WHAT CAN I DO IN PROVENCE AFTER CONFINEMENT?

« If everything goes to plan, we will come out of confinement on the 11th of May » said the French President, Emmanuelle Macron. It’s official, we have a date to look forward to. A date of hope for freedom! However, life will not go back to how it was so fast… So instead of crying about what you won’t be able to do after confinement, here’s a list of lovely places you can discover without breaking the rules or coming close to the virus. And if you are not stuck in Provence, you can always try these places whenever you come to visit next!

SAINTE-VICTOIRE MOUNTAIN

Why not work on our summer bodies at the same time as discovering one of the symbols of Provence? The Sainte-Victoire mountain, 1011m high. A bit scary, I know, but think about the views and the lovely bum you will achieve after this! You will come across several religious sites, full of history, and if you are brave enough to go all the way up to the highest point, you will be gifted with a spectacular view of Provence, it’s villages, it’s nature and if the day is clear, you will be able to see the sea, Mount Ventoux and the Alps. Worth it? What can I else can I say to impress you even more? Oh yeah! She was the muse of famous artists such as Picasso, Kandinsky and most importantly Paul Cezanne, who was totally obsessed with the forever changing colours of the mountain, and painted it around 80 times. Oh, I nearly forgot, you can also find sea creature fossils if you are lucky! How did they get there?

Images taken of Google.

LES CALANQUES DE MARSEILLE

What I love about Marseille is that it is the second largest city in France, but still manages to offer the most majestic wild scenery such as the Calanques National Park. Popular with rock climbers, the highest cliffs in Europe, together with the azure colour of the water will amaze you. The area became a National Park in 2012 and now protects around 140 species of animals and plants. Just a tip, there are many Calanques in Marseille, so it is best to choose in advance which one seems more tempting to you, and how you can get to it.

Some of these images have been taken of Google.

LA ROUTE DES CRETES

If you’re not a very sporty person, like me, but love a good view, this one is for you. The Route des Crêtes is a half-hour drive of pure beauty between the sky and the sea. For this one, I always like to put on a nice, dreamy playlist in the car, open all windows to feel the breeze, smell the pine trees and listen to the deafening sound of the cicadas mixing perfectly with my music. On one side you will be amazed by the vegetation with hills covered in green and vines, and on the other the infinite landscape of a shiny Mediterranean. You will be able to stop in small car parks to enjoy the splendid views that you can only discover by foot. If you go in summer, I would advise you to come after a lovely day spent at a beach nearby, just before sunset, as the temperature and light becomes perfect. I guarantee you will have the coolest pictures to feed your followers on Instagram.

PROVENCE: VILLAGES AND COUNTRYSIDE

Why not go for the easy option and visit all the lovely little villages of Provence! Lourmarin, Rognes, Les Alpilles, St Remy and many more have loads to offer! Beautiful stone houses, local churches, small shops and why not stop and have an ice cream whilst watching the locals play boules? What I like to do is create a driving plan of several places I’d like to visit in one day…And my favourite activity in all this is to stop and take a picture of all the beautiful fields of Provence; lavender, sunflower or olive trees, they are all splendid to me.