France's Most Naturally Beautiful Region Is Famous For Endless Lavender Fields And Unbeatable Truffles

A mosaic of vivid purple fields, beautiful blue skies, and striking orange sunsets awaits in Valensole, a picturesque little village known for its endless lavender fields in the summer and fragrant winter truffles. The village's name is taken from the two Latin words: Vallis and solis, meaning valley of the sun, an epithet of a kind, named after the fact that the valley benefits from a delightful 300 days of sunshine a year. And while the main draw is the lavender, the star of social media for a few months a year, Valensole has a wonderful old town, with tipsy cobbled streets winding up towards the historic Saint-Blaise church sitting atop the hill, and, thanks to its elevation, it enjoys stunning views of the valley.

You'll find Valensole wrapped around a hillside in lovely Provence, the colorful French region known for its history and cuisine. It's surrounded by the sweeping gradients of the Plateau of Valensole, France's largest area dedicated to lavender cultivation, and a perfect stop for anyone driving the iconic Lavender Route.

The closest major international airport is Marseille, France's oldest city, from which you can drive to Valensole in around one hour. As it's a very remote village, there are very few public transport options available. But if you are traveling by train while in France, then you'll need to reach a nearby station such as Manosque Greoux Bains and from there take either a taxi in around 20 minutes or a 35-minute bus ride to Segond, which is around a five-minute walk from Valensole.

The Valensole Plateau is one of Provence's most iconic lavender destinations, with dozens of fields with row after row of lavender growing towards distant mountains, and occasionally punctuated by a picturesque chapel, a charming farm house, or a lone tree perched on a hill. A walk through the lavender fields is a must when in Valensole, if only to see the fields sway closer to the horizon, and experience the herbal scents of the lavender filling every bit of air.

A wonderful way to learn more about the lavender growing in Provence is to join a lavender tour at one of the farms or distilleries. One of the most local to Valensole is the Lavandes Angelvin, which has cultivated lavender for several generations, and, in addition to allowing you to get up close to the lavender fields, offers insightful tours of its distillery, where numerous lavender products are created.

The lavender begins to bloom in those fabulous purple gradients in June, and the season ends in August when the farmers have harvested every crop. The peak season for viewing Provençal Lavender in Valensole is in early to mid-July, when even the higher altitude fields will be in bloom. When factoring in things like the August holidays, the best time to visit Valensole and the rest of Provence's iconic lavender fields is in early July, allowing you to avoid the largest crowds and see a good amount of lavender, gracing those stunning Provençal undulations.

Valensole has a handful of standout sights, such as the Grande Fontaine de Valensole in a pretty cobbled square with a boulangerie, perfect for a refuel before you ascend to the Romanesque Church of Saint-Blaise at the very top of the town. But hike through Valensole's historic back alleys, and you'll find cozy shops adorned with bouquets of lavender, local restaurants serving traditional Provençal fare, and boulangeries with freshly baked breads and croissants adding a touch of sugar to the herbaceous lavender-scented air.

Provence is home to countless attractive villages like medieval Gordes, with its striking Chateau and easy access to another lavender hotspot, the 12th-century Senanque Abbey. And a popular way to explore it all is to drive, visiting the purple-tinged fields along the Lavender Route, via countless picturesque villages and beautiful fortified towns. There are more than 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) of road to explore, but a popular itinerary that includes Valensole departs from equally pretty Sault, cutting a lavender-scented path through the Provencal Alps, via numerous distilleries, walking trails, and captivating villages like Simiane-la-Rotonde before finally arriving in Valensole.

If you happen to find yourself in Valensole in the winter season, then, while you won't find much lavender apart from the dried bundles in local shops, you will find plenty of black truffles, as winter is Provence's black truffle season. In Valensole, the local black truffles grow beneath oak trees out on the plateau, and you can learn more about them in the Maison de la Truffe in nearby Aups (about 50 minutes by road), where, amongst other things, they'll tell you these delicious little delicacies are known locally as black diamonds.