Travel Diaries - Wandering Provence

Nothing screams summer like a glass of rosé, white linen and the smell of Biafine cream for your peeling sunburns. Despite the teasing French competitiveness against my neighbours — it’s ingrained in my Swiss DNA — I’ve always been a bit of a Frenchie at heart.

Provence is located in southeastern France, bordering the Mediterranean Sea and only a couple of kilometres away from Italy. The region is known for its diverse landscape and agriculture. From the Southern Alps, rolling vineyards, and olive groves to lavender fields, Provence is a little pocket of peace for those who seek some soul resting and sunny adventures. Lucky for me, one of my closest friends lives in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France so my yearly visits are sort of mandatory. For the past ten years I’ve acquainted myself with the south of France but this year we made it our mission to see most of what Provence had to offer. And it didn’t disappoint.

DAY ONE: Nice — St-Tropez

I flew from Geneva to Nice as the plan was progressively going up the coast and heading to Saint-Tropez for the day. Two years priors my friend and I stayed in Nice so we skipped the Alpes-Maritimes department’s capital and went straight to the jet set's favourite spot.

Saint-Tropez has attracted the rich and famous since the late 19th century. But the peninsula owes its reputation to Roger Vadim’s 1956 movie, And God Created Woman starring French actress Brigitte Bardot and shot on Pampelonne beach. Another famous film set in Saint-Tropez is the 1964 French comedy film Le Gendarme de St-Tropez starring France’s favourite comedian Louis de Funès. Nowadays, the old Gendarmerie is a museum to the glory of 1950/60’s French cinema. Saint-Tropez is mainly renowned for exclusive beach clubs and mega yachts where millionaires (and their sugar babies) flaunt their money but also for its cobblestoned old town, exquisite restaurants and olive groves.

Already acquainted with Saint-Tropez from past stays, we went straight to Dior’s café Dior Des Lices — which I always assumed was a pun with délice (= delight) and la Place des Lices situated just up the street. Did we get an overpriced iced coffee and smoothie? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Dior’s courtyard is verdant and flowery and the staff is lovely without ever being condescending (which I noticed is recurrent with the brand). In the afternoon we walked around the old town, checking out the clocktower and some vintage shops as it was way too windy to enjoy any beach clubs. We grabbed some delicious food at L’Opéra and called it a day.

Saint Tropez is a beautiful place and has a lot of fun to offer but in my opinion, it’s always been a little bit overrated. A lot of showing off and drooling tourists. We considered staying the night but decided to head to our next stop instead, La Ciotat.

• Recommendations

  • La Tarte Tropezienne: this typical dessert from St-Tropez is beloved in the region and consists of a pastry with filled brioche.

  • La Petite Plage: located in the port of St-Tropez, the restaurant has a chic yet relaxed atmosphere where guests eat with their feet on the sand.

  • Le Yaca hotel-restaurant: the restaurant of this 5 stars hotel can be found in the heart of the old St-Tropez. This establishment is charming, calm and discreet hence, the perfect spot to unwind.

  • Loulou Ramatuelle: Ramatuelle is a little bit outside of St-Topez and it’s where the best beach clubs are. Loulou is a great place to share a chill lunch with your friends and relax on the mythical Pampelone Beach.

DAY TWO - La Ciotat

La Ciotat, also known in Provençal as La Ciéutat (= The City) is located between Marseille and and Toulon. The seaside town is famous for its breathtaking coves such as Place du Mugel and Calanques de Figuerolles but is also the birthplace of Southern France’s iconic pétanque game, invented by Jule Le Noir in 1907. Moreover, La Ciotat was the setting of L’Arrivée d’un train en gare de la Ciotat, one of the first projected motion pictures ever, filmed by non other than the Lumières brothers in 1895.

In La Ciotat, we enjoyed the hotel’s pool in the morning, grabbed breakfast at the very cute Café de l’Horloge and spent the rest of our day sunbathing and initiating my summer reading at the Plage du Mugel.

