Provence and the sun are a match made in heaven. The famous chef Auguste Escoffier born in the south of France called his native region ‘blessed by the gods’ with its lovely climate of over 300 days of sun per year. Indeed, la Provence and the sun are so entwined that Provence without sun would be like French cuisine without wine.
Numerous artists over the years have been mesmerized by the light and color in southern France. Van Gogh, Matisse, Renoir, Picasso, Signac, Cezanne and others captured the magical effects of the sun on the Provencal landscape. One of my favorite images is this painting of the sun and olive trees by Van Gogh. The artist does not hesitate to place the sun in the center framed by olive groves and the Alpilles mountains.
In addition to les oliviers (olive trees), sunny southern France is notable for tall cypresses and pine trees, for rolling vineyards, for fields of yellow wheat and sunflowers, and for fruit trees such as the abricotier (apricot), cerisier (cherry), prunier (plum), pêchier (peach), figuier (fig), and grenadier (pomegranate). Flowers, herbs and berry vines grow wild and well thanks to the good sun. And of course, summer lavender blooms and Provence have become synonymous. Driving around the countryside, one is almost overwhelmed by the natural abundance everywhere.
So when visiting Provence, where can one go to really soak up the sun and experience its warm ambiance? Here is a list of some favorite spots and activities that earn Provence’s place in the sun:
1) Sitting at a café on the grand boulevard the Cours Mirabeau in Aix-en-Provence in the afternoon. Be sure to have a glass of the local rosé wine – it’s ‘sunshine in a glass’!
2) The charming port town of Cassis with its sandy beaches and stunning calanques (white limestone cliffs rising out of the Mediterranean).
3) Any of the region’s villages perchés (hilltop villages) in the morning sun, in the hard light of noon or as the sun goes down. Les Baux, Gordes, Bonnieux and Roussillon would be good contenders.
4) Market day in Provence villages in the bright sunshine – it doesn’t get much more festive than that. The vibrant Aix markets take place on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The Wednesday market in St. Rémy is excellent.
5) The fields and gardens of lavender that start blooming in late June every year. In particular, the Abbaye de Sénanque in the Luberon is famous for its fields of the fragrant purple flower.
6) Eating fresh fruit of any kind – particularly wild figs or apricots picked on a long walk in the Provence countryside…
Even with all this sun, the climate is quite pleasant. It is warm – sometimes hot – during the day but regularly cools off at night. So sweaters are definitely something to pack with you. A French friend of mine who lives in Provence said it’s been several years since it’s been warm enough in the evening to go without some sort of wrap.
All in all, Provence and le soleil are one of the most memorable aspects of living and being in France. Van Gogh expressed it well in some of his letters from Provence to his brother Theo:
“Ce matin j’ai vu la campagne de ma fenêtre longtemps avant le lever du soleil, avec rien que l’étoile du matin, laquelle paraissait très grande. Mais quel beau pays et quel beau bleu et quel soleil! Et encore je n’ai vu que le jardin et ce que j’aperçois à travers la fenêtre. Tout près d’ici il y a des petites montagnes, grises ou bleues, ayant à leur pied des blés très, très verts et des pins.”*
“This morning I saw the countryside from my window long before the sun came up, with nothing but the very large morning star in the sky. But what beautiful country and what beautiful blue and what sun! And again I saw only the garden and what I could perceive from my window. Nearby are small mountains, gray or blue, with very, very green wheat fields and pine trees lying at their feet.”
* From Lettres de Provence de Vincent Van Gogh (2007).