Lavender in France

Lavender usually blooms around the end of June through July, but you're never guaranteed anything, and the weather can always cause delays or early eruptions. However, your best bet of seeing it is to go sometime in July.

Are you planning on going to Provence? Provence is noted for their lavender fields. I was there one year in 1999 in late May and missed the full glory of it. However, the rapeseed was in full bloom then, and it's almost as pretty as lavender, although it doesn't smell as nice.

But I got to see it in Paso Robles, California in July of 2014 and the lavender was in abundance. It was so gorgeous and so worth seeing. But then again, sometime it fails to make much of an appearance. Plants are fickle. 😊

Sorry, I'm kind of rambling now, but I hope you get to see your lavender!

Lavender season is short. Basically between around 10 June to 20/25 July. Sometimes a bit earlier, rarely later in the current climate. The best time for peak viewing is probably late June.

The main clusters of lavender fields are around Valensole and around Sault, with significant fields around the Luberon and in Drôme Provençale (south of Crest, in particular) further north.

The Luberon and Drôme Provençale fields bloom first thanks to lower elevation, and the fields around Ferrassieres are the last to be harvested in a typical year.

As for places to stay: it also depends on what else you want to do in the area.

Moustiers Sainte Marie is great for Valensole and the Gorges du Verdon, as well as for touring some pretty villages in northern Var (Tourtour, Villecroze, Cotignac...), but it is very far from the other typical highlights of Provence.

Lourmarin and vicinity (Ansouis etc.) is a good mid-point between everything in the region; villages further into the Luberon (Bonnieux Goult etc.) could also work but less so if you intend to visit Valensole and the Verdon.

Forcalquier is very cute if you'd rather have a small town than a village.

Montbrun could work if you're late in the season, or Sault, but the roads are slow so don't plan on day trips too far out of the area.