not only for the ornithological park of Pont de Gau. This region is most famous for the town with the Spanish flavor of Sainte-Marie-de-la-Mer and the white horses of the Camargue. The Camargue is considered one of the few corners that have been preserved in more or less original form. The Camargue is a complex maze of beaches, sand dunes, reed beds, coastal pastures, and salt pans. 90% of all salt consumed in France is mined here. Coarse Camargue salt, or as it is also poetically called “Flowers of the Camargue” here, is especially valued. The local beaches are considered good, we also swam, but their beauty is about the same as our Larnaca beaches, and even in July the water is a little cold compared to Cyprus! _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Blog partners:

Almost a year has passed since I promised to tell you about one of my most beautiful travels. It was the south of France, Provence. And now this day has come! :)
Thanks to my memory - I seem to still remember how it was :)

Go!

Since we were going to this region for the first time, we wanted to see everything at once so that we would definitely understand where we wanted to return. It was a bit of a gallop, but we still managed to get a relatively clear impression. I wanted to spend more time in some cities, I have already visited some for the second time and, if everything goes well, I will go to the third in October.

To travel you need: a good mood, a passion for French cuisine, the ability to entertain yourself on quiet evenings, a car, a desire to look and see, a little stamina (I’ll talk about this separately) and a love of rural landscapes.

And forgive me my passion for hipstamatic and amateur photographs :)

At first I struggled with the route for a long time, but then it somehow appeared on its own:

Salon-de-Provence is a small town with a population of just over 40 thousand people. It gained fame thanks to its soap factories and the fact that in the 16th century Michel Nostradamus lived there for the final 25 years of his life. There is a museum in the city, but we didn’t get to it.

Evening of the first day. Nice hotel room interior.

And morning!

After lunch we headed to Avignon. Distance approximately 60 km. An ordinary road, not a highway, and therefore very picturesque.

On the way to Avignon:

Avignon is located on the left bank of the Rhone. The city is famous and beautiful. I won’t give historical information (not to copy Wikipedia, really), but I will share a couple of interesting photographs. And yes: you need to go to this city.

Small restaurant with Michelin stars. Great meat and chilled wine, friendly staff and a lovely patio.

A little bit of the city.

Street of burnt cars.

We did not stay overnight in Avignon and went to Lyon. Distance approximately 240 km.

To be fair, I will say: this map is not entirely correct - in fact, we first drove along a country road, and then got onto the autobahn - approximately in the Valence area.

But the most beautiful thing, of course, was along the country road - VINEYARDS!

Lyon himself.
This, of course, is no longer quite Provence - Lyon is the administrative center of the Rhône-Alpes region.
What can I tell you about this city? He's amazing! A definite must-go. I was there for the second time last November and will come again and again!

Nice details.

Theater.

Place Carnot.

Restaurants are waiting for guests for dinner.

We stayed in Lyon for a day, and it turned out to be painfully short. I repeat: must-go!

After Lyon, we went to the town of Ebens - it’s not even a town, but a commune! Distance approximately 120 km. On the way we stopped in Grenoble, but the city did not make any impression.

But the road was amazing!

A little bit of Grenoble.

And here we are at the cutest little spa hotel in Ebens.

Funny prose.

Hotel area: cozy gazebos, silence, wonderful air. Height - 408 meters above sea level.

The most wonderful tea party!

And a little girlish joy - greetings from Lyon :)

Hills and mountains.
We are driving along the so-called Napoleon Road (N85), laid from Cannes to Grenoble - it was along this route that the Emperor returned from Elba in February 1815.

A little Chablis at the foot of the Alps never hurts!

Gap turned out to be a small city of funny statues.

Late in the evening we entered Manosque.

And here’s what he’s like in the morning!

The cutest little town.

We stayed in Manosque until lunch, after which we stopped at the small airfield of Vinon-sur-Verdon.

