Shop front at L'isle-sur-la-Sorgue
What does it mean to live well?
In Provence, the answer might be found at a market stall piled with the season’s produce. It might arrive over a long lunch and a glass of rosé, on a walk through olive groves, or during an afternoon when there is nowhere in particular you need to be.
In September 2027, Lyndey Milan OAM will host a small group of just 16 travellers on an 11 day exploration of
Provence built around precisely these pleasures: food, wine, art, beautiful countryside and time to enjoy them.
Provence through Lyndey's eyes
For more than four decades, Lyndey has shared her enthusiasm for food and wine as a chef, author, presenter and industry leader. But food for Lyndey has never existed in isolation. What is grown, cooked, poured and shared around a table can tell us an enormous amount about a place and the people who live there.
Arriving in late September, the tour catches the South of France as summer begins to give way to autumn. The grape harvest brings activity to the vineyards, olives are ripening on the trees and the markets begin to reflect the changing season.
And those markets play a starring role. In Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Aix-en-Provence and Lourmarin, there will be time to browse the stalls and see what local producers have brought in that morning. On one particularly delicious day, the group will shop for seasonal ingredients before a hands-on cooking class.
Rosé, olive oil and an unusual tasting underground
Naturally, there is wine. From Aix, the group heads into the vineyards of the Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence appellation to learn about the local wines and taste them where they are produced. The timing coincides with les vendanges, the grape harvest, an important moment in the Provençal wine calendar.
Later in the Luberon, another cornerstone of the Provençal table gets its turn. At a family-owned organic olive estate near Cadenet, we'll walk amongst some of the estate's 4,000 olive trees, learn how its oils are produced and taste the differences between them before settling down to a gourmet picnic.
Then comes perhaps the tour's most unexpected wine experience. At the former ochre quarries of the Bruoux Mines, we'll venture into galleries carved deep into the rock before taking part in a blind tasting of local wines in the darkness. Without seeing the bottle, label or even the colour of what's in the glass, aroma, flavour and texture have to do all the talking.
Walking into the paintings
Food and wine are only part of Provence’s story. Its light and landscapes have also inspired generations of artists. In Saint-Rémy, we follow the Van Gogh Walking Trail to Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, where Vincent van Gogh spent a remarkably productive year from 1889.
In Aix, attention turns to Paul Cézanne. We'll walk the streets associated with his life before visiting Atelier des Lauves, the studio he had built in 1902 and where he worked during his final years. There is also time at the Caumont Centre d'Art, an 18th-century mansion with formal gardens in Aix's Mazarin quarter.
Four nights in the Luberon
The pace changes again when we reach Gordes, where we settle in for four nights. From here, one day takes us on foot through the countryside and down into the Sénancole Valley. A circular walk leads through old stone walls, fields and traditional dry-stone huts to the medieval Abbey of Notre-Dame de Sénanque - one of Provence’s most recognisable sights.
Another day is devoted to Lourmarin, arriving for its market with plenty of time to find a café, browse the shops and galleries or simply wander its old streets. And on Sunday, there is treasure hunting.
One last Sunday pleasure
L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is renowned for antiques and brocante, and on Sundays its food market is joined by a sprawling open-air flea market. Around 300 stalls fill Avenue des Quatre Otages with vintage furniture, ceramics, linens, decorative pieces and curiosities. There may be an old Provençal linen, a vintage poster, a piece of pottery or some French silverware that proves impossible to leave behind. Or you can simply enjoy looking.
And sometimes, we do very little at all
Perhaps one of the loveliest things about this itinerary is what's deliberately not scheduled. There are free mornings. Opportunities to browse the shops. Hotel pools for an afternoon swim or a book. And evenings when you're free to make your own plans.
With Lyndey, you'll cook, taste, walk, look at art, explore markets and sit down to some very good meals. But you'll also have time to linger. And perhaps that's the real pleasure of Provence: discovering that living well doesn't necessarily mean doing more. Sometimes it's simply good food, a beautiful place and enough time to enjoy both.