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9 Best Provence France Lavender Fields Tips For Your Family Vacation
Visiting the Provence France Lavender Fields is a BIG bucket list item for many. (Me me me!) The scenery makes it an especially beautiful stop for any Southern France family vacation itinerary and it just seems so... peaceful. So here's a few tips you MUST SEE before planning your Provence France lavender fields family vacation to make it a visit that the whole family can enjoy!
Provence France Lavender Fields Tip #1:
Wear a long dress or pants so the lavender doesn't scratch you and cut your legs.
Something I didn’t see during ANY of my meticulous (aka A-type, over the top pre-planning crazy) research was that the lavender plants are SCRATCHY and will cut your legs!
Like many people who visit the Provence France lavender fields, I picked my outfit in advance. And, because this was a bucket list activity for me, I also picked outfits for ALL my kids (and gently steered my husband’s outfit choice) as well. 🤪
Since it was early July, we did what any reasonable person would do when planning a summer vacation- wear shorts.
So it was a little bit of a bummer when we actually arrived to the Valensole lavender fields and started making our way through them- it felt like walking through weeds! 🤯
It was definitely an oversight- the lavender plants touching our legs didn’t even cross my mind once during all of my planning!
That’s why I wanted to make that my VERY FIRST tip- because there’s enough things to think about when planning a family vacation in France, so at least this is one thing less to catch you off guard when you get there. 😉
Basically, if you plan to wear pants, slacks or a long dress, you’ll be fine. Or, maybe put lotion on your legs before leaving and pray for the plants to be kind if you have your heart set on a cute outfit that leaves your legs bare.
Provence France Family Vacation Tip #2:
The lavender fields are best enjoyed as a day trip or farm experience.
The other tip I wanted to mention right off the bat is that the Provence france lavender fields can be seen in one day- making it a perfect day trip to include in any family vacation in France (or add to a fun European road trip).
While the lavender fields south of France are definitely some of the most beautiful in the world, there’s really not enough to do or see over multiple days, and your little ones will probably get bored if you decide to stretch it into a weekend (or more).
That being said, there are lots of other great things to do in the Provence region, especially if you like hiking, the beach, and/or lots of beautiful and quaint little towns.
In fact, our Southern France family vacation was one of the favorites for our entire family- even the littlest ones loved it! 😍
(Check out our Family Holidays In South France tips to make the most of your family vacation!)
But if you’re like me, you’re probably wondering if you’re really going to get the full experience if you only do a one-day visit?!
I’ve got you covered below with a great link to the perfect lavender fields France map in tip #4. 😉 It’s easily enjoyed in one day, and we did it in one afternoon!
If you really do have your heart set on enjoying them for longer, you might be able to plan ahead and book a fun farm stay or ‘airbnb experience’ stay right by the Provence lavender fields and get more of a ‘behind the scenes’ visit.
Since we were already planning a multi-week European family vacation, it was easy to add a Provence visit to our itinerary as we passed through Southern France.
Lavender Fields France Family Vacation Tip #3:
Go early in the morning and get deep into the Provence France lavender fields for the best shots.
Here’s where tip #1 really starts to matter.
First of all, it is definitely important to get there as early in the morning as you possibly can. ☀️🐓☀️
I thought I would be super smart and schedule a late afternoon visit- I can get the late setting sun (hello, Golden Hour!) and won’t have to wake the kids up super early.
But that was a bad idea for a couple of reasons- most of all because it was INSANELY hot!
Luckily, we had water bottles in the car, because there weren’t really any cafes or anything near the fields to rely on.
Also, the lavender fields were quite busy in the afternoon!
Even though we weren’t able to visit in late June, when it's considered to be the ‘best time to see lavender fields in Provence,’ there were still a LOT of people taking photos and wandering around! 👀
This is one pic I got that had lots of people in it, but for the most part I tried to take pictures without people in the way (or crop them down),
Since you can see both the sunflower and the Terranova lavender fields side by side here, it was quite a popular spot.
Even though were actually cutting it pretty close to harvest by getting there July 10th (harvest is mid-July) it was still pretty crowded, in my opinion.
So if I had to do it again, I would definitely go earlier in the morning so I can take advantage of the slower crowds and avoid overheating.
Even if you're headed to see the lavender fields in France with kids in tow, this is one experience you'll want to wake up early for.
TRIP TIMING TIP: The peak lavender season Provence is considered to be late June up to the first week of July. Most fields get harvested by mid July when the plants are at their best. |
For the second half of this family vacation tip, I suggest taking your time to actually GO deeper into the fields.
I saw a lot of people standing to take photos around the edges of the lavender fields, but only the ones with professional photographers actually seemed to be walking deeper into the fields to get the good shots.
It’s YOUR trip. You’re going to want to have beautiful memories of your France family holidays, so don’t be afraid to get in there and actually go for it! 🥳
There’s a reason the professionals were dragging their clients deeper into the fields- that’s where the prettiest shots are!
(Don’t forget my earlier tip about longer dresses or pants though, those plants will get ya!)
Provence Lavender Fields Family Vacation Tip #4:
Use an updated route through the Valensole fields for the best experience.
When doing my copious amounts of research (I’m crazy, remember?!)...
I found an AMAZING blog run called LeLongWeekend by a woman who actually lives in Provence and updates a route through the Valensole lavender fields in Provence every single year!
If you haven’t heard of Valensole yet, it’s a nice little area in Provence with LOTS of lavender fields and a cute little town area nearby where you can stop for lunch or an early dinner.
All in all, if you follow the route she suggests, you can see ALL the best Provence France lavender fields as one glorious day trip, and then move on to enjoy the rest of your France family vacation activities! 🎉
You can see her wonderfully put-together and informative blog with her clever map route of all the fields here!
Provence France Family Vacation Tip #5:
Don't over edit your lavender field photos and be careful when using filters.
