Our favorite villages in Provence, France with kids

Monday, September 2


Oh France, you are a dream! We just got back from spending 2 weeks with our 4 young children (ages 7, 5, 3, and 1) in both Provence and the French Riviera. I will share our favorite towns in both regions, but today's post is dedicated to the stunning hilltop villages and market towns of Provence. 

I first stepped foot in Provence 15 years ago when my parents whisked my siblings and I away to an old stone house nestled in the middle of vineyards as far as the eye could see. I felt as though we had traveled back in time...it truly was the French countryside at it's finest:) This time, our accommodations were also incredible as we used Home Exchange to swap houses with French families. The homes we stayed in were so stunning! You can read about our experience here. 

While there are LOTS of places to go in Provence, here are a list of our favorites. In my opinion, you really can't go wrong with any of them. It's just a gorgeous region! 

Avignon

We stayed in Avignon, truly a lovely city. The kids enjoyed seeing the Pont du Avignon (learning the history, and singing the song), as well as the Papal Palace. The Catholic Church moved the seat of the church from Rome to Avignon in the 1300's, and then a few hundred years later moved it back. So it's quite a sight to see. My kids had so much fun on the beautiful carousel in the main square, with multiple ice cream shops abounding. 

Arles
 

Arles is one of my absolute favorite town in Provence. It is bigger, so there's a good amount of sights to see. The Romans built both an amphitheater and arena in Arles which you can tour. Around the Arena are sweet little alleyways with darling shops filled with market baskets (my favorite) and French soaps and souvenirs. There is a large square which is a great place to grab an ice cream and people watch. They also have some fantastic markets here. My kid's favorite was the playground on the side of the hill by the amphitheater. 

Gordes

I almost didn't take our family to Gordes. I had heard it was very swanky, a place where the rich and famous stay, and somehow taking 4 young kids didn't sound like the best recipe for success. I AM SO GLAD WE DECIDED TO GO ANYWAY! It ended up being one of my most favorite mornings. First of all, it's gorgeous. It is very posh, but in an approachable way. The main square with a fountain in the middle of it was seriously oozing with charm and giving me all the Beauty and the Beast vibes. There's a lovely church you can walk in, delicious ice cream shops, and some wandering in and out of the colorful alleys. It was a fairly quick trip, but so worth it! 

Lacoste

I adored Lacoste. It's a city that winds upward, and I had a lot of fun hiking up with the kiddos and Kev. We were quite the sight with all our kids tromping up haha! There are So many iconic spots to take photos, so if you're in to photography like I am...absolutely check out Lacoste. I loved every minute of being in this little hamlet! Again, it's best to tag on to a day where you're seeing multiple of the little hill towns, they are all so close to and another. 

Menerbes


Menerbes is so pretty it almost feels fake. It is best to go if you're looking for a walk that leads to picturesque views...the landscape below filled with vineyards and farmland was breathtaking. There isn't much in this town, but I'm still glad we went to soak up the beauty. We were there around noon and tried to get an ice cream, and the owner (who was sitting outside with a friend) let us know it didn't open until 2pm. Haha, that would never happen in America, but I love that the French hold their work/life boundaries well! Menerbes is very close to many other hill towns so best to see in conjunction with Lacoste, or others! 

Aix en Provence

Aix was the biggest town we explored, and it did not disappoint. We felt like the beauty just kept going and going, and sadly we had to leave early to get to an appointment (our rental car had an issue so we had to take it back), so I wish we could have lingered longer. Aix has loads of fun activities for kids, including the iconic carousel, trampolines (In American these cost like $50 to do, but here they were $5 so we let the kids try them!), and of course some very yummy ice cream shops. The kids said their favorite ice cream was from Aix! Aix is a little further away than all the towns listed above, however if you're driving to Marseille or Nice, could make a great stop over! 

St Remy de Provence

This town is pure delight. The word I kept using to describe it to Kevin was "cute"! I may have said "THIS IS SO CUTE" approximately 53 times haha! But in all honesty, it was a great little town to explore. They had THE BEST Playground (maybe of the entire trip) with loads for the kids to climb on, and sweet little swings. The French know how to make cute playgrounds. The town is easily accessible walking, and they had multiple parking lots to try.

If you've been to Provence I'd love to hear your favorite towns! We obviously couldn't visit them all, but these are the ones we visited and really enjoyed:)

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