Lavender tour. Lavender bloom in Upper Provence

Day 1, Sunday. Nice - Aix-en-Provence

Meeting at the airport in Nice, transfer to the station in the center of the resort. The recommended arrival time is before 15:00. Meeting at the airport for any flight.

Overnight in one of the most beautiful cities in France - Aix-en-Provence.

Day 2. Monday. Aix-en-Provence

Information meeting and registration for additional excursions. After - walking sightseeing tour of Aix-en-Provence.

In the afternoon - free time or optional excursion " Magic Provence» through the most beautiful villages of the Luberon: you will see Roussillon, stop for a photo break with a panoramic view of Gordes and walk through the abbey of Senanque surrounded by lavender fields (duration - 5 hours).

Day 3. Tuesday. Aix-en-Provence

Free time or optional excursion "Avignon, Gars bridge" with wine tasting in Châteauneuf du Pape (duration - 8 hours).

Day 4. Wednesday. Aix-en-Provence - Valensole plateau - Aix-en-Provence

Excursion "Lavender Symphony" on the plateau of Valensole with a visit to the lavender farm (duration - 3 hours).

In the afternoon - free time or optional excursion "Verdon Gorge" with swimming in the lake of the Holy Cross, visiting the city of Moustiers and stopping by the L'Occitane factory (duration - 5 hours).

Tour duration: 8 days / 7 nights + airfare

Group tour dates:

20.06.2015-27.06.2016
04.07.2015-11.07.2016
18.07.2015-25.07.2016

Between the end of June and mid-August, in Provence you can see the magical and bewitching pictures of lavender blooms. The incredible lilac-blue magic of lavender fields attracts and beckons inexplicably and strongly. The photos taken during this tour will return you to this fragrant fairy world! Don't miss this chance! Join us!

The tour price includes:

• accommodation in a 3* hotel with breakfast
• transfers from/to Nice airport
• transport service throughout the route
• hiking in Avignon walking tour of old Nice
• entrance tickets to papal palace in Avignon

Additionally paid:

• travel tickets Moscow - Nice - Moscow (ticket price is specified when booking the tour)
• visa 85 euro
• medical insurance 1 euro/day/person
• optional excursions

The duration of the tour is 4 hours.

lavender field in the south French province Provence ... Imagine the middle of summer, endless fields, row after row - shrubs with silvery leaves, on which, on long, slender stems, charming lilac-purple flowers glow like lights. If you run your hand over them, you will feel the aroma that contains the soul of Provence.

The famous chef Lucien Olivier was from this area. In his memoirs there are such lines: “Where I grew up, lavender blooms, and when this happens, the earth looks as if it reflects the endless deep blue of the sky. This is the time when you are amazed by the splendor and beauty of summer, when Mount Contadour is covered with flowering fields. As soon as I close my eyes, I smell the sweet, tart scent of flowers that no bee can resist. Where I grew up, people harvest lavender on their knees, as if paying homage to its myriad health benefits.”

The tour starts at lavender road, along which stretch lavender fields and suddenly the town of Gord appears out of nowhere. This town is the pearl of Provence. This medieval village nestled on the slopes of a cliff in the 11th century. The culmination of the town is the church and the castle on the very top of the cliff, from which white-stone houses stretch along the slopes along the spiral streets. Many artists and artists have settled in this city, which holds the charm and culture of Provence. The city has been recognized as one of the most beautiful cities France, thanks to its original location, exceptional charm and typical architecture. You can admire the panorama of this city in all its glory from observation deck lavender road.

3 km from Gord is the village of Bori. Bories are typical Provençal round houses. Initially, these houses were built as utility rooms for garden tools and other utensils, but over time they turned into equipped residential buildings. In the village of Bory you can get acquainted with the structure of life and peasant civilization in Provence. The village of Bori is surrounded by lavender fields, exuding an amazing aroma. Neat fields of incredibly bright purple color go away from the foot of the hill - a whole valley of lavender. You can feel this unforgettable atmosphere of Provence: cicadas sing loudly, smells of wild herbs, honey, sun and ... lavender!

