Lavender Route 3

Route 3: Lavender and Faience

Valensole, the home of the best of the lavender festivals, held annually, can be reached from the larger city of Manosque, via the D6. As you approach the village, lavender fields all in bloom treat to your eyes and your nose. Normally held the third weekend in July, the festival brings visitors from all over the south for its lavender market, food booths and simply the fun of the day. Booths selling lavender products of all kinds line the main street of the village, and the products stir the imagination: lavender soaps, of course, perfumes, essential oils, but also lavender sausage, lavender ice cream, lavender lamps, and large armfuls of freshly cut lavendeFrom Valensole, the D8 leads to Metzel or you can take D953 to Puimoisson and head into Riez, which holds a famous week-end market specializing in Provencal products. Here you will also find, in a nearby field, a recreated portion of a Roman temple and a 6th century baptistry.



To the east, about 15 kilometers away on D952, is Moustiers-Ste-Marie. Moustiers produced one of the most famous faiences in France in the eighteenth century, maintains the tradition of its production today. Faience is a clay-based French pottery distinguished by regional designs--one of the other most famous is the Breton pattern made in Quimper--and Moustier's patterns are not inexpensive but certainly elegant, as they once graced the tables of France's royalty and aristocratic families. If you look closely, as you approach this village on the mountainous route, you will see a silver star suspended on a chain between two mountain peaks, put there by a fourteenth-century knight who survived the crusades. This is a scenic village, more than worth a visit for its charm even without the lure of the faience. There is a vigorous climb to a church at the top of the village with a great view of the region spread below and the stream rushing through it. From here, either return to Manosque through Riez to Greoux–les-Bains, an old bath town of the Romans with a pretty village center and pedestrian walk, a good place for a night's stopover, or as a base for exploring this region of upper Provence. Alternatively, you can carry on through the truly breath-taking Grand Canyon du Verdon, making your way to the city of Castellane to spend the night. An added advantage to the area is that in July when much of Provence is baking under the summer sun, this region is cooler and quite pleasant, especially in the evenings.