Lavender fields, hilltop villages and a country mas with a private chef and a cellar.
Lavender fields, hilltop villages and a country mas with a private chef and a cellar. Here is Provence, arranged privately — browse it by the occasion you're marking, by what moves you, or by the season that suits you best.
What an advisor can open that an algorithm cannot. Each of these is staged on your terms — the access, the timing, the people.
The plateau de Valensole at peak bloom with the farmer who has distilled his own essential oil since 1972 — the cutting, the steam distillation in the shed, the vial of oil pressed from two thousand square metres of purple, then a farmhouse lunch.
A farmhouse restaurant in the Luberon opened between lunch and dinner — the chef walks your party through the evening's menu before it exists on paper, the pantry of wild mushrooms and black truffle from this morning's Carpentras market.
The ancient village before the first visitor by thirty minutes — the Alpilles limestone turning gold, the Château des Baux entirely yours, the guide who has lived in the village his whole life pointing to where the troubadours performed in the twelfth century.
Not a package — a starting point. Each is a journey we have designed and refined; your advisor reshapes it for the version only you would recognise.
An anniversary or milestone marked in Provence, with a setting worthy of the occasion.
The markets, cellars and private kitchens that define Provence.
The lavender and rosemary as pharmacy — a spa in a restored Luberon mas where the treatments use the estate's herbs, a morning walk in the Alpilles before the sun reaches the limestone, and a cure thermale at one of Provence's Roman-era springs.
Provence in the lavender season — the Valensole plateau in July when the purple extends to the horizon, the Gordes market on a Tuesday, a rosé tasting at a Bandol estate above the Mediterranean, and the Luberon hillside village of Les Baux at the hour the stone turns gold.
Each a starting point — our advisors weave them into a single, seamless journey.
The lavender on the Valensole plateau and around the Sault and Luberon areas typically blooms from late June through mid-July, which is the most sought-after window. May and September are ideal for warm days, the vineyards, and the markets without the summer crowds or the intense July heat. The mistral wind can blow at any season, and your advisor can plan around the harvest and village festivals if those appeal.
Private estate visits and tastings at the Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Bandol domaines, often with the winemaker, are a highlight, as is a guided morning at the markets of Aix-en-Provence or Saint-Remy followed by a cooking session with a local chef. Truffle hunting with a grower and his dogs in winter, and private access to working perfume houses in Grasse, are also possible. Forest Travel can arrange a chartered hot-air balloon over the Luberon valley at dawn.
Many travelers base in the Luberon among hilltop villages such as Gordes, Menerbes, and Bonnieux, staying in a private mas or a country-house hotel surrounded by vineyards and olive groves. Aix-en-Provence and Saint-Remy offer a more town-centered alternative with elegant streets and easy market access. Four to six nights allows the villages, the vineyards, Avignon, and the Roman sites at a relaxed pace.
Provence sits within easy reach of the French Riviera, roughly two hours by car to Nice, making a combined land-and-sea itinerary natural. To the west lie the Roman monuments of Nimes and the Pont du Gard, the Camargue, and the city of Avignon, while the Rhone vineyards extend north toward Burgundy. Avignon's TGV station connects to Paris in under three hours for those bookending the trip in the capital.
A private car and driver is the most comfortable way to navigate the winding roads between the perched villages, as public transport is limited and the lanes are narrow. The famous markets each have their own day of the week, so timing visits correctly matters and is worth coordinating in advance. Your advisor will sequence the villages, vineyard appointments, and restaurant reservations so the days flow without backtracking.
No. The lavender fields on the Valensole plateau are private, working farms grown for essential oil, and walking into the rows or picking the flower damages a crop. Photographs are taken from the tracks and the field edges. Drones are not permitted over working fields without the landowner's consent, and less so near villages and roads. Forest Travel arranges access with growers who agree to it, which is a different thing from access nobody can grant.
A private harvest visit on the Valensole plateau at peak bloom is led by a farmer who has distilled his own essential oil since 1972. You watch the cutting, then the steam distillation in his shed, and leave with a vial of oil pressed from two thousand square metres of purple. The visit ends with a farmhouse lunch. The harvest typically begins around mid-July and is largely finished by early August.
Les Baux at dawn means entering the ancient village thirty minutes before the first visitor, as the Alpilles limestone turns gold and the Château des Baux is entirely yours. A guide who has lived in the village his whole life points out where the troubadours performed in the twelfth century. It is one of the moments Forest Travel stages privately, on your terms for access, timing and people.
Wellness in Provence, a 6-day, 5-night journey, treats lavender and rosemary as pharmacy. It centres on a spa in a restored Luberon mas where the treatments use the estate's herbs, a morning walk in the Alpilles before the sun reaches the limestone, and a cure thermale at one of Provence's Roman-era springs. Like every journey in the guide, it is a starting point your advisor reshapes.
Provence is the wrong choice if you need a swim at the end of the day: the coast is two hours away, a decision rather than a detour. It also does not suit travellers wanting nightlife; for that, the Riviera or Paris is the answer. And July on the Valensole plateau is intense, precisely when the lavender is at its best, so heat-averse travellers face a real trade-off.
A private Provence trip starts from US$1,150 per person per night at the level Forest Travel plans. The usual four to six nights in the Luberon or around Saint-Rémy therefore start from around US$4,600 per person, before private tastings, a chef or the lavender harvest visit with a Valensole distiller. Forest Travel's planning fee is US$250 per itinerary, and the lavender window, late June to mid-July, is the one to secure first.
Every journey here is a starting point a private advisor reshapes entirely around you — your pace, your people, the Provence only you would recognise.
A real person answers: an in-house luxury travel advisor, in English or Spanish. The first conversation is complimentary.
