10 Best Things to Do in Provence for First-Time Visitors

When looking for the best things to do in Provence, it’s easy to focus on the places you’ve been in photographs. But Provence is one of those places that is difficult to understand from photographs alone.

Of course, there are the lavender fields, old stone villages and beautiful markets that you see everywhere online. But for me, the real charm of Provence is often found in much smaller moments: sitting on a café terrace in the morning, hearing cicadas on a hot afternoon, wandering through a village without knowing exactly where you’re going, or coming home from the market with far more tomatoes, cheese and olives than you intended to buy.

If you’re visiting Provence for the first time, it can be tempting to try to see everything.

My advice? Don’t.

Provence is much more enjoyable when you leave a little room in your itinerary to slow down.

Here are 10 of the best things to do in Provence for a first visit, combining some of the region’s famous sights with the simple experiences that make this part of France so special.

1. Wander Through the Hilltop Villages of Provence

If there is one thing I would recommend to almost everyone visiting Provence, it is to spend some time exploring its villages.

Some are famous, while others barely appear in guidebooks.

You’ll find narrow stone streets, old fountains, little squares shaded by plane trees, cafés with a handful of tables and viewpoints that suddenly appear at the end of a tiny alley.

In the Luberon, villages such as Gordes, Roussillon, Bonnieux and Ménerbes make a beautiful introduction to Provence.

But don’t feel that you need to rush from one famous village to another.

Choose a few. Park the car. Walk.

Stop for coffee.

Look through the little shops.

And if you see a small street that looks interesting, follow it.

That’s often where Provence becomes memorable.

Don’t have a car?

Visiting several villages in one day can be difficult without your own transport. A guided day trip can be a practical alternative, especially if you only have a few days in Provence.

Check Provence village tours and day trips on Klook.

2. Visit a Provençal Market

A market morning is one of my favourite ways to experience Provence.

You’ll find stalls piled with seasonal fruit and vegetables, olives, cheeses, saucisson, herbs, flowers, honey, bread and sometimes beautiful local pottery and linens.

But a Provençal market isn’t simply somewhere to buy food.

It’s part of everyday life.

People stop to talk. They compare tomatoes. They ask the cheese seller what’s good this week. Someone inevitably meets someone they know.

If you’re staying in an apartment or holiday house, buy a few things for lunch.

You don’t need anything complicated.

Good tomatoes, bread, cheese, fruit and perhaps a jar of tapenade can become one of the nicest meals of your trip.

Chez Thao tip: Arrive reasonably early. Markets are much more pleasant before the midday heat and crowds.

Read next: How to Enjoy a Provençal Market Like a Local.

3. See the Lavender Fields

For many visitors, lavender is the image they associate most strongly with Provence.

And when the fields are in bloom, they really are beautiful.

Depending on the area, weather and altitude, lavender generally blooms from June into July and sometimes early August, so don’t plan an entire trip around lavender without checking the conditions for the particular area you want to visit.

The Plateau de Valensole is probably the most famous lavender destination, but there are lavender-growing areas elsewhere in Provence too.

If you visit, remember that these fields are working farmland rather than photo studios.

Stay on paths where possible, don’t pick the lavender without permission and be respectful of the farmers’ land.

If you’re travelling without a car, a lavender tour can make reaching the countryside considerably easier.

See lavender tours in Provence on Klook.

4. Spend a Day in Avignon

Avignon is an excellent city to include on a first trip to Provence.

The historic centre is compact enough to explore on foot, yet there is plenty to see.

The most famous attraction is the Palais des Papes, the enormous medieval palace that reflects the period when the papacy was based in Avignon.

Then there is the famous Pont Saint-Bénézet, better known to many people as the Pont d’Avignon.

But don’t spend your entire visit rushing between monuments.

Walk through the old streets, stop in the squares and sit down somewhere for lunch or coffee.

Avignon is also a useful base if you want to explore more of Provence without changing accommodation every night.

Check Avignon activities, tickets and day trips on Klook.

5. Discover the Pont du Gard

The Pont du Gard is one of those places that feels much more impressive when you’re standing underneath it.

Built by the Romans as part of an aqueduct system, this enormous structure has survived for nearly two thousand years.

You can walk around the site, learn about its history and enjoy the surrounding landscape.

In warmer months, the area around the river is particularly lovely.

It works very well as part of a road trip through this side of Provence and southern France.

Give yourself enough time to enjoy the surroundings rather than simply arriving, taking a photograph and leaving.

6. Explore Provence Through Its Food

One of the easiest ways to understand Provence is simply to eat.

Look for ingredients and dishes connected to the region: tomatoes warmed by the summer sun, courgettes, aubergines, garlic, olive oil, goat cheese, herbs, apricots, peaches, figs and melons.

Try tapenade.

Buy bread from a local boulangerie.

