Things To Do / Choses a faire
✨ The cutest villages in Provence and The French Riviera
The best thing to do while you are in Provence is to rent a car and hop from town to town. The Chateaux is at the most northern part of Provence, so the best idea is to take a car from where we are and drive in the direction of Nice and stop and zig zag your way through all the villages. Click on the link below for a great list! Others that we love that ARE NOT on this list but you must go to: 1. Saint Remy de Provence - this is where we got engaged 2. Avignon (we're so close!) 3. Les Baux de Provence 4. Aix - en - Provence But all are beautiful, you really can't go wrong. Eat all the food and drink all the wine (even at lunch cause that is how we do in France). NOTE: 1. Everything in France is closed on Sundays 2. Lunch is really only served between 12-2 after that restaurants will close 3. Cash is always good to have 4. You don't have to tip ever (really!) 5. Dinner service doesn't usually start until 8ish 6. These villages aren't big so you can pack a few in a day
☀️ Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque - This is where you see the lavender for your IG pic
The best part about being in Provence in July is that we have an 90% chance that all the lavender will be BLOOMIN'! And yes, it looks exactly like the pic! If you are driving around you will see it everywhere - but the most famous (and albeit most touristy) is the Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque - it's pretty close to the chateau about a 40 min drive - it's also super close to Gordes which is arguably my (Kim's that is, in case you couldn't tell) favorite town in Provence! Look at the times to visit I'm not sure it's open on all days! Your next question is probably - "okay, but what about the Sunflowers KIM?!" unlike our lavender friends - the sunflower fields are planted on rotation every year meaning if a field has sunflowers one year it won't the next so it's hard to say the "BEST" places to see them - but don't worry if you drive around in July in Provence you will 100% come across them!
🍷 Wine Tasting because DUH
There are a lot of regions to wine taste, however the most famous one near our wedding chateau is "Chateau Neuf du Pape" - it's also where we took our engagement photos so the town itself is pretty and not too far from us - a perfect thing to do on Friday upon your arrival. Click below to learn all about it, tours, tastings etc. There are plenty of vineyards and wineries in Provence but I'm not going to pretend I'm an expert so plan to do some research if thats your thing!
🤫 Secret Tips for Nice from an insider
Growing up chez papy and mamy in Nice every summer here are my top tips if you make it to Nice! 1. Walk "Les Promenades Des Anglais" - just park your car at "Le port" parking lot and walk, bring a bathing suit and go for a dip and then obvi get gelato 2. For lunch eat socca at "Chez Renee" in le vieux nice. Socca is basically like chickpea flower pancakes, it's hard to explain but greasy and delicious and goes down perfectly with a glass of rose 3. Do all your shopping in "le vieux nice" not only is it beautiful but so many cute little shops and stalls 4. Make dinner (or lunch honestly) reservations at La Reserve - okay so the food is not the best you will get in all of France (which means it's still amaze from US standards) but THE VIEW! Nice is nice but the villages surrounding Nice are stunning, my faves are: 1. EZE - THIS IS A MUST GOT TO. Do NOT leave Nice without seeing Eze that would make me sad 2. Mougin 3. Biot And then of course there is Cannes!!
🚴♀️. Bike le Mont Ventoux - you crazy athletes
There are a handful of crazy guests attending our wedding who have expressed interest in biking the Mt. Ventoux which is close to the chateaux! They are getting a group together to go - so if you are interested let me know and we can put you in touch with others! Learn more about the bike ride by clicking the link.
🍊 What to do in Orange
If you are spending time in Orange the coolest part of the city and YOU CAN'T MISS them are the Roman Ruins - if you are there during a night (Friday night before the wedding after you have gone wine tasting at chateau neuf du pape!) then I would FOR SURE book concert tickets in the roman amphitheater. It's such a cool experience. Click the link to see what is playing! Other than that I would plan on going to Avignon to see the bridge (cue: "sur le pont d'avingon on y dance on y dance") and the city is bigger and frankly more picturesque than Orange.
🌻 What to do in Avignon
We love Avignon the old streets, the bridge it's a really picturesque city (you only have to look at google images) and worth the 30 min drive or short train ride from Orange - we highly recommend exploring it and going for lunch or dinner if you are staying a few nights in the area! Click on the link for more info!
🤷♀️ Have other questions on what to do or see?
We know that for many of you this is your first time in France and we are so grateful that you are making the trip! If you have more questions on how to do things or where to go reach out to Maman Tartavull at htartavull@gmail.com and she will get them all answered!