Verdon lavender dates 2027

When will the Valensole lavender bloom in 2027?

Most likely between mid-June and mid-July. The regional tourism board gives 15 June to 15 July as the normal range, moved earlier or later by the weather.

The Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur tourism board puts it plainly: flowering "est fonction de la météorologie et peut varier entre le 15 juin et le 15 juillet". A warm spring pulls it forward, a cool wet one pushes it back. There is no bloom forecast for 2027 yet, and anyone who gives you a date now is guessing.

Our advice: aim for the last ten days of June and the first week of July. That is past the start of the bloom in an average year and mostly before the harvest. Book with free cancellation and keep an eye on the board's page in early June: in 2026 it posted the state of the fields there.

What did the 2026 lavender season look like?

Early. The bloom had started by 10 June 2026, and the cut began on 29 June and ran for about 15 days.

The same tourism page reported that in 2026 "la floraison a déjà commencé au 10 juin", before the official window opened, and that "la coupe de la lavande commence le 29 juin 2026 et se fera progressivement pendant 15 jours". By mid-July, most of the plateau was cut.

Take it as a reference, not a forecast. If 2027 runs the same way, someone who booked for 12 July would arrive at the tail end of the harvest. One guest on the Nice day trip for eight reports that their lavender stop came after the cut. That is the risk with a mid-July date.

When is the lavender harvested, and is it still there in August?

From late June, field by field, over two to three weeks. By August the Valensole plateau is mostly cut, so skip a lavender tour that month.

The Marseille tourist office gives "harvested around July 15th" for Valensole and notes that fields further north and higher up, around Sault, flower later and can last to mid-August. Those are not on the way to the Verdon.

A detail for purists: much of what you photograph near Valensole is lavandin, a hybrid of true lavender and spike lavender that yields up to ten times more oil. It looks just as purple from the road.

When is the Valensole lavender festival in 2027?

On the third Sunday of July, which would be Sunday 18 July 2027. The organisers have not announced the 2027 date yet, so check before you plan around it.

The regional events listing gives the Fête de la Lavande in Valensole as "le 3e dimanche de juillet": producers' market, folk music, distilling on a 19th-century still. In 2026 it fell on 19 July, with a market of 80 exhibitors from 9:00 to 19:00, according to Fréquence Sud.

Fun, but late. By the third Sunday of July many fields around Valensole are cut. Go for the village day, not the photos of endless rows.

How do you time a Verdon and lavender tour?

Book a date from about 20 June to the first days of July, on a tour that lists a Valensole stop. Outside June and July, no tour shows you lavender.

Not every Verdon tour passes through the plateau. These do, in season:

• The Nice day trip for eight: a Valensole field from mid-June to mid-July, plus the gorge, the lake and Moustiers. $159 per person.
• The day trip from Aix: a local producer in Valensole, lavender in summer, and the shortest drive. $182.
• The budget day trip from Nice: lavender in season, but 3.9 stars and short stops.
• The boat picnic day from Aix: lavender off the main road, 15 June to 30 July per the listing, then a private boat in the canyon. $1,430 per group.

For lavender alone, the lavender sunset tour from Marseille stays on the plateau until sundown in June and July, for $131. It does not go to the gorge. Wherever you stop, stay on the edge: the board's rule is "ne pas rentrer dans les champs". The fields are private farms. More in our lavender season guide.

Eight guests at most, hotel pickup in Nice, and a lavender stop on the plateau from mid-June to mid-July.

★ 4.5 · 10 hours · from $159

Explore the Nice day trip for eight → Tour details

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