Provence, France - Scenic places to photograph

<p>Hi All,</p>

<p>I'll be traveling to France for two weeks at the end of June. I wanted to know if someone could recommend a circuit or route that would be nice photographically. I'm looking for lavender and sunflowers if they are around that time of year. Landscape scenes, small streets and cafes. Can anyone recommend some towns to visit. Do you recommend renting a car to get around or can you take the train? I will be flying into the southern region and will probably be ending the trip in Nice.</p>

<p>My friends are interested in a cooking class too, if you have any recommendations for that too.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>There are soooo many beautiful and photogenic places in the Provence and in theSouth of France in general. I will only list a few: Gordes, Abbaye de Senanque, Rustrel, Rousillon, Apt, Fontaine de Vaucluse, Mont Ventoux, Gorges du Verdon, Luberon, Montagne St. Victoire, Les-Baux-de-Provence, Montelimar, Nimes, Pont du Gard at sunset, Orange, Camargue, Arles (maybe still some exhibitions left from the famous photofestival), Les Saintes Maries de la mer, Avignon, and of course the whole Cote d'Azur....<br>

If you enjoy hiking I would suggest a 4 or 5 days walk in the central region of the Provence: Start at Fontaine de Vaucluse, then Abbaye de Senanque, Gordes, Murs, St. Saturnin-les-Apts, Rustrel, Apt or Saignon, then cross the Luberon Mountains to Lourmarin, back over Luberon to Bonnieux. This is a very scenic walk with everything we all love about the Provence, but you would have to arrange accomodation beforehand.<br>

Wit public transport is not that easy to reach most places. Train lines are rare and buses sometimes only go at certain times of the day. A car is probably good. Cycling is also a good idea. After all France is THE land for cycling. You'll find many small, beautiful roads, but it also goes up and down.</p>

Walking and photographing by day and returning to a tasty meal (and some wine ) at night sounds like the perfect vacation.

<p>Stefan covered the very places I would suggest. If you time your trip so that you are before or after the peak summer tourst season, you will find the roads and towns less crowded. Drive and give yourself the flexibility you need to see these places. Try catching the sights in morning or evening light, and save midday for a light meal and a good book, or time with your significant other. You will want to return to Provence, I promise you.</p>

<p>First, and i can't emphasise this too strongly, a car is necessary, unless you want to focus on a very small area and bike or hike. But be aware, like many other forms of outdoor photography much of what you want to photograph looks best in the first and last couple of hours of the day and that means some compromises in terms of getting up early and timing of meals and so on.<br>

Lavender first. The best I found was in three areas; On the plateau de Valensole, east of Manosque; further northwest in the area round Sault, east of Mont Ventoux; and finally the area around Digne , near Sisteron. A couple of words of warning though- first after a couple of days one field of lavender begins to look much like another, and secondly the really clean fields aren't easy to find. Lavender can be very untidy. Not in these areas there is some around the Abbe de Senanque, north of Gordes, that complements the church well, though you won't be alone there. </p>

<p>These are areas that I have enjoyed being in, staying in and photographing in . Not much of this is a wilderness experience- there's plenty of tourism about.</p>

<ul>

<li><strong><em>The Luberon. </em></strong> Nice landscape and pretty villages including Bonnieux, Menherbes, Lacoste, Lourmarin, and within easy reach of Gordes, Roussillon to the north. Worth a few days.</li>

<li><strong><em>The Cotes de Rhone wine area</em></strong>, between Orange, Vaison La Romaine and Carpentras. The nicest villages IMO being Seguret, Vacqueyras, Gigondas and maybe Sablet. The towns of Vaison and orange have lots of Roman stuff and are well worth a walk round. You also have Mont Ventouux to the east for a drive up and the Dentelles de Montmirail to as the eastern boundaru to the vinyards.</li>

<li><strong><em>The Rhone delta and the Camargue. </em></strong><em> </em>Not so scenically attractive as some of the other areas but a lot of roman "antiquities" and some pleasant towns and small cities like Arles , St remy, and Aix en Provence, and other three star tourist sites like Les Baux. South of Arles you have the Camargue - marshy places with bulls and flamingos- not one of my favourite areas though I do very much like the walled town of Aigues Mortes near the coast. You can walk the ramparts there and the town's interesting too. </li>

