Provence is a fantastic summer location. The Mediterranean climate, the consistenty high temperature, the lovely fruit and vegetables, the honey, the wine and the magnificent hill top villages. There is a lot to see if you are on holiday and a return trip is hard to resist. Favourite spots I'd pick out in terms of villages are Bonnieux, Gordes, Lacoste, Lurmarin, Oppede le Vieus, Rousillon, Venasque, Les Baux. For scenery I'd say that Mont Ventoux is a must and if times allows the larger town I'd visit is Avignon.
St Saturnin Les Apt is one of ourfavourite destinations in this region, and it is a wonderful base for popping of to visit a range of superb hill top villages. I suspect it has undergone something of a makeover in recent years. Many of the roads and paths are in stunning condition and the sandy buildings are well cared for with few run-down options left for those who revel in 'a project'.
If Roman history is your thing then it would be hard not to visit Glanum. It's a great site and the visitor centre is one of the best I've been to. The French equivalent of Historic Scotland look after this site and it's a great place to spend a couple of hours. I'd make time to enjoy the visitors centre (a cool option on what can be hot days) and don't miss out crossing the road for what I heard one little boy describe as the 'mini Arc de Triumph'.
The Abbeye de Sanque draws many visitors. It's a lovely medieval Cistercian abbey and is one of the best places to see Provence's famed lavender fields. Home to Cistercian monks it was apparentelyh founded in 1148. Just north of Gordes you reach it by a 'B' road which in recent years has been made one way to ease the flow of traffic. The old building sits in a valley floor and the surrounding lavendar fields make this a photographer's dream.
