Gardens of Provence
Provence is entirely intoxicating, a sun-drenched corner of France where the scent of wild thyme drifts over ancient stone, and the light possesses a luminous, cinematic quality that has captivated artists for centuries. While its lavender fields and sleepy hilltop villages are undeniably lovely, the region’s true magic lies hidden behind iron gates. My absolute highlight is Mas dou Gaou. This naturalistic, ecological masterpiece is an absolute revelation, brilliantly marrying contemporary design with sustainability by weaving drought-tolerant climate planting directly into a gravel landscape. It beautifully captures the rugged, fragrant essence of the true Mediterranean scrubland
About this tour
Cypress trees, sunlit vineyards and silvery olive groves across rolling hills, terraced slopes set against limestone cliffs and distant mountains. This is the essence of Provence, a landscape both rugged and refined, shaped by centuries of cultivation and a climate that demands resilience. Hot summers, drying winds and scarce water have not diminished its beauty, they have helped create some of the most distinctive and inspiring gardens in Europe.
Based in beautiful Aix-en-Provence, this tour explores a wide variety of these gardens and landscapes, from historic estates and formal terraces to innovative contemporary designs and private creations. Each visit reveals a different response to the Provencal environment, with exceptional planting, artistic influences, and a deep connection between garden and place.
Garden highlights
- Pavillon de Galon - an award-winning garden around an 18th-century mansion
- Chateau Val Joanis - a remarkable formal kitchen garden at a Luberon winery
- Domaine d'Orves - a walled garden alive with water, endemic and exotic plants
- Jardin d'Albertas - a grand 17th-century formal garden over four terraces
- Chateau de Brantes - a Tuscan-inspired garden by Mogens Tvede
- Mas dou Gaou - naturalistic, ecological masterpiece blending dry Provençal climate planting into gravel
- Parc du Mugel - where a sheltered microclimate grows tender exotics
- La Louve - contemporary, dry-climate design
- Hôtel Pigonnet - Centuries-old chestnut trees frame a fragrant, romantic Provençal garden oasis
Destination highlights
- Gardening in the Mediterranean dry climate of Provence
- Provencal lavender fields in full bloom at Lavandes Angelvin
- The picturesque hilltop commune of Puimoisson
- The dye-plant collection at the Jardins des Plantes Tinctoriales
- Cezanne's studio, Cassis and a boat trip through the Calanques
Booking details
Next departure: 22 June 2027
Operator: Travel Editions
Book with Travel EditionsWhat you'll learn
Provence is the place to learn how to garden with heat, wind and little water. You will look at how Mediterranean and drought-tolerant planting copes, from silvery foliage and gravel to bold structural plants, how contemporary designers such as the Bassons work with the dry climate rather than against it, and how the great formal gardens use terraces, water and shade. With climate change making dry summers more familiar at home, there is a great deal here that is genuinely useful as well as beautiful.
Gardens you'll visit
Pavillon de Galon
is a historic 18th-century Luberon estate famed for its award-winning garden where symmetrical French design seamlessly blends with natural spring-fed Roman pools, lavender fields, and orchards
Chateau Val Joanis
stunning Luberon winery beloved for its historic three-tiered terraced grounds, seamlessly combining 17th-century style kitchen plots, ornamental rose pergolas, and world-class estate wine tastings
Domaine d'Orves
historic terraced gardens irrigated by gravity springs, where native Mediterranean flora, majestic old trees, fountains, and vibrant collections of rare, global botanicals encircle a grand 18th-century fortified manor
Jardin d'Albertas
combines Italian Renaissance theatricality with French formal design, showcasing masterfully sculpted, trimmed boxwood hedges, monumental statues, and historic spring-fed fountains framed by rolling hills of native pine
Chateau de Brantes
features a Tuscan-inspired walled garden in Sorgues, celebrated for its structural cypress avenues, colorful peony and rose beds, and one of Europe’s oldest, most mammoth 200-year-old Magnolia trees
Mas dou Gaou
Parc du Mugel
La Louve
Hôtel Pigonnet
Beyond the gardens
Provence is a feast beyond the garden gate. There is the light that drew Cezanne, whose studio we visit, the lavender fields and markets, the limestone cliffs and the sea at Cassis, with a boat trip through the dramatic Calanques. Based in Aix-en-Provence, there is time to enjoy the cafes, the food and the particular, unhurried pleasure of the Midi.
My hope is that you come home with more than photographs: practical ideas for gardening in a hot, dry climate, an eye for Mediterranean planting and structure, and a head full of the colour, scent and light that make Provence one of the most inspiring corners of France.