Every summer, the photographs are the same. Rows of purple, a stone farmhouse, a cloudless sky. They're lovely, and we've written about Lavender Season ourselves. But anyone who has lived in Provence will tell you that the purple is only a few weeks of the year, and that some of the best months come after the coaches have gone home.
If you're thinking of buying here, autumn and winter are when you find out what living in Provence is really like.
The light changes
By October the heat has gone out of the day but the sun hasn't. The light turns lower and warmer, and the stone of the villages seems to glow from late afternoon. It's the light that drew painters to the region in the first place, and you understand why when you see Sainte-Victoire turn pink at the end of a clear November day.
The mistral plays its part too. It can be fierce, and you'll quickly learn which side of the house to sit on. But it also sweeps the sky clean, and some of the clearest, sharpest days of the year come in its wake.
The harvests keep coming
The grapes are in by the end of September, but Provence is far from finished. From November, the olives are picked and taken to the local moulin, and the first pressing of new oil – green, peppery and slightly cloudy – is one of the real treats of the year.
Then there are the truffles, which are worth a day out from Aix. In Richerenches, in the Enclave des Papes at the northern tip of the Vaucluse, growers sell the black truffle every Saturday morning from mid-November to mid-March at what's often described as Europe's largest truffle market. Deals are done out of car boots, the smell drifts down the street, and you can stop for a truffle omelette before driving home. In January the village holds its Messe des Truffes, on the third Sunday of the month, when truffles are offered at the church and then auctioned.
Christmas, the Provençal way
From late November, santon fairs appear across the region, selling the little clay figures that fill Provençal nativity scenes. Marseille's is the oldest, and Aix has its own. In town, the Cours Mirabeau fills with Christmas market chalets, and the cafés keep their terraces open on sunny afternoons well into December.
Then comes the gros souper on Christmas Eve and the thirteen desserts that follow it – dried fruit, nuts, nougat, fougasse and more. Every family has its own list, and every family is sure theirs is correct.
Aix in winter
Aix is a city that doesn't close for the season. The university keeps it young, the Grand Théâtre de Provence runs a full programme, and the markets carry on through the year. For buyers wanting a home they'll use for more than a few weeks in summer, it's one of the strongest choices in the south. Marseille airport is close by, and the TGV station outside the city puts Paris within a few hours. For anyone working remotely or splitting the week with Paris, that makes all the difference. There's good schooling too, including international options, which matters a great deal to families.
The Luberon is quieter. Some hilltop villages do go to sleep after October, and that's worth knowing before you buy. Others, such as the larger market towns, stay very much alive. It's one of the things we talk through with every buyer.
Why view in winter?
We always encourage buyers to see a house out of season, if they can. A Provençal bastide in July is easy to love. In January, you see the things that matter for the long term:
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where the sun falls on the terrace when it's low in the sky
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how the house sits against the mistral
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whether the village has a bakery and a café open, or shutters down until Easter
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how warm the house feels, and how it's heated
The houses that feel good in winter are usually the ones you'll love most once you've bought.
If you'd like to come and see Provence out of season, our Aix-en-Provence team will be happy to show you round.