Road Tripping the French Riviera – Part 3 Aix-en-Provence

After three days in Nice followed by a day trip to Monaco, Casey and I rented a car and headed west to Aix-en-Provence. I was so excited to visit the land of lavender and rosé! With planned stops along the way, we had a busy day ahead of us! (Pictured above: Pavillon Vendôme)

If you want to read about the first few days of our trip read this article and this one.

Our first stop: Gorges du Verdon. This is a river canyon in southeastern France often referred to as the Grand Canyon of Europe. After seeing it I can see why! How did I find out about this place? Pinterest, of course! We only spent a couple of hours here, but I wish we had spent a whole day!

I’m not going to lie it was quite the journey to get here with windy roads and narrow streets! We didn’t have an exact location to head to other than the lake. Well the lake, Lac de Sainte Croix, is quite large! So don’t make that mistake or you’ll be driving for awhile around the lake. Head to the bridge off D957 and you’ll find plenty of venders renting out kayaks and paddle boats. This is also the closest entry point to get into the canyon.

Next stop: the lavender fields! Casey and I visited Aix-en-Provence in early August. They typically harvest the lavender in June and July, (although it varies year to year) so my expectations were very low. As we were driving around all we saw were empty fields until we FINALLY came across one! It was the only one we saw but I was extremely happy. If you aren’t able to see the fields you can still opt for some lavender ice cream or lemonade in any of the neighboring towns.

After an event filled afternoon we finally made our way to Aix-en-Provence for the night. We spent our first day just walking around and exploring this beautiful place. It was a Sunday so many things were closed, but we enjoyed our slow afternoon just gazing at the architecture.

It was very HOT this time of year. Luckily our airbnb had a small pool that we definitely took advantage of during our stay. It was perfect for relaxing after a long day in the hot sun.

Next up: rosé. I have always liked rosé, but I didn’t realize how much until we visited the south of France. It’s known for rosé after all! We hopped in our car and headed to Château la Coste.

I was instantly struck with just how gorgeous this winery is! It was straight out of a dream. We were lucky enough to get a spot in the next tour and walked away with a case of wine to bring back to Germany.

It was a short trip to Aix En Provence, but we made the most of it! We easily could have spent 3 or 4 days here. If you are planning a trip to the south of France, make Provence a stop on your trip – you won’t regret it!