Travel bucket list idea:
Provence, France
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Daube
Provence’s ‘cuisine of the sun’ is based on olive oil, along with plenty of garlic, tomatoes and fresh herbs. Olives notably give its cuisine its special twist: by themselves or mashed into a tapenade. Anchovies, truffles, basil and pine nuts add pizzazz.
Vegetables often hold centre stage, stuffed or artfully sliced and baked in a tian but you’ll find seafood from Marseille and lamb from Mont Ventoux.
Bouillabaisse started as a humble fisherman’s soup but is now so important it has its own charter of ingredients: restaurants that follow the rules will have one on the walls.
Other classics include Provencal lamb with garlic, and spicy beef stews such as daube or gardiane de taureau. Try fougasse is like Italian focaccia, but stuffed with olives or onions and lardons.
Accompany your meal with Chateauneuf-du-Pape or an excellent rose from the Rhone valley. The favourite aperitif is anise-flavoured pastis, invented here in the 1930s and now an essential part of Provencal life.
Marseille is the place to go for an edgy food scene and ambitious new bistronomique restaurants – not to mention the old favourites where you go for a bouillabaisse around the Vieux Port.
The markets in Provence are the best place to whet your appetite for the cuisine du soleil, filled with colours and perfumes of the local produce – the melons of Cavaillon in summer, the truffles from the Vaucluse in winter.
Head to a wine bar to taste the local wines – Gigondas, Chateauneuf du Pape, Vacqueyras and Beaumes-de-Venise – with platters of charcuterie and cheeses.
Puyricard, Provence, France
Visit the most famous chocolate factory in Provence, just outside Aix in Puyricard, where you can go behind the scenes in their atelier or spend an afternoon at a hands-on chocolate-making workshop.
Adult price: £8
Min age 6
Best for ages 6+
Avignon, Provence, France
‘Les Compagnons’, an association of Cotes du Rhone winemakers, hold this harvest festival on a Saturday late in August at the Rocher des Doms in Avignon; there’s a parade, games and plenty of food and wine.
Best for ages 18+
Duration: 1 day
When: Late August
Frequency: annually
Les Baux-de-Provence, Provence, France
In the stunning setting of Les Baux, learn all about Provence’s greeny-golden nectar on these free tastings of these award-winning oils. Open all year-round, but short walks through the olive groves and visits to the mill are also offered from June to September.
Best for ages 13+
Duration: 2 hours
Aix-en-Provence, Provence, France
Each morning, Aix hosts one of Provence’s best markets, overflowing with the freshest fruit, vegetables, herbs, meats, seafood and cheeses from local producers. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings, it expands tenfold and includes a massive flower market.
Best for ages 13+
Provence, France
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Postcard-perfect vineyards yielding world-famous wines – Provence is the home of the most prestigious Cotes du Rhone wines, including the reds of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, and Beaumes-de-Venise.
Best for ages 18+
Cadenet, Provence, France
Organic farm in the Luberon run by a French-American couple who offer summer and winter truffle hunts, and the chance to stomp on grapes the old-fashioned way during the harvest.
Adult price: £60
Best for ages 13+
Duration: 3+ hours
Cadenet, Provence, France
![Wine harvest at Les Pastras [grape stomping]](https://cxgveiouca.cloudimg.io/familyhotelfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/Grape-stomp-WEB.jpeg?w=426&h=285&func=cover)
An organic farm in the Luberon run by a French-American couple that offers the chance to experience a traditional French wine harvest, including a tour of the farm, lessons in cultivation, and the chance to stomp on the grapes. Weekdays only.
Adult price: £50
Best for ages 13+
Duration: 3 hours
When: Mid-Aug to Mid-Oct
Frequency: annually
Many of the best restaurants are located in smart hotels or in fairly exclusive areas: Les Baux and the Alpilles, St-Remy, Aix, Avignon, and the villages of the Luberon.
See the Michelin guide for the region, which comes in handy for making the essential bookings in advance.
Our selection of the best Viator tours of this attraction or activity
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Destination guides including or relevant to this experience
Provence, France
Gorgeous landscapes peppered with beautiful villages, sunflowers and lavender, art-filled towns, lively cultural festivals and exquisite food and wine. Provence is everything you imagined it would be.
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Cezanne’s elegant hometown, filled with fountains and beautiful mansions, works of art and excellent restaurants. The ‘Florence of France’.
