Provence in winter?

It's very cold and uncomfortable when the Minstral wind blows, which is every few days. A lot is closed. But if you are in the larger towns along the coast, there is enough to do. It does have a special luminosity, however. Don't count on outdoor dining though unless they have heat lamps. It's not like California or Florida.

well you won't see any lavender in winter. at best rows of short round shrubs all gray.

I haven't been to Provence in winter, but echoing Nigel, for every other rural area I've been in Europe at that time (excluding the Alps), the predominant theme is a hazy grey pallate and low visibility.

I spent a week in Provence and the French Riviera during late December 2008 (week between Christmas and New Year's). It was rainy and very cold in Avignon (my first picture is of me standing in the rain in front of Avignon's Christmas lights), but I got to see and do a lot (Avignon, Nimes, Arles, Pont du Gard, Les Baux). It was warmer once I got to Nice (only needed a fleece), and I visited Nice, Monte Carlo, Eze, La Turbie, Cap Ferrat, and Villefranche. I'm from Michigan and am used to cold winters, but I thought it would be warmer--I'd visited Portugal the Christmas before--so I took the wrong clothing (only a raincoat, fleeces, and lighter pants). With my winter coat and jeans, I would have been just fine the whole time. No lavender fields, but Christmas markets and lights instead.

gray, dreary, and Lavendar stalks. With that being said, I love France, and just about anywhere in Europe can offer something special during Christmas. My first choice in France would be Alsace, then Paris, or maybe Burgundy. Germany or Austria are unbeatable at Christmas, though.