Flooding my camera roll, La Ciotat is easily my new favourite place in the south of France and I would highly recommend it to anyone seeking some authentic Côte d’Azur experience. It is lively enough to have some fun yet peaceful at the same time. As of July, there’s also a night market which should be worth seeing.

Although I could’ve stayed there forever, I was also very happy to reach our third stop: my bestie’s hometown.

• Recommendations

  • Boat tour of La Ciotat’s Calanques and L’Ile Verte

DAY THREE - Carpentras

Carpentras is a commune in the Vaucluse department and up until 1791, Carpentras was part of the Papal States, not of the Kingdom of France. Historically, the town has been an important centre of French Judaism, being home to the oldest synagogue in France which opened in 1367. Carpet’ as we call it has a special place in my heart and it’s not because of its notorious black truffles and strawberries. My must-dos are the Inguimbertine library and museum — a treasure of French heritage, the world-famous Maison Jouvaud patisserie/bakery and the irresistible Friday morning market.

Established as the hottest place in France during summer with temperatures beating 40°C makes the Saint-Siffrein cathedral worthy of a visit if you’re desperately looking for a cool and calming breeze.

So that’s exactly what we did. Additionally, we sat at Le Rich’ for lunch, a restaurant thoroughly appreciated amongst locals. There you’re either team Le Rich’ or Les Palmiers and having tried both, I’ll have to pledge allegiance to Le Rich’s cheeseburger.

In the evening we wandered around Isle-sur-la-Sorgue for some well-deserved gelato. The small town is known for its many antique shops and antique markets. Despite the apparent quietness, Isle-sur-la-Sorgue has many waterside cafés and restaurants, often occupied by students from Avignon and its surroundings.

• Recommendations

  • Maison Jouvaud: the city’s most acclaimed bakery.

  • Clavel: try Carpentras’ traditional Berlingot — a candy of sugar, flavoured with candied fruits.

DAY FOUR - Gordes

Only twenty minutes away from Carpentras, Gordes has some of the most beautiful views in Provence. Granted, it’s not a place for a lad's holiday and other party animals but it is simply gorgeous. A bit like walking around a postcard.

For the sake of culture, we first visited the Abbaye Notre Dame de Sénanque, founded in June 1148 by a dozen of Cistercians monks. The monastery is still active today. Just like during the 12th century, a community of Cistercians monks currently lives in the Abbey of Sénanque, still following the rule of Saint Benedict.

The place is surrounded by lavender fields, cultivated by the monks and which had yet to bloom by the time we got there. Nevertheless, the abbey and its gardens were stunning, capturing all of Provence’s charm.

• Recommendations

  • Airelles hotel-restaurant: everything about it is wonderful. The hotel, the bars and the restaurants are everything you’ve ever dreamed of and some more. In all honesty, St-Tropez is tacky in comparison to this establishment!

DAY FIVE - Avignon

For our last day, we had a pretty chill day shopping around Avignon. The centre of this ancient town is enclosed by medieval walls holding in its historic centre the Palais des Papes, the cathedral and the emblematic Pont d’Avignon. Avignon became of UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 because of its architecture and historical importance in the medieval age.

Avignon is lively and provides a lot of entertainment. The annual Festival d’Avignon takes place in July and the city is flooded with tourists to attend one of the world’s largest festivals for performing arts. Throughout summer, the best clubs are in the city staying in Avignon offers the perfect balance between living la dolce vita and spending a hot girl summer.

• Recommendations

  • Le Bokaos: Avignon’s n°1 nightclub.

  • Saigon Food: small family business, great prices and good food.

  • Le Milano: has a great terrace with a cute view

After one amazing week of enjoying the sun, France and my bestie's company I took the train home from Avignon TGV already counting the days to my next visit.

If you're considering a trip to the south of France, I would highly recommend renting a car so you can do everything at your own pace and see multiple villages and towns. And contrary to popular beliefs, you can appreciate these fancy destinations on a budget. Go for coffees and drinks instead of sitting down for a meal; the view and atmosphere are the same! Stay in a hotel in a small town nearby the big place you've been visiting and look for those little natural coves and secret beaches to avoid paying the exuberant beach clubs' prices.