A little picnic :)

Next we were going to go to the legendary city of perfumers - Grasse. The navigator offered me 2 routes. They differed in length - about 10 kilometers, and I, of course, chose the short one, but... I, a person terribly afraid of heights and mountain roads, should have paid attention to the fact that part of the route runs through the mountains, and part has characteristic mountain slopes with sharp turns. Distance is about 160 km.

And then the horror story begins! :)

At first everything is quite nice: a coniferous forest.

Rough slides...

The most beautiful lake of Sainte-Croix!

Soon after which the Verdon Gorge begins.

This, I’ll tell you honestly, is very beautiful, but terribly scary! Literally around this turn, the road goes into the shadows and for the next 40 kilometers it goes along a mountain cliff: in some places there are no guardrails and you can see a cliff with a mountain river rumbling below, there are no road markings anywhere, and oncoming traffic is very unnerving.
In fact, this is a huge fault: on the left there is a sheer cliff upwards, on the right it goes down.
I don’t take any further photographs, because I’m trying to do two things: not die of horror and not strangle myself for taking such a route.

1. Vaison la Romaine- Built along the river bank, Vasio Vocontiorum flourished during the Roman era. After the collapse of the Roman Empire and several years of floods, all traces of the ancient Roman civilization were buried under a layer of sand. It was not until 1907 that the Roman ruins were rediscovered. Before this, Vason was a small village with a Romanesque cathedral from the 11th century and a cloister from the 12th - 13th centuries. The upper town is surrounded by a 14th-century fortification wall, built from stones left over from Roman buildings. Complementing this is a dramatic looking 12th century castle.
2. - the beauty, aroma and tranquility of this abbey, located in, will forever remain in the memory. This Cistercian monastery is surrounded by one of the most famous. The cloister of the cathedral (12th century) is distinguished by fine stone carvings.
3. - one of the most boasts a Renaissance castle from the 12th century. Steep streets - calades— framed by ancient houses. And just below Gordes is the Village des Bories - an ensemble of characteristic dry stone buildings, some of which date back to the Bronze Age.
4. - , is famous for its monumental - evidence of the power of the papacy in the 14th century.
5. - in this ancient city there are preserved monuments of the Gallo-Roman era, among which - preserved in better condition than the Roman Colosseum, as well as
   - a magnificent ancient Roman temple with a panoramic platform. Porta Augusta is the best preserved Roman gate in the city. The Domitian Road led from Rome to Spain, passing through Nîmes, so the gate had to be large enough for a horse-drawn carriage to pass through.
6. Aigues-Morges- south of Nîmes, the city, located in the center of the Camargue nature reserve, is one of the best preserved fortified cities in France. The fortress walls (1272-1300) still completely surrounding the city are pierced by 10 gates.
7. - Known as the "little Rome of the Gauls", Arles boasts some of the best preserved Gallo-Roman monuments: , and the Roman necropolis complements it.
8. — - the streets of Saint-Rémy, lined with houses from the 15th - 16th centuries, contrast with Glanum, located 2 km from the center, where an impressive building has been preserved.
9. Ile d'If ()- on this small island Francis I built a fortress (1524-28) designed to protect Marseille. Later, bastions were added, but the fortress was never attacked. But it became a prison where Huguenots and political prisoners were imprisoned. This fortress was used by Alexandre Dumas in his work “The Count of Monte Cristo”. Among the most famous prisoners of the prison is the Man in the Iron Mask.
10. This popular beach resort was once a thriving Roman settlement. In a port city, the Fréjus amphitheater was more likely intended for soldiers rather than for the wealthy public, which is why it is much inferior in sophistication to the amphitheaters of Nîmes and Arles.
11. La Turbie— here are the ruins of a monument (Trophée des Alpes), built by the Roman emperor Augustus in the 6th century BC. to commemorate his conquest of what is now France by Rome. Only the pedestal has survived, but a miniature copy can be seen in the Musée du Trophée d’Auguste.