Visit a small producer.

Have an apéritif outside in the evening.

And don’t worry about finding the restaurant that appears on every social-media list.

Sometimes a simple lunch made with ingredients from the market is more memorable.

Food and wine tours can also be useful if you want someone local to explain the products and traditions rather than simply tasting them on your own.

Browse Provence food and wine experiences on Klook.

7. Take a Wine Tour

You certainly don’t have to be a wine expert to enjoy visiting a vineyard in Provence.

In fact, it can be much more interesting when you’re curious rather than knowledgeable.

Provence is especially famous for rosé, but the region produces a much wider variety of wines.

Depending on where you’re staying, you’ll find vineyards and appellations throughout the region.

A guided wine tour has one very practical advantage: nobody in your group needs to drive after the tastings.

It can also give you access to several wineries in a day without having to organize individual appointments yourself.

Find Provence wine tours on Klook.

8. Experience the Mediterranean Coast

Provence isn’t only lavender and villages.

Head south and the landscape eventually meets the Mediterranean.

One of the most spectacular places to experience this is around Marseille and Cassis, particularly the Calanques.

Here you’ll find dramatic limestone cliffs dropping into intensely blue Mediterranean water.

Depending on the season and local restrictions, you can experience the area by boat, kayak or hiking.

Cassis itself is also worth some time. Walk around the harbour, have lunch, enjoy the coast and resist the temptation to squeeze three more destinations into the afternoon.

9. Enjoy Provence in the Evening

This isn’t an attraction you can book.

And that’s precisely why I think it belongs on this list.

Leave at least one evening without plans.

Come back from your day out.

Take a shower after the heat.

Put some bread, cheese, tomatoes and whatever else you found at the market on the table.

Open something cold to drink.

Sit outside if you can.

Summer days in Provence can be extremely hot, but the evening has a completely different rhythm.

The light softens.

The cicadas eventually become quieter.

People begin sitting outside their houses and restaurants.

These ordinary evenings are often the part of summer in Provence that I love most.

You don’t need an itinerary for every hour of your holiday.

10. Take One Day With No Real Plan

This may sound strange in an article about the best things to do in Provence, but leave some empty space in your itinerary.

Pick an area and explore.

Perhaps you’ll see a sign pointing toward a village you’ve never heard of.

Perhaps there will be a market you didn’t know was happening.

Perhaps you’ll find a tiny restaurant, a beautiful road or somewhere beside the river where you decide to stay for the afternoon.

Travel guides are useful.

Plans are useful.

Bookings are sometimes necessary.

But Provence is also very good at rewarding people who occasionally ignore their plans.

How Many Days Do You Need in Provence?

For a first visit, I would recommend at least three or four days.

With three days, you can get a taste of the region.

With five to seven days, you can begin to travel at a much nicer pace, combining villages, markets, historic towns and countryside without spending the entire holiday in the car.

If you have a week, don’t assume you need seven completely different destinations.

Staying longer in one or two bases can make the trip considerably more relaxing.

Do You Need a Car in Provence?

For exploring rural Provence, having a car gives you much more freedom.

Trains work well between some larger towns and cities, but many of the villages and countryside locations people imagine when they think of Provence aren’t particularly easy to reach using public transport.

If you don’t want to rent a car, I would base yourself somewhere with good transport connections and combine trains with a few organized day trips.

That way you can still experience the countryside without spending your holiday trying to understand rural bus timetables.

Browse Provence tours and activities on Klook.

When Is the Best Time to Visit Provence?

There isn’t one perfect month.

Spring is beautiful, greener and generally quieter than peak summer.

Early summer brings long days and, depending on the area and timing, lavender.

July and August have the classic southern-French summer atmosphere, but they also bring heat and more visitors.

September is one of my favourite periods. Summer hasn’t completely disappeared, but the rhythm begins to change and harvest season arrives.

Even autumn can be wonderful if you’re more interested in markets, villages, food and everyday life than lavender fields and swimming.

Choose the season based on the Provence you actually want to experience.

A Final Thought

People sometimes arrive in Provence with a very long checklist.

Gordes.

Lavender.

Avignon.

Market.

Wine.

Cassis.

Photo.

Next.

But Provence isn’t really a checklist kind of place.

See the famous places, of course. Many of them are famous for good reason.

But also buy fruit from a market stall. Sit under a tree with a coffee. Take the smaller road. Spend too long over lunch. Stop in a village simply because it looks pretty from the road.

Those are often the moments you remember.

And perhaps that’s the best way to experience Provence for the first time: see less, notice more.

Planning Your Provence Trip?

If you’re looking for guided village tours, wine tastings, lavender trips, attraction tickets or day trips, you can compare available activities before your visit.

Browse Provence experiences on Klook.

Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you make a booking through one of these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Chez Thao Hoang.