3 Days Itinerary Road Trip – Lavender @ Provence and Marseille

0 Comments

Lavender Provence

It is a long weekend in France where they celebrated Bastille Day on 14 July. Which is like France National Day. We have always wanted to visit the Lavender fields in Provence. And the lavenders bloom in late June to August.

So this is actually the best time to visit the place.

We booked our airbnb stay on Tuesday and Friday morning we head out to Vaison la Romaine. Because of our requirements, we only have 3 options on where to stay and this Airbnb owner got back to us the fastest. We are bringing Mickey and Pepper!!

Check Out Our Lavender Road Trip Series


Road Trip Statistics

17 Hours Total Drive Duration
95.60 Toll Fee
1574 km Distance

Day 1 - Drive


Drive to Vaison La Romaine

17 Hours Total Drive Duration
90 Toll Fee
1525 km Distance

It is a 6 hours drive but tolls are expensive! €45 for the tolls from Sens to Vaison la Romaine!

As usual, we had our break at KFC at Lyon and trying to tame down the dogs when we eat.


Stay: Airbnb

17 Hours Total Drive Duration
90 Toll Fee
1525 km Distance

Our stay is a pretty cosy and small apartment in the center of Vaison La Romaine. And it comes with Aircon! It is quite difficult to get accommodation with aircon in Europe. And especially during summertime, it get pretty hot sometimes.


Explore Vaison La Romaine

17 Hours Total Drive Duration
90 Toll Fee
1525 km Distance

Since we are at the city center, we decided to explore the place as it seems like they are having some carnival or party going on. Many eateries are full and we decided to grab quick burger.

View of Vaison La Romaine

Having our Picnic Dinner

But the meal is not cheap! A burger, fries and nuggets with a drink cost us like €18 ! And worse of all, the burger is not tasty and well cooked at all.

Day 2 - Lavender Excursion

Our itinerary for the day is Mont Ventoux and Lavender Excursion.


See: Mont Ventoux

17 Hours Total Drive Duration
90 Toll Fee
1525 km Distance

Mont Ventoux is a mountain in the Provence region of southern France. At 1,912m, it is the highest mountain in the region and has been nicknamed the "Beast of Provence", the "Giant of Provence".

Halfway Up.

As the name might suggest (venteux means windy in French), it can get windy at the summit, especially with the mistral; wind speeds as high as 320 km/h (200 mph) have been recorded.

The drive up was pretty steep and narrow as we are also sharing lanes with the cyclist going up and down the mountain.

The temperature at the foot of the mountain was like 25 - 28°c. But when we reached the top it is like 15°c. Super cold and windy! And we are dressed in shorts.

The panoramic view from the top is definitely amazing. Weather was good! Just too windy.

Check Out Our Lavender Road Trip Series


See: Lavender Fields

17 Hours Total Drive Duration
90 Toll Fee
1525 km Distance

Okay, this is the actually the highlight of the trip. We were actually expecting very purple lavenders, but it was not really that vibrant, though it still looks beautiful.

We stopped at the first plantation, Les Lavandes du GAEC Champelle, took alot of pictures and shopped at their boutique store too.

Next, we head to Aroma'Plantes which we planned for. It was mentioned that this is #1 Lavender Distillerie from Tripadvisor. Their boutique is much bigger, and there is also an exhibition gallery on the history of lavender.

I will recommend this place for to get to know more on lavender. They have it in English too.


Drive: Marseille

So we actually finished the highlights of our trip and since we have some time. Why not take a drive along the valleys and to MARSEILLE!

It is like a 2 hours drive away from Sault. To enjoy the scenery, we decided to take the non highway route which proved to be a big mistake.

Because the entire journey was going up and down the valleys and mountain. Luckily we did not bring the dogs along, if not Mickey will puke. He puked on the drive over. Poor boy!

We wanted to visit Palais du Pharo and the Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde, but the traffic was so bad. Certain roads were closed and we were going in circles for like 1 hour. Then we decided to head for the coast and relaxed there.

We were so glad we made the right choice. Sunset was so beautiful and peaceful. We found a good spot to take some time-lapse videos and chill there.

The only bad thing: There is no toilet.

Day 3

Time flies, it is the 3rd day and time to head back home.​


Shop: Marques Avenue Romans

And as it is still summer sales season, we found an Outlet Store, Marques Avenue Romans located 100km south of Lyon. It is one of the shopping outlet mentioned.

The Happy Chef.

This shopping not that crowded but it has some brands that we usually shop in. Like Adidas, Puma, Nike. Interestingly, I bought a wok from Tefal.

Sunset While on the way home

Home at 22:50 Hrs. Distance: 1574 km!

Check Out Our Lavender Road Trip Series

About the author 

Donovan

Don is a Kiasu Singaporean that blogs his journey while exploring Europe.
A Singapore Travel Blog that provides travel guides and tips on how to travel free and easy in Europe.

{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}
Subscribe to get the latest updates
>
Malcare WordPress Security