Provence: When to Go

May and June are the best times, followed by September and October. Spring is a cocktail of flowering poppy fields and almond trees. Lavender fields blaze purple for two or three weeks any time between late June and mid-July. In September vines sag with plump red grapes, pumpkin fields glow orange and the first olives turn black in van Gogh's silver-branched olive groves. The vendange (grape harvest) starts around 15 September, followed by the cueillette des olives (olive harvest) from 15 November through to early January. If you ski, late December to March is for you.

Avoid hot-and-bothered July and August when holiday-makers hog the region, clogging up roads and hotels and making life in the blistering heat unbearable.

Weather

The intense, cold, dry, northwesterly Mistral aside, the region enjoys a temperate climate with mild winters. Apart from the Avignon area, where average high temperatures can reach 30°C (86°F) in July, conditions are warmer along the Mediterranean and cooler valley breezes predominate in the alpine areas. As you move along the coast from Marseille to Nice, with average highs of 26°C (79°F) in July, the temperature gets cooler and rainfall increases.

Temperature (average ° C)

Humidity (average %)

Rainfall (average mm)

Sunshine (average hrs per day)