1. is a popular adventure park dedicated to the ocean.
2. — in addition to ancient Roman monuments, you can visit Parc Zoölogique, as well as the Aqualand water park.
3. Ile de Porquerolles - many children will delight in a boat trip to this island, with its beaches, forests and bike paths.
4. Village des Tortues (Gonfaron) - 2,500 species of turtles are collected here, including the Hermann species, which has almost disappeared in France.
5. Aoubre (Flassans) - in this forest you can feel like primates, flying from tree to tree between installed platforms. There is a “Mowgli path” - at a height of 1 m above the ground.
6. La Barben - in this park at the foot of the castle over 600 animals (120 species) live together
7. — the picturesque old Bridge of Avignon, ancient houses with various knocking handles. And you can take a ride on a tourist mini-train.
8. — here you can see many birds and animals, and “French cowboys” driving herds of snow-white Camargue horses.

In the footsteps of the greats who captured on their canvases:

1. - adored by Jean Cocteau, to whom the local museum is now dedicated.
2. - The 5th largest city in France attracted many artists and painters in the 19th and 20th centuries, including Henri Matisse. A small but interesting collection of paintings in , and an outstanding collection of modern art in .
3. — Marc Chagall lived here for a long time. A museum is dedicated to him, located, however, in Nice. Amadeo Modigliani, Pierre Bonnard and Paul Signac also visited here in the 1920s.
4. Vence- Chapelle du Rosaire, designed by Matisse.
5. Cagnes-sur-Mer— Renoir said about this town that “this is the place in which I would like to paint for the rest of my life.” The city houses the Renoir Museum.
6. Biot- the town famous for its ceramics became home to Fernand Léger, who spent the last years of his life here. The Musée Nationale Fernand-Léger is dedicated to him.
7. - The Grimaldi Castle is home to the first-class Picasso Museum. Picasso spent a year in 1946 working in this castle. And when leaving, he donated all his works to the city, including paintings, drawings, ceramics, lithographs...
8. Vallauris- attracts lovers of ceramics and Picasso with its three museums: Musée National de Picasso, Musée Magnelli, and Musée de la Céramique. Picasso lived here from 1948 to 1955, creating about 4,000 ceramic works. He also decorated the local chapel with two magnificent contrasting paintings: La Paix (Peace) and La Guerre (War).

Independent travel does not necessarily mean a trip to Asia, or a third world country, or somewhere very, very far away. Independent travel first of all assumes that you do not use the services of tour companies. That is, in general. And you take on all the worries and troubles of organizing the event.

Undoubtedly, travel is different from travel. Some require very careful and lengthy preparation. You can go to others by purchasing a ticket yesterday. Using the example of my next trip, I will tell you how I prepare for trips myself.

So, first things first! As I wrote, the first and most important thing is to choose the right direction.

For example, in the summer I like to travel to Europe. It's warm and sunny there. Everything blooms and smells. Overall beauty! Additional bonuses - short flights, familiar culture, European service, no need to think about vaccinations and a first aid kit. You can forget about everything and just relax!!!

So, after listening to Yolka’s song “Provence”, I really wanted to go there. I also remembered that I always wanted to admire the endless lavender fields. And also, what delicious cuisine there is. And as luck would have it, Belotserkovskaya’s latest book was on the shelf, I leafed through it, and I just couldn’t resist! Enough good reasons to go to the south of France :)

Buying flights

Opened Wikipedia. It became clear that we had to fly to Nice or Marseille.

To determine the best time to travel and fulfill another dream of mine, I asked when the fragrant lilac plant blooms. From mid-June to late July. This is the period I started asking all flight search engines. Almost no one flies directly from Helsinki to Marseille, but it was necessary to go there - to the capital of Provence. And since we decided to travel as a family, with a five-year-old child, I chose Lufthansa flights. A little more expensive, but convenient connections and proven service.

Although at first I thought about a trip of 5-6 days, the trip ended up being 8 days. The difference in ticket price would be too significant, almost twice as much, if we returned in five days. In this case, it seemed to me more reasonable to choose a cheaper flight and spend more time on vacation.