The excursion will continue in the Abbey de Senanque. This abbey was built by the Cistercians in the 12th century. It is a fine example of Romanesque architecture. The monks live in the abbey to this day. They are engaged in the production of lavender essence, honey, which allows them to finance the restoration and maintenance of the abbey. The entire abbey is surrounded by lavender fields and you will be able to admire this unusual sight that can only be found in Provence. Those who wish will be able to visit the abbey church with its magnificent stained-glass windows, the monastic common bedroom, the hall with a fireplace in which the monks worked on transcribing manuscripts, and also admire the courtyard of the abbey, framed by vaulted arches in a primitive style.

Tour start city: Nice

Dates of arrivals in 2019: 23.06, 30.06, 07.07

Meeting in Nice: meeting at the airport for any flight until 15:00. Transfer to the station. Moving to Aix en Provence.

Night in Aix en Provence

Day 2 - Mon

Breakfast in the hotel. Information meeting. Registration for additional excursions. Walking tour of Aix en Provence.

Afternoon: Free time or Optional excursion "Magical Provence" to the most beautiful villages of the Luberon: Lourmarin, Gordes, Senanque Abbey surrounded by lavender fields, 5 hours

Night in Aix en Provence

Day 3-Tue

Breakfast in the hotel. Free time or Optional excursion "Avignon, Gars bridge" with wine tasting in Châteauneuf du Pape, 8 hours

Overnight in Aix en Provence Day 4-Wed

Breakfast in the hotel. Tour "Lavender Symphony" on the plateau of Valensole with a visit to the lavender farm, 3 hours Afternoon: Free time or Optional tour "Verdon Gorge" with a stop at the L'Occitane factory, 5 hours

Night in Aix en Provence

Day 5-Thu

Breakfast in the hotel. Free time or Optional excursion to Marseille, 4 hours. Afternoon: Transfer to the train station in Marseille.

Transfer by train to Nice, 2h 30 min.

Evening: Free time or Optional excursion "Evening Monaco" with the opportunity to dine in the Principality, 5 hours

Night in Nice.

Day 6-Fri

Breakfast in the hotel. Sightseeing tour in Nice, 2 hours Afternoon: Free time or optional tour of Antibes, Cannes and Grasse

Night in Nice

Day 7-Sat

Transfer to the airport in Nice. Departure. For departures in the afternoon: Free time or Optional excursion to Saint-Paul with a stop in the neighboring picturesque villages of Gourdon and Tourrette

tour cost

Price additional excursions in euros for 1 person:

Entrance fees to museums and train/bus/boat tickets as part of optional excursions are included in the price.

Included in the price:

Accommodation in a hotel of the selected category, breakfast, local tax
- transfer from / to Nice airport for any flight from 8:00 to 15:00
- transfer Nice - Aix en Provence - Nice by train or bus, depending on the number of people in the group
- transfers from / to the station in Aix en Provence when moving by train
- Transfer Avignon - Aix en Provence
- excursions: sightseeing in Aix, Lavender Symphony, sightseeing in Nice

The price does not include:

air travel
- visa
- insurance
- additional excursions

Aix-en-Provence – Sigons

Aix-en-Provence – Sigons

Meeting with the guide on the railway. train station in Aix-en-Provence at 16:00.

Transfer to the village of Signos (70km or about 1h). Accommodation for 5 nights with dinner and breakfast. We take picnics with us.

Provence, the land of centuries-old traditions of medicinal herbs and perfumes, invites you to enjoy the sweet aromas of lavender, distant rural expanses and clear blue skies cleared by the Mistral mountain wind.

2nd day – 3h 30min – elevation difference ±400m

Sigons. Market in Forcalquier, village of Oppedette, ancient fortifications of the Celto-ligurs, rural scenery, lake and panoramic views of the canyon

The walk begins with a visit to the market town of Forcalquier. A leisurely walk around the shops, inspection and selection of goods - this tradition dates back to Antiquity. Over 200 merchants who come here make this market one of the largest and most colorful in all of Provence.

