Visit Crowded Provence Markets - Or Empty Serene Countryside?
Be early, be quick!
Bustling Provence Markets & stunning Tulip Fields? Who would think you could find both in France?
Well, Provence has the climate and soil for both. Provence is one of France’s most renowned regions for the production of wine, particularly rosé. Less well known is that there is a massive industry growing rootstock grapevines that are then exported all over the world.
Any Sunday, there is a choice of markets in the Vaucluse region of Provence, from small rural agricultural (Monteux, Sarrians), to “car boot sale” (Le Marché aux Puces de Jonquières, Velleron) to the more typical Marché Provençal at L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue.
Avoid the summer heat
Well, if you want the latter and hate the crowds and want somewhere to park, get there early or better still out of season. By August, any time after 10am would be a nightmare: very hot, crowded and hard to find the charm that you are looking for. I was lucky – early June, early in the day and all I wanted was an espresso in the square!
Once you have walked round the market itself, you can view the extensive bric-à-brac and antiques on display. Find out more details at Vaucluse Provence Guide.
For me, my favourite place is stopping at the Café de France, next to the church, where you can watch the commerçants get their stalls ready before the hordes arrive. A decent espresso, alas no pain au chocolat, but there are several boulangerie artisanale close by.
L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is just that – an island surrounded by the cold water of the Sorgue river.
At the top end of town is this wonderful lagoon, often with fishermen trying their luck. We used to enjoy sitting at the Bellevue café – but following a refurb, gone are the typical Provençale chairs and tablecloths – now, it is lurid pink and trying to be a beach bar in Magaluf. How on earth they got permission to blemish one of the finest views in the region, I’ll never know.
L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue - One of the most popular markets in Provence
Waterwheels gently turning in the Sorgue River
Provence Markets
The market follows the river around the town and there are many cafés to be found both on the street and some by the water’s edge. If you cross the river, you can see an artwork depicting Picasso’s ear in the water. In the same area during the summer holidays they occasionally put on a show of how the market traders plied their trade from wooden punts.
But where's the beauty? In the countryside!
When the Markets are rammed with people and you can barely put one foot in front of the other, I tend to get irritated, not least as in the summer, it’s probably 35C in the shade. And then I started thinking, that in high season, where’s the beauty in this madness?
It’s so busy, you can barely take a photo. Many of the traders are tired of people snapping for Instagram and then not buying anything. And so it struck me as I drove home, in fact, the beauty was really all around me. So much so, I had to stop the car and take a look.
In all the fields along the way beside the road, were hectares under cultivation. From wild poppies growing in fields of wheat, to established fields of flowers for sale, all I could see were the brightest colours.
Head back to the Countryside - the beauty is all around
The choice is clear:
Get to the Provence Markets EARLY - then head to the countryside!
There’s something idyllic about walking round a French Market, especially in Provence. But they are now so popular and often selling the same things, with the traders hopping to different towns (Bédoin on Monday, Vaison-Le-Romaine on Tuesday, Malaucene on Wednesday, Nyons on Thursday, Carpentras on Friday, Apt on Saturday and back to L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue or Coustellet nearby.)
But for me, the beauty and peace is in the countryside.
