4 Best Sights in Provence, France

At this unique museum in the 13th-century Couvent des Cordeliers, you'll learn how the aromatic plants and medicinal herbs of the Montagne de Lure, part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, have traditionally been grown, gathered, and used in remedies, perfumes, and cosmetics. Explanatory panels, botanical illustrations, plant specimens, and fragrance galleries are used to create a multisensory educational experience in themed exhibits such as Lavender, Pickers & Peddlers, The Druggists, Distillation, Plants & Elixirs, and Plants & Beauty. In addition, activity booklets and special displays help children navigate and understand the exhibits. For total immersion, sign up for one of the two-hour perfume workshops, which are offered for both adults (€45) and kids (€25).

On a site occupied since the Gallo-Roman period, this picturesque 11th- to 12th-century priory—a rich archaeological site classed as a Historic Monument by the French Ministry of Culture—presides over 10 acres of themed gardens. The restored priory, with well-preserved Gothic and Romanesque flourishes, now houses an ethnological museum, a testament to the various cultures and peoples in this part of Provence. The garden functions as both a visual delight and a preserve for 2,500 species of plants and flowers native to the region, from ancient times to the present, organized into five themes—like "simple gardens and village plants," which includes field and cultivated plants that were both consumed and used medicinally. There's also a medieval garden, a fragrant garden with benches under the roses and honeysuckle for maximum sensory effect, and a modern "exotic" garden that crosses five continents.

The grounds of a Cistercian abbey—constructed in the late 11th century and rebuilt in the 17th century—contain a dry garden, a vegetable garden, and a spectacular rose garden with more than 500 varieties. Guided nature tours are offered, as are history tours that take in the church and might feature Gregorian chant. Open year-round, the on-site restaurant serves lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday and lunch on Sunday. A boutique sells gardening books and tools, as well as locally made fragrance and food items.

Although the town of Manosque, 9 km (15 miles) south of Forcalquier, is not itself a draw, the town's main employer is. This where you'll find the factory of L'Occitane, the renowned Provençal purveyor of botanical skin-care products. You can make reservations for a one-hour tour of the production facility or just visit the gardens and shop in the company shop.