Transfer to the town of Oppedette, a village on the top of a high promontory, where the fortifications of the Celtic Ligurians used to be. Walk through the gorges of Opedette, carved clear waters Calavon river. Picnic on the lake. These places are remembered for the beauty of bucolic landscapes and panoramic views of the canyon.

3rd day – 3h – elevation difference ±350m

Sigons. The bizarre landscape of the geological reserve, the fossils of ancient mollusks, an abandoned village, the village "capital of lavender" and a recognized master of land art.

Walk through the geological reserve of Pré-Alpes de Digne among landscapes of red clay to the village of Esclangon, abandoned in the 50s. last century.

Tectonic activity in the Alps once shaped the landscape of the Bes Gorges. This is how an ensemble of bizarre folds, depressions and teeth of the rock appeared.

The walk passes through the main sights Geological Park: an amazing bend of the Velodrome rocks, resembling a stadium in its shape, Mount Fasibel Blade, as well as a huge slab in which the shells of extinct mollusks - ammonites have been preserved. Visit to the house of Andy Goldsworthy, a recognized master of land art. On the way back, there is time to stroll through the village of Digne, the capital of lavender.

4th day – 4h 30min – elevation difference ±450m

Sigons. Observation deck on Provence, alpine meadows, beech groves and ancient paths

From the resort "de Lure" a walk in the mountains of Provence to the mountain de Lure. This magnificent observation platform at an altitude of 1826 meters above sea level. A real "harbor" of coolness and freshness over the hot Provence.

5th day – 3h 30min – elevation difference ±400m

Sigons. mountain villages, the land of silent spaces, solitude and silence, sheepfolds, AOC cheeses and the Albion Astronomical Observatory

From the village of Contadour, located in the mountains of Lure, we go to places that will enchant lovers of large silent spaces, solitude and silence. This is the land of the famous "dry stone" sheepfolds, so dear to the heart of Jean Giono. A rebel and a pacifist, the writer often visited here in the 30s. last century, along with friends in the literary community. He walked along mountain ranges Lure and, fascinated by the local scenery, in 1960 he filmed the comedy Croesus with Fernandel here.

After the walk, you can walk through the village of Banon, famous for the production of AOC cheeses and for its incredible bookstore.

In the evening, transfer to Lagarde d'Apt, where an astronomical observatory is located on the Albion plateau. An unforgettable session of observing heavenly bodies will reveal the secrets of distant stars and planets.

6th day – 2h 30min – elevation difference ±200m

Sigons - Aix-en-Provence. The peaked shepherds' huts and the Salagon monastery are on the list cultural heritage Provence

Breakfast, picnic lunch.

From the village of Man we go to the famous "pointed huts" - dry stone houses with a pointed roof. These are true masterpieces of rural architecture in the south of France. Their walls were dry-built, stone to stone, without mortar, which required consummate craftsmanship.

Then we walk through botanical garden in the Ethnological Museum at the Salagon Monastery with a 12th-century church and Renaissance architecture. These historical monuments are included in the list of cultural heritage of the region.

Walks end at 13.00. Transfer by minibus to Aix-en-Provence TGV station.

The end of the guide escort on the railway. train station in Aix-en-Provence by 14:00.

The duration of the walk depends on your pace and the number of stops. Stops included: rest. Not included: for lunch and sightseeing.

"Special Edition" Tour June-July

"Special edition" this tour in June-July it is dedicated to local perfume and oil distilleries, fragrant and medicinal herb fairs, and lavender festivals!

Astronomical Evening

We devote one evening to astronomical observations at the mountain observatory on the Albion Plateau. A powerful telescope is at our disposal for 2 hours.

The dry climate, the Mistral wind, the absence of cities and their light and air pollution create ideal conditions for the location of the observatory here. If suddenly there are clouds at night, during the day we will look at the sun through special devices.

Order of days and possible changes

It is possible to change the program for reasons of convenience due to especially hot weather or interesting events associated with lavender festivals and herb fairs.