
Back Roads Provence, France
From National Geographic Traveler
Written by Raphael Kadushin
Photograph submitted to My Shot by Lisbeth Rose
If you drive slowly through the village of L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue on a weekday afternoon, things are so quiet you may hear the Provençal version of the proverbial pin drop: the cork popping off a wine bottle in one of the town's drowsy bistros. Come on a weekend, though, and you'll find parking so tight you may have to leave your own rental car on a country road and hike back into town.
Overview
Weekends are when the town's market and antique shops are open (in addition to the artisanal shops, also open on weekdays, that sell regional fabrics, ceramics, and foods, as well as chunky blocks of purple soap that distill the perfume of area lavender fields). And L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue isn't alone. Just about every village in Provence boasts its own workshops and boutiques dedicated to the local specialty, so a leisurely four-day drive through southern France offers the ultimate souvenir crawl. You can stop and start anywhere along the route. While you'll be taking in all the classic craft towns, don't call the circuit a shopping trip. You'll also be sampling a quintessential slice of Provence, as the two-lane rural back roads wind past olive groves, cherry orchards, vineyards, and the stony medieval hilltop towns. Even better, you'll be discovering one of the epicenters of authentic European artistry, and you'll be supporting an exuberant cultural legacy that still defines Provence.
Begin in Avignon
Start the Provençal version of a grand tour in Avignon. If you grab the two-and-a-half hour TGV express train from Paris's Gare de Lyon station (reserve your seat in advance) you'll be in Provence by noon. Once there, rent a car (try Europcar at the rail station). In town, order the prix fixe lunch (if you're lucky it will include the signature terrine of duck foie gras) on the terrace of the venerable Christian Etienne restaurant (10 rue de Mons, www.christian-etienne.fr) and then walk next door to the Popes' Palace where the Roman popes temporarily decamped in the 14th century. The Palace, stripped down to its austere bones during the French Revolution, is now a maze of elegantly unadorned chapels and banqueting halls. But it breaks loose with a very earthy surprise in the basement, where you'll find something you don't usually expect from a religious landmark: a wine cellar and sommelier. "Every spring all the best wine producers of the surrounding Côtes du Rhônes villages send us samples from their vineyards, " says sommelier Eric Sigmann, "and a panel of 30 experts chooses the best wines of the year. This year 350 samples were sent into us and we selected 63 of the most amazing wines to sell, at the producers' own prices."
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