Besides its pretty little towns, Calanque cliffs and beautiful beaches, the Provence offers a seemingly endless number of natural parks. Driving for not more than 2-3 hours you will pass through a multitude of diverse environments, vegetations and landscapes. One second it’ll be a curvy road winding through forests with rocky mountains to all sides, the next second you find yourself in swampy fields, not a single other soul in sight. Renting a car and just wondering from one place to the next is probably the best way to explore the beauty of this area’s natural parks.
SAINTES-MARIES-DE-LA-MER, PLAGE DE PIEMANSON & BEAUDUC
Exploring the Camargue, you will unavoidably find yourself driving through the little town of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. While it is obvious that the place is directed at waves of tourists during the summer months, it is actually nice to take a walk along the beach and have a look at the fortified church when the tourist season has cooled off a bit like it had for us at the end of September/beginning of October. Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer is known to be a place of pilgrimage for the French ‘Gitans’ (Roma catholics/gipsies). Once a year in May, thousands of pilgrims travel to the church in order to celebrate the ‘Fête des Gitans’ honouring their dark-skinned Saint Sara.
The coast line of the Camargue also offers some beautiful and vast beaches. While Plage de Beauduc offers you surfer-hippie vibes but is rather hard to access (one hour of bumpy dirt road, driving a maximum of 20 km/h), Plage de Piemanson might be an easier option if you’re short on time or don’t want to put your car through the bumpy off-road trip. Both beaches will charm you with their vastness, the sound of the powerful waves and beautiful dunes in the background. On your way there, you might spot groups of pink flamingos wading through the water of the marshy wetlands of the Camargue. When we were doing this trip at the end of September/beginning of October, we were lucky enough to see them in several different places. If you want to read more about Plage de Beauduc and how to get there, check out my article on ‘Arles & the Camargue‘.
LES BAUX-DE-PROVENCE
The town of Les Baux-de-Provence seems to be growing right out of the majestic rocks surrounding it and lies at the centre of the Parc Naturel Régional des Alpilles. As one of the places listed on ‘Les plus beaux villages de France’ it has definitely earned its rank with its charming little streets and stunning views of the surrounding mountain ranges and the neighbourhoods that rest at the bottom of the large rock formation which forms the base for the village. Its popularity with tourists is manifested through rather expensive parking and the fact that it may take you a while to find a spot along the road which is winding around the town, yet I would definitely recommend taking the time to stroll the little streets and alleyways leading up to the castle or one of its many stunning churches, chapels and old buildings. When we visited at the end of September it was rather calm but I can imagine that a visit during high season can be somewhat exhausting, when the streets are packed with tourists, so I would recommend visiting outside of the summer months if possible.
MÉNERBES & BONNIEUX
The Parc Naturel Régional du Luberon also offers its fair share of lovely villages from the list of ‘Les plus beaux villages de France’. After having visited Les Baux-de-Provence during the day, we decided to have our daily sunset picnic and wine in the beautiful town of Ménerbes. While Les Baux-de-Provence was absolutely stunning but at the same time did strike us as a tourist hotspot, Ménerbes was the exact opposite. Walking the streets and buying some antipasti and wine at a little Épicerie, we were quite sure to be the only foreigners in the town on that mild late summer evening. As we continued driving, we passed through the town of Bonnieux. Sadly, we didn’t have the time to make another stop but if you do have the time, just passing through already gave us the impression that Bonnieux would’ve made just as good of a sunset picnic spot as Ménerbes. And luckily, the two towns are only 15 minutes apart.
MOUSTIERS-SAINTE-MARIE
The last stop on our road trip lead us to the Parc Naturel Régional du Verdon. The main event of this part of the trip would be the 7-hour hike through the Verdon valley, also known as the Grand Canyon of Europe, which you can read about here. But of course this region also has some places of the ‘Prettiest villages of France’-list, and so we decided to visit Moustiers-Sainte-Marie. Out of all the beautiful villages we got to explore during our road trip, Moustiers must’ve been our favourite one. It kind of combined the stunning location of Les Baux-de-Provence almost inside the rocks of the mountain with the cuteness of Ménerbes. Our perfect couple of hours spent in this gorgeous place consisted of a stroll down the market, trying some delicious cheese, and treating ourselves to some coffee and crêpes with the dazzling view of the majestic peak illuminated by the afternoon sun overlooking the town. Continuing this routine we could’ve easily spent another couple of hours here, if not days. I have to say, the list of ‘Les plus beaux villages de France’ did not disappoint even once. You should give it a go as a source of inspiration for your next trip to France!
MY TIPS & RECOMMENDATIONS
- When moving from one town to the next, try to avoid the highways and just drive on smaller streets. The winding routes will lead you to the most beautiful little towns and places and you can just get out wherever you feel like it to explore a little further.
- Our Airbnb in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer was perfect for 4 people and fairly priced with €22,50 per person/night.
- If you want the ultimate French country-side experience in the Luberon, stay at this farmhouse Airbnb with an elderly couple that will provide you with some wine and baguette (and endless life stories) since you’ll be so secluded from everything that there’s no chance for you to nip to any store if you’re arriving after 6pm.
- In Ménerbes, grab some cheese, antipasti and a bottle of wine at the little Épicerie La Table de L’Épicier and walk up to the Torre del Reloj. Across from the townhall, there’s a cozy corner with a stone bench – the perfect spot to enjoy a little picnic while watching the sunset.
lenacatherine 