I am looking for a recommendation about trips to Provence, France in June 2026. We are going to be in France in June 2026 just finishing a Lakes Tour in the Bordeaux region, and would like very much to find a 2-3 days tours to Provence to see blooming lavender fields, including hotel accommodations, and some meals. We can get ourselves to Provence on the starting date. Does Rick Steves have such tours?
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
1657 posts
I don't think Rick does tours under a couple of weeks in length. If you want someone to put together a tour for you I would search for recommendations on tours and decide whether you want to stay and explore a town or two and take a day tour to the countryside so you don't have to rent a car. This can be a nice option since you only have a couple of days. I'd pick a base reachable by train - Avignon, Aix-en-Provence - and then look for a wine, countryside, and/or small town tour for one day.
One note, however, is that lavender is in full bloom in August into September. In June you can expect hints of purple but not the deep fields of full bloom. However, the lovely red poppies of Provence will be everywhere in June.
Have a great trip,
=Tod
Posted by
Wisconsin
1 posts
The Provence lavender fields were a bucket list item for me, and I finally got there the 3rd week of July this year. There are different regions for lavender with different bloom dates, all weather dependent, and it is my understanding the peak time to see lavender is late June to late July. We stayed in Aix en Provence for a week, and took a variety of small group day trips leaving out of the Aix tourist office location, one of which was a full day tour of the lavender fields in the Sault region on 7/22. Those fields were going to be harvested the follow day, so I just made it. The Valensole region had already been harvested, so no tours available. All the tours were very enjoyable and Aix was lovely. I believe the tour company also had departures from Avignon.
You may find these links useful:
So doing this on your own is quite easy. We did not rent a car, but had no trouble getting anywhere we wanted walking or via taxi/train. Hope this helps.
Posted by
Long Beach, Ca, usa
2470 posts
bmotles,
Provence is a very large region (over 12,000 square miles), so you must narrow down what you want. The Luberon Valley has lots of lavender fields, so with just 2-3 days, I would pick maybe Valensole, but if you stay in Aix-en-Provence there will undoubtedly be day tours you can go on to see the fields and some ofl the other sights of the area.
Bonne chance!
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
16036 posts
I vote with swcomm - the Aix-en-Provence tourist office has a good selection of tours and was actually one of the best Tourist Information Centers I've ever been to.
In all transparency, I have not done them (was on a 2-week Road Scholar tour) but my Sister-in-law was there 2 years ago and enjoyed 2 day trips with them.
Posted by
28 posts
If you are close to Avignon, think of staying at "Sous l'Olivier" in Lagnes. It is a converted old farmhouse which is now a gite/table d'hôte. The owner, Julien is a master chef and the food did not disappoint. We ate breakfast and dinner with the other guests every day out in the courtyard. Everything was fresh and home made...warm madeleines and peach soup were my faves. It was farm to table cooking at its finest. We spent the days exploring the small towns, Rousillon, Gordes, and Arles. We saw beautiful lavender fields surrounding Sénanque Abbey. Lagnes was an ideal location to visit Provence and see many of the highlights of the area. Of our trip to France, this was our favourite 4 days.