<li>The Grand Canyon of the Verdon- a pretty spectacular and large gorge running between Castellane and Moustiers Sainte-Marie in what most would describe as the east of Provence and the very beginnings of the Alps. </li>

</ul>

<p>I should make mention of the coast. Its busy and pretty much an urban rather than a landscape experience. IMO the best areas are also the busiest , around Cap d'Antibes and the coast between Nice and the border with Italy. There is a train service along the coast. If you brave it, my favourite areas are Antibes, Villefranche sur Mer, Cap Ferrat, and Menton. If you decide to stay back from the coast and pick up villages be aware that some (Saint Paul de Vence, Mougins and Biot to name but three) are seriously overrun. But further off the beaten track, and further back from the coast, things ease off a lot and whilst not deserted they have a bit of the original left between the gift shops and restaurants. Try Tourettes sur Loup, and further east, Sospel, Peille, St Agnes, Gorbio and Peillon. </p>

 

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<p>Check out this itinerary. My wife and I did something very similar about 10 years ago:<br>

<a href="http://www.countrywalkers.com/Find+a+Walking+Tour/By+Destination/Europe/France/France%3A+Provence?tourTab=details">http://www.countrywalkers.com/Find+a+Walking+Tour/By+Destination/Europe/France/France%3A+Provence?tourTab=details</a><br>

Get a car. Find out when each village has their market day. That is a good day to be there if you want to see true local activity. That was my wife's favorite part of the trip, especially market day in Luberon. Some of our best meals were at lunch time. We ate where the locals ate; not where the tourists ate. You cannot judge the quality of the food by the outward appearance of the place. Get your maps in the US before you leave. Get detailed ones. The detailed maps might show the local hiking trials that take you into the country and that will guide you from village to village. Take them. Plan them knowing that that sun rises in the east and sets in the west if you want to max good pics while out hiking. You will see 10x more walking than driving. Make sure you allow time to walk thru the villages. You could take over 100 pictures of just doors, windows, etc. We saw people riding horses from village to village too. I am not sure if they owned them or rented them.<br>

Some of my best pictures were in and around Bonnieux and Luberon and Parc du Luberon, if I remember its name correctly. It is like a French National Park in the mountains. I always had my camera with me. Avigon is an interesting city too.<br>

Even if you do not speak French, make an effort to converse in their language. It will open doors for you.<br>

Joe Smith</p>

<p>Excellent! Thanks for taking the time to reply and providing this great information! I just picked up a few lonely planet france and provence books so I'll be researching all these beautiful places you've recommended.</p>

<p>Near Marseille, there is a very nice coastal town named Cassis with a lavender farm nearby. Saint Remy de Provence is also a very picturesque town and if you're driving there, you'll find many sunflower fields by the roadside.<br>

<img src="http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/6181/cassiss.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="480" /><img src="http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/2339/lavanden.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="480" /><br>

<img src="http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/4136/sunflowerf.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Great pics! After doing some research this weekend I agree that I do need a car.<br>

Which tows do you recommned saying in? I'm considering staying in a few different base cities from where I can explore the surrounding area. I'm thinking about staying in Avignon, Vaison La Romaine, Apt, and Aix en Provence. Any suggestions? Would you recommend staying put in maybe 2 locations as opposed to 4-5 (I'll be there for 2 weeks). Most all the places I want to see are in David Henerson's post above.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>I would rather stay in some smaller towns or villages. Saves time. You don't have to look for parking space and you are probably closer to the rural sceneries.</p>

<p>If visiting the Cote d'Azur is in your plans I'd recommend Nice as a base and a dinner in the old Vieux Nice section would be mandatory... From here, you should not miss the St Paul de Vence village.<br>

<br /><img src="http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/810/stpauldevence.jpg" alt="" /><br /><br /><img src="http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/7755/vieuxnice.jpg" alt="" /></p>