Discover Valensole

Valensole offers a range of options for planning your trip: a fortified old town with historic buildings, cultural attractions and the plateau landscape. You can tailor your stay to your interests—whether architecture and local history, or lavender fields, views and nature.

Heritage and the Old Town of Valensole

Work on Saint-Blaise Church began in 1346. Notable details include 14th-century capitals decorated with sculptures and a richly carved walnut pulpit from the 18th century. These two features reflect different phases of the town’s history: the capitals date from the time construction began, while the pulpit is several centuries newer.

A walk through the fortified old town leads from Rue Emile Dol along the chemin de ronde, past the gate and on to Place Saint-Mayeul. From there, narrow streets wind down from the church hill in a spiral. This route makes the layout of the historic town center easy to follow. You can also discover a nearby fountain by the medieval porch of the Cour du Doyenné.

The Sainte-Marie-Madeleine Chapel is another historic attraction; it has stood since the 11th century. Today, it serves as a cultural venue for Valensole. A local association organizes visits and painting exhibitions there; the program may vary. The Domaine Le Clos de Villeneuve includes a country house built in the first half of the 18th century. The estate also features a garden laid out across three terraces, with basins and fountains dating from the 17th and 19th centuries.

The Lavender Plateau, Habitats and Views

The Plateau de Valensole is characterized by geometrically arranged lavender fields and fields lined with almond trees. The landscape also includes meadows and grasslands, garrigue, scrubland, and woodland and forests. From the plateau, you can see, among other landmarks, the Pre-Alps range, the Massif du Devoluy, Mont Denier, Chiran and Moure de Chanier. The panorama also includes Montagne de Lure, Mont Ventoux, and the Sainte-Victoire and Sainte-Baume massifs.

Two Natura 2000 sites have their own names and identifiers: the “Plateau de Valensole” bat site is FR9302007, and the “Valensole” bird protection site is FR9312012. The plateau’s non-irrigated crops provide a habitat for steppe birds, including the little bustard and the Eurasian stone-curlew. These details add the area’s habitats and wildlife to the picture of its landscape.

If you’d like to explore the plateau on foot, the VALENSOLE–La Trinité loop trail is a useful starting point. It passes through lavender, almond and olive groves on the way to the Chapelle de la Trinité. This named loop brings together different elements of the cultural landscape along one route.

Culture and Special Occasions

The annual Fête de la Lavande (Lavender Festival) is scheduled for the third Sunday in July. If you’d like to plan your trip around the festival, check that year’s program in advance. For a different perspective on the region, the Musée vivant de l'abeille offers an insight into beekeeping: through a glass beehive, visitors can watch 30,000 worker bees at work. Historical and educational collections are presented there through tools, photographs and documents.

Whether you focus on the streets and buildings or make the landscape and its natural features your priority, these attractions give your trip to Valensole different themes to choose from—you don’t have to limit yourself to just one.

Discover more destinations: Beaujeu, Mallemoisson, Saint-Michel-L'observatoire, Seyne, La Foux-D'allos, Pierrerue, Cruis, Sisteron

For the regional travel overview: Alpes-De-Haute-Provence.