Provence is known as a region situated in France's southeast border. Being a geographical location, its identity is considered as a holdover since the Roman Empire Era. The River Rhone is found on the western border of the region while Italy is located in its eastern portion. Provence contains the beautiful French Riviera. It is well known for its color, sun, traditions, food, wines and most especially its language, namely Provençal. In fact, Van Gogh had spent adequate time in Arles, relishing and painting its wonderful countryside. Provence major attractions include Avignon City as well as the vast selections of magnificent villages in which one can easily travel around by means of using a bicycle or a car on the series of highways and country roads.

The majority of French cities possess their own tourist offices and websites which provide a variety of information translated in numerous languages. This allows all people who are interested to find and discover anything they are searching for in this county. Provence is an immeasurable and delightful region. It merits for one to take an extensive trip around this scenic place for a day or even a week is enough to experience its beauty. To genuinely appreciate the real beauty of Provence, one must have an enormous liking for the pleasure of wine, food, as well as local crafts. To create your own personal itinerary is highly recommended and let it be flexible enough in order for one to have some ample time to linger along the area's winery or outdoor café. In addition to that, one can also enjoy a short visit in the fascinating Roman ruin nearby. Furthermore, after taking a glass or two of the flavorful regional rose, plus, a taste of the delicious sausage and cheeses served by the native farmers, one experience "joie de vivre."

There are a lot of beautiful places in Provence such as the historical city of Avignon with its majestic medieval walls. Some of its famous monuments are the Calvet Museum and the Palace of the Pose. In addition to this is the well-known remains of the medieval bridge called "Pont d'Avignon" found across Rhone. The Avignon center is known to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Another place worth visiting in Provence is the village of Gordes. It is popular for the most beautiful village in all France. It also has an interesting renaissance castle which worth visiting. The city of Arles in Provence holds the world-renowned Saint Trophime church as well as many museums. It also has a gallery created by the Vincent Van Gogh Foundation to pay homage to the great artist, including the other works of modern artists such as David Hockney and Francis Bacon.

The Pont du Gard of Provence displays a scenic Roman aqueduct. It is also listed under the World Heritage Sites of UNESCO. One can also find the famous Riviera city of Cannes in this region. It is renowned for its business conventions and festivals, namely the Cannes Film Festival.

In addition to this, there is also Antibes, noted for its seaside towns along Riviera. It has a medieval castle and ramparts originating from the 17th century. Found also in this city are the famous Picasso Museum and Archeological Museum. Antibes also displays stunning gardens such as the Eilenron Garden and Exflora Garden.

The climate in the area of Provence is Mediterranean, characterized by dry, hot summers, abundant sunshine, little snow, and mild winters. Within the region of Provence are local variations of micro-climates, ranging from the northern Vaucluse's continental climate to Nice's inland climate in Alpine. Aside from this, the blowing winds of the region are considered of vital importance in the region's climates, most especially the mistral which is known to be a dry, cold wind. This mistral wind blows down during winter in the valley of Rhone to the Var Departments and Bouches-du-Rhône. Its speed often reaches to about 100 km an hour.

At present, the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur is the known to be Provence's official regional administration. However, the identity of the region is closely more associated with its rich culture and history. Even though the beautiful scene of Provence is quite a typecast such as the colorful lavender fields printed in almost all of the guidebooks and postcards, the real essence of the region originates in its colorful culture as well as its language.

The official language of Proven is French. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of this region possess a peculiar accent. Most of the time, they often pronounce the words' last syllables in Provence unlike in the standard French language in which the last syllable is not at all pronounced.

The reason for this is due to the fact that the people of Provence spoke another language called Langue d'Oc a long time ago. They only learned French in school. In Avignon, the Langue d'Oc dialect was Provençal during the 1900's in which it became an object of strong preservation committed by the artists and writers called Felibrige. Frédéri Mistral, a Nobel Prize winner of literature in the year 1908 was one of them. However, despite the group's efforts, the language of Provençal is no longer being used by the people of Provence and is now just being taught as a course by some non-profit groups and several regional universities in the region. In 2004, the signs located along the highway of Provence are printed in Provençal and en Français.

Transportation means in order to get into the region of Provence is through train connections both from Paris and Lyon. With the use of the TGV train, one would arrive faster in the location, approximately about 3 hours. Usual gateway cities are Avignon, Valence and Aix-en-Provence. From the mentioned gateway cities, one could simple travel around this wonderful region.

In Provence, one would surely take notice on the extraordinary cuisine served in the region. The reason for this is that the French people do have high standards when it comes to food preparation and service. Offering a mediocre presentation is simply not tolerated.
Every village in Provence holds a festive market day. One can purchase local fare in farms located in each region such as cheeses, sausages, olive, breads, and preserves. And after buying such fresh delights from the market, one can explore the landscape while having a picnic.

There are numerous dining experiences in Provence, from your typical sit-down meal up to formal restaurants. Formal dining in France is served with full dinner course menu with a slower pace. Requesting for the set menu to be altered is quite inappropriate. Restaurants normally have an array of delectable set menus. One may also choose a la carte food items in the restaurant's list. A bistrot in Provence is known to have a more relaxed and casual ambiance which presents individual items. The cafes are even far more casual, serving drinks, coffee, pizzas and sandwiches.

Wines in Provence are a must to be tasted. Even though all the wines served are of excellent quality, one should also try the native favorite which is called the Rose. In contrast to the cheap, sweet wines from the 1970's, the Provencale Rosé is light and dry. It is also a great accompaniment with cheese and bread.