Provence Lavender & Villages: 8 Days Luberon, Avignon & Cooking

Tour Overview

Itinerary Highlights

Day 1: Arrive Avignon — City of the Popes

Touch down at Marseille Provence Airport or Avignon TGV station. Transfer to your boutique hotel in Avignon, the medieval walled city that was the seat of the papacy for 68 years in the 14th century. Seven successive popes ruled from here, and their legacy is the magnificent Palais des Papes — the largest Gothic palace in Europe. Evening: orientation walk through the Place de l’Horloge and a welcome dinner at a restaurant overlooking the illuminated Palais. Overnight in Avignon.

Day 2: Avignon & Chateauneuf-du-Pape Wine Route

Morning: guided tour of the Palais des Papes (UNESCO World Heritage), a fortress-palace of immense scale — 15,000 sq meters of floor space, with grand ceremonial halls, private papal chambers, and frescoed chapels. Walk through the adjacent Pont Saint-Benezet, the famous “Pont d’Avignon” that once spanned 22 arches across the Rhone (now only 4 remain). Afternoon: drive into the Chateauneuf-du-Pape wine region, where vines grow in galets roules (round stones that absorb heat during the day and radiate it at night). Visit two domaines for tastings of the powerful Grenache-based reds that made this appellation legendary. The vineyards date to the 14th century when Pope John XXII built a summer castle here. Overnight in Avignon.

Day 3: Luberon — Gordes, Roussillon & Senanque Abbey

Full day exploring the Luberon, the heart of Provence immortalized in Peter Mayle’s “A Year in Provence.” Morning: Gordes, a village literally carved into the rocky spur of the Vaucluse Mountains — its honey-colored stone houses cascade down the hillside, earning it the title “one of the Most Beautiful Villages of France.” Visit the 12th-century chateau and the village’s winding calades (cobbled lanes). Continue to Senanque Abbey (1148), a still-functioning Cistercian monastery set in a secluded valley — in summer, its lavender fields in full bloom create one of the most photographed scenes in all of France. Afternoon: Roussillon, the village of ochre — every building is painted in shades of burnt orange, red, and yellow from the ochre cliffs that surround it. Walk the Sentier des Ocres, a trail through surreal rust-colored canyons and pillars. Lunch at a farmhouse restaurant for Provencal cuisine. Overnight in Avignon.

Day 4: Arles, Les Baux & Carrières de Lumières

Morning: drive south to Arles, the Roman capital of Provence and the city where Vincent van Gogh produced over 300 paintings and drawings in just 15 months (1888-89), including “Starry Night Over the Rhone,” “Cafe Terrace at Night,” and “Bedroom in Arles.” Visit the remarkably preserved Roman Arena (90 AD, seats 20,000) and the ancient theater. Walk the Van Gogh trail marking the locations he painted. Afternoon: Les Baux-de-Provence, a dramatic fortified village perched on a rocky spur 245m above the surrounding plains. Explore the castle ruins and the Carrières de Lumières, an extraordinary sound-and-light show projected onto the 14m-high walls of a former limestone quarry — the immersive experience transforms the underground space into a moving canvas of art. Overnight in Avignon.

Day 5: Saint-Remy & Pont du Gard

Morning: Saint-Remy-de-Provence, a charming market town where Van Gogh voluntarily committed himself to the Saint-Paul de Mausole monastery asylum. It was here, between bouts of mental illness, that he painted “The Starry Night” and “Irises” — the cloister and surrounding olive groves and lavender fields remain largely unchanged from his time. Visit the nearby Glanum archaeological site, a Greek then Roman city with remarkably preserved monuments. Afternoon: drive west to the Pont du Gard (UNESCO World Heritage), the tallest Roman aqueduct ever built — 49m high, 275m long, constructed in 50 AD to carry water 50km to Nimes. The precision is staggering: the gradient drops just 2.5cm per 100m over its entire length. Swim or kayak in the Gardon River beneath the arches. Overnight in Avignon.

Day 6: Aix-en-Provence & Cassis Calanques

Morning: Aix-en-Provence, the elegant city of fountains and the birthplace of Paul Cezanne. Walk the tree-lined Cours Mirabeau, one of Europe’s most beautiful boulevards with its 17th-century mansions, plane trees, and bubbling fountains. Visit Cezanne’s studio (Atelier Cezanne), preserved exactly as he left it with his painting props, and the Mazarin Quarter with its baroque architecture. Afternoon: drive to the Mediterranean coast and Cassis, a charming fishing port nestled between dramatic white limestone cliffs. Take a boat tour through the Calanques National Park — a series of fjord-like inlets with turquoise water so clear it seems Caribbean. The Calanque d’En-Vau is particularly spectacular, a cathedral of limestone. Evening: seafood dinner at the Cassis harbor. Overnight in Avignon.

Day 7: Provencal Market & Cooking Class

Morning: experience a classic Provencal market day in one of the region’s famous towns (depending on the day — L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue Sunday market is legendary, with 300 stalls). Browse stalls overflowing with lavender, olive oil, tapenade, herbes de Provence, cheeses, saucisson, and hand-painted pottery. Afternoon: hands-on cooking class at a private farmhouse — learn to prepare a classic Provencal meal: soupe au pistou, daube provencale (slow-braised beef in red wine), ratatouille, and tarte tropezienne, all using ingredients from the morning market. Enjoy the meal you’ve prepared in the garden under plane trees. Farewell dinner with local wines. Overnight in Avignon.

Day 8: Depart Avignon

Morning at leisure for last visits — perhaps the Musée du Petit Palais with its exceptional collection of Italian Renaissance paintings, or one last coffee on the Place de l’Horloge. Transfer to Avignon TGV or Marseille Airport. Au revoir, Provence!

Inclusions

• 7 nights boutique hotel Avignon with breakfast
• Palais des Papes + Pont d’Avignon guided tour
• Chateauneuf-du-Pape wine tasting (2 domaines)
• Luberon villages full-day excursion (Gordes, Roussillon, Senanque)
• Arles Roman Arena + Van Gogh walking tour
• Carrieres de Lumieres sound-and-light show
• Pont du Gard guided visit + museum
• Aix-en-Provence walking tour + Cezanne’s studio
• Calanques boat tour from Cassis
• Provencal cooking class + market visit
• 6 dinners incl. wine + welcome & farewell dinner
• Private vehicle + English-speaking guide throughout