Collecting information about the country

In this case, this point is smoothly spread across all the others. I read about Provence even before buying tickets and am still reading now, having already booked my accommodation. What am I looking for? Flowering schedule of lavender fields - it turns out that in different regions of Provence the plant blooms at different times.

I look for interesting places, such as the Pond du Garde or the Coliseum in Arles.

Downloading the Michelin restaurant guide to Provence. Practice shows that in Italy and France, star restaurants are often located in villages and small towns. The food in such places is no less delicious, and the price tag pleasantly surprises even for dinner with good wine!

Some information comes by itself; you should not ignore such clues from the Universe. I accidentally came across a photograph of a herd of white horses running on water. It became interesting where you can see such a miracle, it turned out to be in Provence :) So I opened the Camargue park with horses and flamingos.

The more information you have about the region when going on a trip, the more chances you will have to make your trip a pleasant pleasure.

Route planning

From my previous travels, and I had already been to Provence several times, I remembered that all the distances there are quite short. And the density of architectural monuments and other remarkable places is due to centuries-old history and ancient heritage. Everywhere is interesting, every town is ancient and special in its own way.

But since the purpose of the trip was primarily relaxation, and not acquaintance with historical monuments, I only added lavender fields and the Camargue Park to the must-have list. And this is for a whole 8 days!!! The rest of the time we will drink rosé, snack on goat cheese and do nothing! And with this option, there is always the opportunity to arrange a pleasant unplanned surprise for yourself, going “wherever your eyes look.”

Budget calculation

Having already had some travel experience, I can roughly estimate how much the trip will cost. So I calculated how much the flight, hotel, car rental and approximately everyday expenses would cost. I added a couple hundred for souvenirs and shopping. Voila - the budget is ready.

But as a rule, I never fit into the calculated budget, because I always want more. From the very beginning, without flying anywhere yet. If you choose a place to live, then, of course, next to the chateau and definitely with a swimming pool. If you buy wine, it is the best in the region. But if you know how to restrain yourself and limit yourself, the budget will be as you calculate :)

I took almost all the money with me in cash; in France, in small towns and villages there are problems with ATMs and card terminals. It is always more convenient to pay in cash in local shops and markets.

Search and book housing and cars

This turned out to be the most difficult point on this journey.

Firstly, I was not looking for a hotel room, but housing with two rooms and a kitchen. It turned out that accommodation in a separate house is a very popular practice in France. Various, usually authentic, houses that have everything for life and are intended for rent are called “gite”. For 1000-1500 euros, for example, you can get a whole chateau for ten people for a week!!! But I was looking for something smaller.

Secondly, summer is the high season; all the housing suitable for me was already occupied by the end of August. The second point was that accommodation is usually rented out for a week and only from Saturday to Saturday. We flew to Provence on Tuesday and flew out on Wednesday. In this case, it would be useful to find out before purchasing flights...

And finally, thirdly, all booking sites are in French. Moreover, even if you write a request to the owner or agent in English, you will still receive an answer in French! It’s good that we live in the 21st century and there is a wonderful Google Translit. Thanks to him, I even managed to answer in French. True, I’m not sure that I was understood correctly;) In my opinion, of the many booking sites, Live is the most understandable and convenient

After much searching and negotiations in French, I chose two lives, each lasting four days. The first is not far from Lambesc on the territory of the chateau with the beautiful name De Libran, and the second is a little higher and closer to the lavender fields near the picturesque town of Baume De Venis. In fact, I asked the owner of another house, but it was busy, and she kindly offered me a huge house with four bedrooms and a swimming pool, but available for the dates I needed, for half the price. And of course I agreed :)

I didn't want to rent a car, France has pretty good public transport connections and we weren't planning on moving around much. But after thinking about it, I decided that with a child it would be easier and more mobile to be on wheels at any time. Even if we only use the car for a few days out of 8. Therefore, I was looking for the simplest car without any complaints, the most profitable thing was on the website, they work with Hertz, so the service is quite decent.

The trip is ready! Let's hit the road!!!

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